She followed the scythe to a table at the very edge of the courtyard. On the table, a dozen of ustensils lay on a sheet of white cloth. Scythe Darwin sat down in the only chair, and gestured to the materials.

"Concoct two dangerous toxin of your choice, and then their antidote. You will test it, so it must be effective. Otherwise, it would be a slight inconvenience to bring you to the revival center."

Her stress level increased suddenly, and sweat ran down her back. She looked at the various venomous herbs and flowers. She gulped down her nervosity as she noticed Scythe Darwin was watching her carefully. He suddenly did not look like the nervous, bustling man he was before. He suddenly looked much taller, much more intimidating than she remembered. She drew a sharp intake of air and began preparation for two dangerous poisons.

•••

Avery stood rigid in front of Victoria as she looked at him. He just stared back, his eyes cold and emotionless. Victoria threw him a random weapon. He caught it carefully in his hands. An ax.

"Use this ax on the dummy," she gestured to the stuffed dummy standing in front of her. ",and use the quickest and less painful method you can think of. Remember, no sloppiness tolerated." She moved aside, and gestured to the dummy again.

Avery took a deep breath to quench the rising nausea. He despised fighting on dummies. Each time he cut and sliced through them, he could not help but imagine that a real life person was there, instead of a mere dummy. He swung the ax and severed the head, neatly and cleanly. Victoria gave a small nod before tossing him a second weapon. He dropped the ax with a clatter to catch the blade. It was a tiny dagger this time. He closed his eyes as he thrust towards the chest, imagining the severed aorta, the red blood gushing out...He coughed and turned away to retch his lunch in a nearby bucket. Victoria came over, and rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. She waited until he finished, before extending him a tissue to wipe his mouth.

"This is a normal human reaction, Avery," she told him gently. "It shows that you have compassion for your victims. It shows that you are not a killing machine, a monster." She straightened. "That is all for today. I will wait for Amber now, in five minutes. Go have a break."

•••

Amber sagged sith relief as she drank the last drop of the antidote, the sharp pain slowly ebbing away. She gave a weak grin to Scythe Darwin, and tried to get up. The poison still lingered, so she still fell down, her weak legs giving out. She grunted, and struggled to get up. Scythe Darwin came over to help.

"I am very impressed, Miss Glane. The poisons you concocted...they are very strong. And their antidotes are complicated." He gave a small chuckle. "And you downed all the poisons and antidotes without a moment of hesitation! No wonder you are the daughter of Scythe Catherine. She is a poison expert, that is the least you could say." He dusted her undersuit. "We are done here. Call Mister Greyhall over in five minutes. He doesn't look too good."

Amber hobbled in the direction of Scythe Victoria, only to be met halfway by Avery. He did indeed look slightly pale and greenish. But at least he could walk straight. She tripped over a stone and would have fallen flat on her face if it weren't for Avery, catching her in his arms. She struggled away, but he held firmly.

"Let me go, I can walk," she protested.

"No you cannot," he corrected. "You look very pale, and you are still cold from whatever toxin you ingested."

"Well you don't look so good yourself," she looked at him grumpily.

"Fighting is not my thing." He winced.

"Fair enough." She gave a weak laugh before pushing him away again.

This time, he released her, but still kept a hand on her shoulder.

"I am not a weak damsel in distress you know," she hissed at him. "I can very much walk, thank you very much."

He gave a faint mocking smile.

"Oh I am sure, but I do not think you are a damsel in distress. Not in the least bit." He backed a few steps, just to give her space. "You are more like the knight in shining armor. You confuse me, Amber Glane. You render me perplexed with you attitude and demeanor."

"Oh? I cannot say that it is surprising. After all, I feel the same way about you. Who are you, and what are you? These are the questions I ask myself each time I see you."

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Amber squared her shoulders and peeked over his. Scythe Victoria was staring at them, motioning for Amber to follow.

"Looks like five minutes already passed. I'm afraid I have to leave you then."

She walked around him and headed towards Scythe Victoria.

Scythe Victoria gave her a small nod, her face expressionless. The dummy was already replaced with a new one, and just looking at it made her sick. Scythe Victoria chose a weapon and threw it at her. She caught it mid-air, curious. A hunting knife. She shuddered and went to the dummy. As she stabbed it in the heart, the tears started flowing endlessly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the dummy. It felt silly do to so, but it felt right.

Scythe Victoria made no comment before tossing another one. She caught it and froze. A gun. The same weapon her mother forbade because her father was killed with it months ago. The fire. Leaving him in cinders, nothing but ash flying away, carried by the wind. She stared and stared, at the small fire weapon in her hands. The tears blurred her vision and she started shaking. Some part of her knew that Scythe Victoria was retaliating for disrespect she had showed earlier.

"I-I can't, Scythe Victoria," she bit out. "I'm sorry but I cannot. I can't do this."

She dropped the gun with a clatter, her chest heaving, the tears still flowing endlessly. Fragments of memories drifted towards her: her father kissing her goodbye on the forehead that day, ready to go work; the news about his death that evening; the look of utter despair in her mother's eyes. Her heart twisted in a horrible way, and she fell to the ground in her knees, sobbing quietly. Scythe Victoria's face was calm, but slightly grim. She knelt beside and embraced her.

"Sometimes we need to face the past," Scythe Victoria told her softly. "Only then do we feel light and unburdened again. Only then, will we find the freedom awaiting us at the end."