The car wound carefully along the narrow mountain road overlooking Mountain Glenn.
Civilization stretched far below like a massive mechanical organism glowing beneath layers of noise and distant neon.
Up here however...
Everything was quieter.
The roads became rougher the higher one traveled into the mountains surrounding the city. Fewer streetlights and much less infrastructure.
No traffic at all.
There simply was not much reason for ordinary civilians to come this far upward besides sightseeing and even that was relatively uncommon. Most people preferred safer overlooks closer to the city.
Which made this location ideal for hiding something.
The black sedan eventually turned off the main road and slowly pushed through dense foliage near the mountainside. Branches scraped softly against the vehicle while Shore carefully maneuvered it deeper into concealment.
Finally the engine shut off.
Silence settled over the area almost immediately afterward.
Shore stepped out first.
This time he was wearing full combat fatigues beneath a dark tactical jacket. The Multi Function Gauntlet rested visibly over his forearm while several compact pouches lined his waist. His mask was up and so was his hood.
His posture immediately shifted the moment his boots touched the dirt.
More alert.
Sharper.
Beside him, Raye closed the passenger door quietly. She had returned to clothing much closer to what she originally wore during their first encounter.
Black combat trousers, armored gloves extending toward her elbows and fitted tactical layers beneath a dark jacket.
Her katana rested across her back once more. The difference between café Raye and combat Raye was surprisingly distinct.
One blended into civilians naturally, but the other looked dangerous even while standing still. Raye adjusted the strap near her shoulder before glancing around the quiet mountain terrain.
"He said it was somewhere around here, didn't he?"
Shore didn't answer immediately.
Instead he crouched near the edge of the dirt path while examining the ground carefully. Several seconds passed before his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Tire tracks."
Raye stepped closer. Shore pointed toward partially flattened sections of earth hidden beneath overgrown weeds.
The tracks were faint, but present. Vehicles had been passing through this area repeatedly.
The two of them moved deeper into the mountain afterward. There was no formal road beyond this point.
Only forest.
But once Shore focused properly, the trail became easier to identify. Sections of foliage had been repeatedly compressed over time. Broken twigs, disturbed dirt and bent grass.
Someone absolutely traveled through here regularly.
The deeper they moved, the quieter the world became.
Even the sounds of Mountain Glenn eventually faded beneath rustling leaves and distant wind moving through the mountain trees.
Around thirty minutes later, the terrain finally opened.
Raye stopped first.
"…Well," she muttered quietly.
Ahead of them stood a massive wire mesh perimeter fence wrapped around part of the mountainside.
And behind it...
A facility.
The structure itself had been built directly into the mountain rock. Thick reinforced walls emerged seamlessly from the stone while industrial piping and ventilation systems protruded outward along the upper sections.
Large blast doors dominated the front entrance.
Security cameras rotated slowly overhead.
Floodlights, sensor arrays, concrete barriers.
The whole shebang.
It was hidden disturbingly well. From the main road, almost none of this would have been visible through the surrounding terrain.
"Found it," Shore said quietly.
Raye folded her arms slightly while studying the compound. According to Baldwin's information, there were two entrances he knew about.
The front blast doors and a side access entrance somewhere lower along the perimeter wall.
However, both heavily monitored.
Shore continued observing the structure silently afterward. His eyes lingered along the upper portions of the facility.
No windows, which immediately narrowed possibilities. A facility this size buried inside a mountain required extensive airflow systems. Ventilation would be mandatory.
But Shore deliberately chose not to say that yet.
Instead he watched Raye carefully to see if she would come to the same conclusion. She was good, but she didn't have formal training. It would do her some good to think outside of the box sometimes.
Raye studied the compound for another moment before speaking.
"You've got an EMP built into that gauntlet, right? You could probably disable the cameras and open the keypads remotely."
"I could," Shore admitted.
Seemingly sensing his tone, she asked, "But... that's not what we're doing? Why not?"
"Because that defeats the purpose of infiltration."
Raye blinked slightly and Shore continued calmly.
"Disabling systems directly would trigger internal alarms. Even if only briefly."
He pointed subtly toward the facility.
"We still don't know whether Merlot himself is even inside this location."
Which was true. For all they knew this could simply be one manufacturing branch among several.
"Subtlety matters," Shore finished.
Raye frowned thoughtfully afterward while analyzing the structure again. Shore watched her expression carefully before deciding to help slightly.
"Your infiltration instincts aren't bad," he admitted. "But you've mostly infiltrated civilian or semi civilian locations before, haven't you?"
She hesitated.
"…More or less."
"Eclipse warehouses, transport facilities and corporate branches still operate around human movement patterns. You slip past personnel using invisibility."
He gestured toward the heavily fortified compound ahead.
"This is different. There isn't an easy entrance."
Shore folded his arms.
"So if there isn't a safe way inside... what should we do?"
Raye stared toward the compound silently for several moments. Shore could practically see her thoughts working themselves into place.
Then her eyes widened slightly.
"…We make our own way in?"
Close enough. Though she still sounded uncertain about the answer. Shore supposed that was fair. He couldn't expect perfection from someone entirely self taught.
"Alright," he said. "How?"
Raye frowned again.
"We can't just blow our way in."
Good. At least she understood restraint.
"So there has to be another access point," she murmured thoughtfully. "Maybe sewer systems?"
"Possible," Shore admitted. "But searching for underground water access around an entire mountain would take forever."
Raye clicked her tongue softly. Shore decided to provide another hint.
"This facility is built inside a mountain," he said calmly. "And it has no windows."
Raye blinked.
"Windows? What does that have to do with anyth..."
Then suddenly realization crossed her face.
"…Air."
Shore remained silent.
"The vents," she said.
Shore nodded.
"Not bad."
Raye looked deeply satisfied with herself afterward.
Meanwhile Shore activated his gauntlet and extended a compact grappling mechanism from beneath the wrist plating. Thin reinforced cable began unspooling while he secured the launcher toward a nearby tree overlooking the upper perimeter wall.
His intention was simple. Establish a zipline toward the roofline and reach the ventilation system from above. This would avoid direct entry points entirely.
Raye watched him curiously.
"What are you doing?"
"Setting up a line toward the upper vents."
"That's unnecessary."
Shore paused mid motion before slowly glancing toward her.
"…Pardon?"
Raye crossed her arms lightly.
"Well... why are you doing that?"
Shore looked at her a little oddly. She couldn't be playing a fool now could she?
"There are cameras all over the area. Even if we reach the vents, we'll still get spotted crossing open space. Which is why I'm setting this up."
"I know, but we don't need all that."
Shore raised an eyebrow.
"You might be invisible, but I am unfortunately visible to the naked eye."
Raye stared at him strangely for a second.
"Who said I could only turn myself invisible?"
That... was not something he had anticipated. For the first time in a while, genuine surprise crossed his face openly.
Slowly, Shore retracted the grappling equipment back into his gauntlet.
Then he gestured politely toward the compound.
"Lead the way."
Raye smirked faintly afterward and stepped closer toward him. Then she reached out and grabbed his shoulder lightly.
The sensation came immediately afterward.
It felt strange, like cool liquid spreading across his skin without actually being wet. A thin invisible film expanded outward from Raye's body and wrapped itself around Shore completely.
Shore instinctively glanced downward. His body still looked entirely normal. Everything appeared unchanged.
Then he looked toward Raye and and realized something disturbing as well.
He could see her perfectly.
Which meant...
"We're invisible to everyone else, only we can see each other." Raye explained quietly.
Shore stared at her thoughtfully. That was an absurdly useful ability. Potentially terrifying too.
"There are limits, however," she added quickly. "I can't maintain this state for too long."
Then she reached down and grabbed his hand firmly.
Shore glanced downward briefly.
"Oh... don't let go. If you let go, the field breaks and you'll become visible again." Raye explained.
Shore nodded to show his understanding. Together the two of them approached the perimeter fence silently.
No cameras reacted or alarms triggered.
Completely invisible beneath Raye's strange camouflage field, they climbed over the fencing carefully before advancing toward the upper ventilation systems built along the mountainside wall.
Raye crouched beside the ventilation grate while Shore kept watch over the perimeter below.
The metal cover itself was bolted tightly into the wall. Thick industrial screws reinforced into the surrounding concrete.
Raye flexed her fingers then slowly pressed them around one of the bolts.
Crunch.
The metal compressed inward beneath her grip like softened clay.
Shore's eyes flicked briefly toward her hand.
Every now and then he still forgot exactly how physically dangerous she actually was.
Raye crushed the remaining bolts one after another with controlled precision before carefully pushing the vent grate inward.
She did it with minimal noise.
The two of them slipped inside immediately afterward. Fortunately, luck appeared to favor them.
The ventilation shaft was large enough to traverse without having to crawl flat against the floor. The interior resembled a maintenance tunnel more than a traditional air vent.
Wide enough to crouch comfortably and yet narrow enough to remain claustrophobic.
The instant they were fully inside, Raye released the invisibility field surrounding them. The strange liquid sensation vanished from Shore's skin immediately afterward.
The vent became quiet again besides the distant hum of industrial machinery reverberating faintly through the metal walls.
Shore moved first, slow and controlled.
Every few minutes they passed another grated opening overlooking various sections of the underground facility.
Storage rooms, maintenance corridors and some type of chemical processing areas. Shore mentally mapped everything as they moved. Then eventually he paused beside one of the lower vents.
"…Interesting."
Raye crouched beside him quietly. Shore gestured downward through the grate.
"Open it."
Raye peered through carefully first before loosening the vent cover silently. Shore meanwhile thoroughly checked the surrounding room through the narrow opening.
No visible cameras or personnel.
The two of them carefully lowered themselves into the room below. The moment Shore landed properly, his eyes narrowed.
It was a laboratory.
But not the kind that ordinary civilians imagined when hearing the word.
The room was dominated by cylindrical stasis pods stretching almost from floor to ceiling. Pale blue liquid filled each chamber while soft mechanical humming echoed throughout the area.
And inside every pod...
Human beings floated suspended within the fluid.
Thin breathing apparatuses covered their mouths while cables connected directly into their skin through embedded ports along the spine and arms.
Each chamber possessed its own diagnostic console attached along the base.
Heartbeat monitors, biological scans, genetic instability percentages.
Raye stared at the scene for several long seconds before finally cursing beneath her breath.
"…Shit."
Even Shore felt his stomach tighten slightly.
This was worse than what he thought he would find here, yet... also somewhat within expectations.
He turned slightly toward her.
"Was this what happened to you?"
Raye shook her head slowly.
"No."
Her eyes drifted across the tubes.
"My situation was different."
She pointed vaguely toward the far end of the laboratory.
"They kept me in an observation chamber. Multiple two way windows. Researchers constantly watching."
Shore imagined it briefly.
A frightened civilian trapped inside a glass cage while scientists observed her transformation like an animal experiment.
His expression darkened slightly beneath the mask. Raye meanwhile approached one of the nearby desks scattered with paperwork and data pads. She quickly began flipping through several documents left partially open.
Her eyes moved faster the longer she read. Then her expression hardened.
"These people were injected with V2."
Shore stepped closer while she handed him the files. He read silently and the deeper he went into the reports, the worse his mood became.
V1 Aetherion created unstable temporary Hybridization through induced adrenaline spikes. Subjects transformed violently but their bodies rapidly destroyed themselves in the process.
Essentially disposable weapons.
V2 however...
Was significantly worse, the transformation thresholds were lower but the aggression levels were stronger. The resulting Hybrids physically stronger as well.
And most importantly... the body no longer self destructed completely during transformation. Instead subjects experienced one of two outcomes. Instant irreversible degradation into permanent Hybrid states. Or gradual degradation over the course of roughly one month.
Shore frowned deeply.
That meant V2 dramatically increased long term viability. Which meant Merlot was improving the formula and if V2 already looked this horrifying...
Then what exactly did that imply about V3?
His eyes shifted briefly toward Raye.
She had survived V3.
Thrived under it, even. But according to her own words, the degeneration still existed. Just slower. Shore quietly closed the file.
That was a problem for later. One nightmare at a time.
Raye folded her arms tightly afterward.
"So?" she asked quietly. "You calling backup now so we can blow this place down?"
Shore glanced toward her carefully. Her emotions were clearly bleeding through now. Understandably so.
This place mirrored pieces of her own trauma almost perfectly.
But Shore still shook his head.
"Not yet."
Raye frowned immediately.
"Seriously?"
"This facility is incriminating," Shore admitted calmly. "But our objective isn't just shutting down one laboratory."
He gestured lightly around the room.
"Our goal is dismantling Aetherion entirely."
Raye looked visibly unhappy with that answer. Shore continued anyway.
"If Merlot isn't here, then raiding this place now only warns the rest of the organization."
That finally made her pause.
And reluctantly...
She nodded.
"…Fine."
The two of them exited the laboratory afterward. Once outside, Raye reapplied the invisibility field around them again before they continued deeper into the facility.
The further inward they traveled... the worse things became. Additional labs, containment chambers and even surgical rooms with observation wings.
They eventually discovered holding areas containing restrained pure grimm.
"Its them. The monsters which I told you about before." Raye muttered to him, pointing at a beowolf."
"Creatures of Grimm." Shore explained.
Raye turned to him.
He looked into her eyes and said, "The official designation for those monsters are called, Creatures of Grimm or Grimm for short."
"You know what they are?"
"Indeed. Much more than you realize. I'll explain later, but that sensory ability that you have which can sense people. It comes from them."
She nodded, watching as the creatures snarled at their general direction and tried to bite through the bars.
In any case, V1 Hybrids were also in the area. They had blackened veins, bone protrusions and distorted muscle structures.
Special liquid was keeping them alive in their pods even through their degradation process.
Further inside...
They found V3 subjects.
And those were somehow even more unsettling. Unlike the V1 subjects, the V3s appeared physically stable.
No visible degradation or collapsing flesh. But even while asleep inside containment pods, their bodies already displayed obvious Hybrid characteristics.
Darkened claw like nails and subtle bone growths beneath the skin. Eyes flickering unnaturally beneath closed eyelids.
One subject even had patches of black fur growing along the neck. Shore silently observed everything while memorizing layouts and containment structures.
Oddly enough...
They still hadn't encountered any people. Shore wasn't entirely sure what to make of that. Eventually they reached another isolated laboratory section almost entirely devoid of activity.
Only one room existed here. A massive observation chamber surrounded by reinforced glass. Inside sat a single man wearing pale gray subject fatigues.
Barefoot, thin, and disheveled. He sat quietly against the floor with his knees drawn upward. Raye glanced toward Shore slightly.
She looked ready to ask whether they should question him.
Then suddenly...
The man's head snapped directly toward them.
"…Who are you?"
Both Shore and Raye froze. The man's eyes narrowed strangely while scanning the empty air directly where they stood.
"Doctor?" he asked uncertainly.
A chill crawled faintly down Shore's spine.
"Is that you?"
The man slowly rose to his feet.
"Why can't I see you?"
Shore cursed internally immediately. If the man could detect them despite the invisibility field, then there was only one likely explanation.
He also had hybrid sensory enhancement, just like Raye and the grimm from earlier. Which probably meant this man was another V3 subject.
But... why was he in this observation area? Why was he different from all the other V3's they had seen so far?
Shore frowned for a moment and wondered if this man could have possibly been the V4 subject that Merlot was working on.
It was very possible.
Raye subtly shifted beside him, likely preparing to drop the camouflage instinctively.
Shore immediately shook his head once. Don't. Then he spoke aloud calmly.
"I'm not the doctor."
The man stiffened immediately and Shore continued.
"Who are you, and why are you here?"
The man's expression transformed almost instantly.
Hope, raw and desperate hope.
"Please," he said quickly while stepping closer toward the glass. "Please get me out of here."
"My name is Salinger. The doctor kidnapped me and... everyone here."
His breathing became uneven afterward. His eyes searched the empty air frantically.
"Why can't I see you?"
Shore ignored the question.
"Is the doctor here? Any other personnel nearby?"
Salinger opened his mouth to answer.
Then suddenly...
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Slow applause echoed from behind them. Both Shore and Raye turned instantly. An older man in a white research coat stood calmly near the entrance corridor.
His hair was completely unkempt. Wild strands of white sticking outward chaotically in every direction.
And one of his eyes... the sclera was pitch black and the iris blood red. Like something inhuman wearing human skin.
The man smiled pleasantly.
"What an unexpected treat," he said softly.