It hurt. It always hurt when he came in. She couldn't stop him. No matter what she said he wouldn't stop, until she listened to him. He would hit her, spit on her and threaten worse should she speak out. She was only eight, but he didn't care, his hands would still strike her, his fingers would curl around her limbs, forming bruises as they did so. From what she could tell, it had been going on for around a month, but the cell she was locked in didn't have any windows and so she could only guess by counting the number of sleeps she had, short though they were. He seemed to enjoy interrupting her sleep to conduct his 'tests'. For the first week she hadn't known what he wanted from her when he shouted at her, it was only doing it accidentally to flee from him that she learnt what he wanted. He had called it her 'semblance' and her 'aura', those were the things he was testing. He had been beating her as always when suddenly she seemed to scatter and disappear only to reappear in the opposite corner of the cell, equally confused as he was. But he had grinned at her, he had got what he wanted.

Every day after he would return testing the limits of her abilities, striking her until she was unconscious or swinging at her until she could dodge no more. She almost wished she hadn't avoided that first strike after the first week, maybe then he would have eventually given up, but now he just kept coming back. Most of the marks he left on her would be gone by the time he returned allowing him to justify 'double checking' the previous day's routine to 'test for lingering effects'.

She jerked in surprise as she heard the alarm clock outside the cell ring its shrill tune into the otherwise quiet air. The man often came in before the alarm went off. He would use it as a sort of break and return to his work with her about ten minutes later. Yet he hadn't come in. She dared get her hopes up, maybe someone had found him and put a stop to his practice, but as the minutes drew on, she could hear no irregular noises to further her fantasy. He came in a few hours later, the alarm playing the whole time, eventually seeming to disappear as she became used to the constant beeping.

He wore a dark grey overcoat with gold and brown trimmings along its edges. Coal black gloves lined his hands snugly holding a white clipboard and pen within their grasp. His usually messy black hair was trimmed and styled so that it looked like it had been repeatedly combed back. His trousers were grey like the overcoat with a gold chain hanging loosely out of his right pocket. The only thing that he wore that he usually wore were his shoes, black leather, pointed-toe business shoes with bronze capping on the under-side of the heel and around the toes. She remembered his shoes; he would often stomp on her as a sort of test to see how close to passing out she was as she would only scream if she could spare the energy to.

As he entered the room, he barely acknowledged her being there, as his dim brown eyes studied the clipboard in his hands before he ushered in another figure. This man was larger. Much larger. Her captor had seemed tall, thin, if a bit wiry, but this man was a mountain with legs and flesh. His face made him seem younger than the other, but it didn't look like that meant much to him. His face was schooled into an expression of calm with a short black beard along his jaw and mouth and his eyes seemed almost colourless with their grey hue. He was dressed much more plainly than the other man, only wearing a white dress shirt with a black dress coat over the top with matching trousers and simple black shoes. The only outstanding feature was his bright red tie wrapped around his neck and falling down his chest to end beneath his dress coat. This man would be more intimidating than her captor if she hadn't endured so much at his hand. His white shirt fit closely to his upper body and clearly displayed the packed muscle underneath, almost stressing the fabric around the biceps as he stood with his arms folded. He seemed to take her in after just a moment and his eyebrows rose in surprise as he did so before turning to the other man.

"She seems a little young to be in here. Even by your standards." His voice came out gruff but didn't seem overly aggressive, smooth despite the deep tone. The other man didn't even look up from his clipboard as he replied.

"Yes, well she is, but it isn't every day I have a family donate a child to my business and though the sum they asked for was a little steep I believe her heritage and the results I have come up with are well worth that amount and more. You will soon find out how much more, should you consider her for your purchase." He finally looked up from the clipboard grinning slightly evilly at the other man before chuckling slightly. "How many did you say you wanted again Mr Xiong?"

"That depends on the price you ask for. I ain't made of money after all." He didn't seem to catch on to whatever humour the other was displaying. "What is so special about her heritage anyway?" He seemed genuinely interested. The other man donned another grin this time spreading from ear to ear.

"Well I'm glad you asked. Nice to know you seem interested. You see she was born from two very well-known huntsmen and as such she, by genetics alone, was bound to have the ability to unlock her aura and so I knew the investment would at least bear some fruit, however it is the quality of the fruit that matters yes? Well you see her mother was the late Summer Rose." He paused for effect seeing Mr Xiong process the implications that had before continuing. "Indeed, it is surprising to have the daughter of the alleged 'strongest huntress' so freely given. I assure you the results of my tests prove that she is just as rare a gem as I had hoped for too. Her semblance is very powerful, and her aura levels are of the charts considering she has had no training with it. There is only one other specimen that I have that has even close to the same…" he paused seemingly struggling to produce the desired word before restarting. "'rarity' if you will, and believe it or not that one is only slightly older, though I have yet to discover her semblance, her species alone is rather intriguing." He made to go on, but the bigger man simply raised his hand before appraising the girl one last time.

"I'll take em' both" he said before turning to leave. "Have em' at my place by the morning, I'll let the twins show em' the ropes". There was the light clicking of his shoes as he walked down the darkened corridor. The other simply stared into space for a moment before stuttering.

"Mr Xiong with all due respect, I don't know if you can afford both at a reasonable price and you haven't even seen the other specimen. I am afraid neither will come cheap." He was abruptly silenced by Mr Xiong tossing him a leather wallet.

"Keep the change and make sure they are wearing more than rags when they arrive." He said it with confidence as he continued striding down the hallway punctuating his departure with the closing of a heavy door. The supposed businessman opened the wallet to find it practically overflowing with thousand Lien bills, more than he had likely seen in all his life at once. She saw him blink repeatedly for what seemed minutes as he took it all in, he finally broke his stupor with a malicious chuckle as he once again showed his teeth in a crooked grin.

She flinched as he turned towards her, his back slightly hunched from the barely restrained laughter. "You just made me a lot of money girl. For what it's worth, enjoy your new home, after all, the last one didn't want you." He no longer held back his mirth as he broke out laughing and slammed the cell door once more, plunging her into the cold embrace of darkness as he walked away from her cell. She couldn't hold back her tears as his cackling faded into the distance once again returning her unto silence.

Hei 'Junior' Xiong wasn't a man many would describe as kindhearted, and for the most part they would be right. He ran a nightclub in downtown Vale, though most people knew it was home to a vast majority to Vale's shady dealings, it was consequently one of the safest places in Vale. This being because it was a sort of middle ground that no local gangs had sway over and so allowed individuals shady or not a safe night within its walls. Hei, or Junior as he was known, was not clean however, after all it was profitable to dabble in dark dealings here and there. It hadn't taken long for him to slowly become known as a man that could find you anything for a price, be it information, people or contraband. The local law enforcement also hesitated to lash out against him as he kept a peace within his territory and apprehending him would potentially cause a worse situation. He wasn't untouchable but he was certainly given more leeway than almost anyone else.

Despite this however there were individuals that knew him to have a softer core when business wasn't concerned. A pair of such individuals currently stood waiting for him outside his club. The left most one wore a red strapless dress with black linings and a black ribbon tied as a bow around her waist. The dress had stylised black writing along its length seemingly styled to look like newspaper headlines. She also sported a black fur collar, covering her neck and shoulders. The other girl wore much the same only with white instead of red as the main colour of her outfit and a silver chain rather than a ribbon around her mid-section. It wouldn't take long for a casual observer to notice they were twins, unlike most twins, who strive to be different, they seemed to try and hold onto their similarity as much as they could, with the only differences between them being their tastes, for things such as colours and foods, and their respective personalities. Most knew the two of them as the 'Malachite Twins' but Junior knew them as Miltia and Melanie, and legally they were his adopted daughters.

That was mostly a cover up so that the council wouldn't pester him to ask why minors were frequenting his club, though he may be their legal guardian he treated them during work hours more as employees than family. Sure, he looked after their health both during work and outside, but he had bought them and so most saw it as protecting his investment. They acted both as eye candy to attract young hopefuls into his club for business and doubled as bouncers should someone step out of line. He had bought them from the same dealer as he had visited earlier that night and so knew the extent of their capabilities. The seller's name was Apep Lockheart, though his methods of obtaining his 'specimens', as he called them, wasn't known to Junior he couldn't argue with results as the man had an uncanny knack for finding powerful children. The twins were a perfect example of this. He had found them with Apep and at first, he had thought not much of them aside from their above average looks for their age and the fact that they had unlocked their auras. He wouldn't have thought them any different from a random pair of twins, however Apep had quickly explained why they were valuable. They had separate semblances, however they both could benefit from the other's semblance. Melanie's semblance allowed the twins to communicate telepathically so long as both wanted to, and Miltia's semblance allowed the pair of them to swap places within a short range. They were the perfect tag-team, both in combat and for surveillance.

The twins viewed Junior as a father that pulled them from their otherwise poor lives and gave them more than they had hoped for. He gave them designer clothes to keep them looking nice, warm food and their apartment was just across the hall from his and from what they could guess was worth more than most people could even hope to afford. He was slightly icy to them but that was just who he was and after living and working around him for so long they had realised that he would let them get away with almost anything and would always bail them out if they needed him. Miltia tried her hardest not to make that too common of an occurrence, so that she could save Junior as many headaches as possible but Melanie, whilst not actively seeking it, always managed to find trouble. Whether it be causing issues with boys, and occasionally girls, that found her attractive or being a 'little heavy-handed' when telling someone to leave. However, complain as he might he always had their backs in any situation and wasn't afraid to bloody a few noses to prove it.

Both sisters had been trained to fight to a level that would allow them to handle most rowdy club-goers but were currently far from his best bouncers. However, the speed at which they were improving was rather terrifying and he had a feeling that after a few more years of training with Jax, his current best fighter, that would change. The girls were fourteen, though they looked at least sixteen, as many drunk patrons had found out the hard way.

Recently his club had become more of a hotspot for bigger-time criminals. This was fine for him as he still felt safe with his political standing, both in the law and the less savoury, and it was good for business as they often spent a lot of money. However, it had occurred to him that should that change, or another similar establishment were to open, one he couldn't buy out of business, then he may have to prepare to up his security. So, he had visited Apep for what he had hoped to be the last time. Hunter teams were formed of four and so he would have to make sure he had at least that many at his disposal along with his regular lackeys. The girl had been young and from what he could gather the other one hadn't likely been much older but that was fine. It gave them time to adjust to his club and their new lifestyle. He would have them enrol at a hunter academy once the youngest came of age. There was no age limit so the twins would enter at the same time to allow them to get ample opportunity to work together with the other two before graduating. He had spent far more than he had wanted to on the two newbies, but he chalked it up to be a somewhat risky investment, if the two were as remarkable as Apep made out then they were worth it. Besides, though he wouldn't admit it out loud, he couldn't bare seeing a girl that young in Apep's laboratory, he couldn't imagine the trauma she would have let alone what she would have if she had stayed any longer. He had thrown men against walls hard enough to break bones and the information he could offer didn't always come pain free, but children were a soft spot for him. He had been little more than a street rat in his youth and though he now sat as an extremely wealthy individual he didn't like seeing children endure hardships. I'm getting soft he thought before chuckling and looking up to see the twins waiting for him.

Melanie was absentmindedly tapping her foot with her arms crossed whilst Miltia leaned against the club wall waiting for him to approach.

"It's unusual for you to be late for opening June" Melanie questioned as he neared, tilting her head slightly with a hint of a smirk pulling at her lips. The nickname had been given to him by Jax who had said Junior was too much to say and calling him Hei felt weird as most people didn't know his first name, so he shortened it to June. Junior didn't like it much, but after trying for months to get the man to stop he had given up. The twins spent a lot of time training with Jax and so had picked up on the name quickly and eventually also adopted the pet name when it was just the four of them.

"It's past opening hours Melanie so that's Boss, Junior or if ya' really want to say something short, Sir." To a casual observer he may have sounded rather angry but to the three of them it was obvious that he was doing it just in case someone was watching, and the words held no actual venom. "And as to why I was late, I was paying a visit to Apep." The Twins visibly stiffened at the mention of their previous 'owner', the memories all too vivid. They had sworn to each other that they would one day kill him and had made Junior promise not to stop them. He had no intention to and had debated doing it himself a few times but had decided to let them do it when he deemed them ready.

"Why?" Melanie practically snarled the words, though her hair hid her eyes he could tell they were staring daggers into him. Miltia was less vocal with her shock but from his time spent around her he could tell she was almost ready to explode too, straightening from her slouch against the wall.

"Listen before you go feral okay?" his voice was as calming as he dared be on a walkway and though that wasn't much it seemed to at least give the twins pause. "You know as well as I do that there are more and more big-shot criminals coming into Vale and by extension my club. So, we must be prepared, just because we are nigh untouchable now, doesn't mean we always will be, especially if someone like Cinder Fall keeps at it like she was. So, I went and 'acquired'…" the word was said carefully as to avoid offending the pair. "Two more pairs of hands. Capable ones too if I'm right, which I usually am. However, they are young and just like you were they are probably scared shit-less from Apep's… work. Treat em' like family as legally they now are or will be in a few days anyway. They are going to arrive at my place in about an hour and you two are going to pick em' up and try and open em' up over the next few weeks okay, your off duty until then, got it?" The silence hung heavy for a long moment that seemed to extend for several minutes before Miltia finally broke it.

"Okay, we got it." She walked up and laid a comforting hand on Melanie's own, locking eyes for a moment before looking back to Junior. "We know what they've been through, the least we can do is be welcoming." Her smile was bleak and small, but genuine as she spoke. Junior found himself returning the grim expression before nodding. "Will we still train with Jax and will they join us?"

"Yes, you will, and they will too, though obviously they will have to start from the beginning." The twins nodded gravely, though they had leapt wholeheartedly at their training, they could see how a younger child might struggle to do the same, especially straight after leaving Apep. The twins turned to leave but Junior caught their attention with a wave of his massive hands. "One last thing, one of them is supposedly some kind of rare Faunas that makes them look very abnormal, so a warning ahead of time try to get used to it and help them deal with it if it becomes a problem before they can defend themselves." The twins nodded one last time in unison before walking off. Though he could only see their backs as they turned the corner towards his apartment he could tell they were using Melanie's semblance to communicate silently, he chose to leave it, knowing that they were likely very sensitive to outside stimulus right now and the last thing he needed was an angry twin to lash out at the newcomers. He turned to the door pulling out his keys to open it. He needed a bottle of whiskey… or four.

The light was blinding, as if scorning her for emerging from the darkness in which she had been kept. He led her along by her wrist, twisting it into odd positions whenever she would stumble or resist. She had given up quickly, but he still made sure she knew the punishment for resisting by twisting her wrist anyway. They walked quietly through the compound, the darkened stone corridors only ever changing by the number on the metal doors they passed and the occasional ceiling lamp. Sometimes something or someone behind the doors would hear them pass by and scream or shout or even sometimes strike the door, in a vain attempt to escape the lives they had found themselves in.

She had no idea that he had so many other 'subjects', a small shred of her heart went out to the damned souls that cried unseen, just as she had. The man had given her a nice set of clothes this morning after throwing her into a cold shower. The clothes had consisted of a small red dress that fit her snugly, black tights and black flats. Whilst the outfit was nothing special, it was the most expensive thing the she had ever worn. The red dress had golden symbols travelling up its edges with similarly coloured roses weaved between the writing. The skirt of the dress stopped just above her knees, the tights a stark contrast to the brightly coloured dress she wore. Her hair still hung down to her shoulder blades and wasn't styled in any particular way, though it had been brushed and straightened by a masked woman who had taken the task of bathing and dressing her at her captor's orders.

As she was shoved through the halls she noticed that the light in the corridor was slowly becoming brighter and more natural, turning a greyish hue rather than the artificial orange of the overhead lights. The screaming had grown less frequent as they drew closer to the entrance of the compound. The polished stone floor gradually gave way to a lush grey and white carpet and the walls were adorned with more and more decorations giving colour to the previously bleak world she had been trapped in. It was then she noticed the other girl. She was short, though slightly taller than herself, and currently fighting against the grip of a masked man. She wore an identical dress her own, the only difference being that the main colour being a royal blue with the writing was silver. Her outfit was otherwise identical. She was thin, even for her size, but the girl in front of her seemed at least well fed and judging by the fight she displayed, she hadn't been in the facility as long as she had. The girls sported long brown hair travelling the length of her back before stopping at the small. Her eyes were grey, but somehow seemed brighter than should have been possible, burning with a defiant fire that kept her staring at the girl even as she stumbled as she was dragged along.

However the most drawing factor that the girl possessed was that her skin was switching colours quickly as her struggle was proving fruitless against the man restraining her. It was at first a light brown, which she assumed was her natural skin colour, but it quickly switched between various deep reds. After a short while she seemed to completely disappear against her surroundings, though the man still held her in place prompting her to switch back to her original hue.

Her captor seemed aggravated by the sight of the resisting girl and quickly barked out an order for his lackey to shut her up. The masked man simply nodded and, with some effort, grabbed her arm and rolled up her sleeve. Another figure with the same mask appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and injected a needle into her arm, pumping a clear liquid into her body. The effect was almost immediate and her struggling lessened before eventually stopping altogether as she collapsed, asleep.

She heard a chuckling to her side before feeling a hot breath on the back of her ear.

"Behave, and you won't have to go through that." The threat was heavy and she quickly schooled herself to a calm position as he let her go and walked up to the other girl. He walked a circle around her unconscious form turning her over to face him with his foot. "Ilia Amitola, subject: F-130, gender: female, race: Faunas, subspecies: Chameleon. Born into the White Fang due to parental affiliation. A mission went south, resulting in the deaths of both parents. She blamed the Fang for their deaths and ran away, only to find herself here after a failed attempt to rob a grocery store for something to eat. Sold to us by the local police for a low price." He paused to chuckle darkly to himself again. "Amazing really, how even the police aren't above human trafficking for the right price and an easier night."

He turned to her as found herself slowly creeping forward, disliking how the masked lackeys were seemingly closing in on her from the shadowed corners of the room. "Like you, she has been purchased by Mr Xiong for a lot of money. I do not know what he wants with you, and to be perfectly honest I could not care less. However I have been told by a very wealthy benefactor that you may cause problems for them later on in life should you maintain your particular eye colour." He produced a black syringe that had been brought to him by a lackey. She pulled back in horror at his implication. "So, before you go I am going to have to make sure that doesn't come to pass." She took a step back only to collide with the firm form of a masked man who quickly restrained her. She fought with everything she had, squirming from his grip and kicking out at men that came to help him, but it was in vain. She was too small to resist their strength and didn't know how to control her power, eventually she was pinned to the floor by the black clad men as the leader came forward, his sadistic glee clear on his face as she watched the needle reach for her neck.

She screamed in pain as she felt her skin and muscle convulse under the influence of the cruel liquid. She screamed for what felt like years as she writhed in the agony against the substance but after the minutes passed her voice died in her throat and her eyes glazed over as her once shining silver irises dimmed into a dark red, almost matching her dress. She was met with darkness as he conscious failed to hold onto her senses.

What nobody saw was her back react to the substance. Covered by her dress, none were capable of noticing the mark that grew there.