The Memory

She takes the steps in twos, her bionic eyes scanning and gauging each of the traps, enabling her to avoid them. She could be a thief or assassin-one of His best-but she is a spy and a leader, serving a higher power than Him. She serves herself. And her people.

More hidden cameras, more tracers, more little "surprises" He placed inside the walls vanish with the sound of metal scraping against metal, a short rasp and hiss. Though she remains undetectable by the electronics, she takes all the necessary precautions. For her, returning to this place after even all this time, may be called madness, may be death.

But there is something she wants here, something she needs.

In her home.

The last time she walked these halls she was alone, unsure. Terrified. She feels all those things now. She remembers the smile on his face as He destroyed her parents, her sister, even her pets. The sight of her struggling cat being thrown to His pack of rabid Followers remains vivid, crystallized in her mind in full, grisly color. The stenches of blood, urine, and fire are etched into her memory. The smells of death, the scent of fear. She shakes her head as the chants threaten to fill her ears, when He'd taken her eye...

"Overseer! Overseer!"

The moment when he took her eye still has the power to distract her. The fact that the Overseer put it on a pedestal to gaze upon him, unblinking, as He sleeps sends shivers down her spine. The knowledge that He was so sadistic as to do such things on the mumblings (if that man were still capable of mumbling) of an insane prophet made him all the scarier to her. She hadn't been the first, she had not been the last, but she was determined that from here until her death, He would not Force another. Never again.

She reaches the guts of the structure, clawing her way through the multitudes of wires that have turned this place into an informational beehive. The only consolation left her, going through the wreckage that was her halls, her den, is that every thread of thin silver wire she severs, every stretch of glass tubing she slices, is another connection dead to him, impossible to reestablish.

That, and what she is promised to find.

Finally, she discovers it. The tiny black box, wrapped in gold ribbon, resting on her pillow.

Shaking hands unwrap the paper, an eye clouded with tears watches as the ebony cellophane falls, the other registering the exact square footage of the wrapping, box, and the assumed object inside it. Thin razor sharp claws shred the cardboard, a tiny metallic heart spilling into her hands.

Her fingers curl around it, holding it close to her breast. her red eye had already completely analyzed the golden valentine, the chip inside it, and the note that rests with it. These are committed to memory, sent via satellite to the base, where Serna was probably already checking its significance. So she has just enough time to break down and cry before the threat her eyes is registering now-the bomb set off by her entry-goes off.

"What in all Hells is taking her so long?" Herid asked, nervously rubbing the hilt of his long knife. Strands of blond hair fell into his eye, the highlighted streaks blending into his untanned skin. The large number of earrings that studded his left ear caught the eerie flash of neon lights that emanated from the house.

Cari blinked at him, and shrugged, raising the bow across her back slightly with the motion. "Damned if I know. Why she dragged us all the way here with her just to make us sit outside while she goes into that goddess forsaken fortress to get something she 'can't tell you about right now' is beyond my understanding. We mere mortals just have to wait."

She threw back her mane of sapphire hair, casting her pale blue eye about her. The cobalt gem glittered in her right eye socket, it's unflawed facets allowing her to see better at night, the light fragmented and refocused into a bright point. Full lips spread into an uncharacteristic smile, twisting around a newly rolled cigarette.

"I hate waiting. What in all the Four Hells is she doing?"

Cari sighed, shaking her head. Herid was pretty new, and so he hadn't learned to live with Lasir's little eccentricities. He hadn't yet learned how lucrative they turned out to be. He had not been told-at Lasir's request-that it was one of her whimsical three am strolls that saved him from the minions of the Control.

She lit her cigarette, giving it a few testing puffs. Nicotine wasn't what it used to be, and there was precious little of the stuff left. This batch of tobacco seemed more synthetic than pure, but it was real enough for her needs.

Herid looked forlornly at the building in front of him, his one good eyes focusing on the spot where his teacher should emerge. He tensed, the flaming hole where his Utachex had ravaged him flashing. It flared, almost painful to even her eyes, then went down to a dim glow. He lost his glazed look and turned to face her, his expression troubled.

"Something's wrong."

She rocketed up the stairs, ignoring the alarms and miniature explosions her footsteps set off. Each bomb only propelled her forward ever faster, her legs pumping furiously as soon as her feet found purchase. She chased her path back through the house, her eye ticking down the seconds she had left. She burst through the door, gasping for breath. The tiny bell sounded, signaling that her count was up. She turned in slow motion as the explosion flew towards her, the last of Serna's protection spells slicking into place.

Lasir had told her, "Cari, act like you're in charge, but follow his lead." She tried to remember those words as she turned towards Herid, a look of amazement on her face. Lasir had never told her what this boy's Utachex had upon him in return for his eye. He stared back at her, the flame in his eye pulsing.

"Something is really wrong, Cari."

She heard the rumble and swoosh of a bomb bursting, and saw the outline of Lasir silhouetted in the front doorway. A huge fireball engulfed the figure, then rushed out to the street.

"By the Gods!" Cari shrieked, beginning to run towards the unmoving body that was her friend. Herid grabbed her by the arm and whipped her around to face him.

"Don't go. We've got other things to worry about."

He pointed up towards the crest of the hill behind him, at the huge hulking structures that stood there, looking down upon them, their huge bodies beginning to crash down towards the concrete. The Crawlers.

The Crawlers were huge spider-like machines that had been developed by the Control in order to capture members of the Second Rebellion. They walked on eight legs, could bite with huge talon like fangs, and had the added bonus of long spiking barbs on each leg, making even the slightest brush with one a potentially deadly experience. Each of the spiders were controlled by a single person inside the mind of each one, people who'd been picked at birth to be a member of the Crawlers. They learned to "see" through the eyes of virtual reality, register the infra red shapes of variety of objects, and to hear through the mechanical whine produced by the whir of the monstrosity's engines and computer systems. They were deadly, elite, and nearly impossible to put down without the aid of a large hunting party. And there was a score of them.

Fortunately, they made a hell of a lot of noise when they walked.

"Holy-" Cari yelped as Herid pulled her back away from Lasir's body, positioning himself for battle. Cari wiped away a tear and strung up her bow, opened her quiver, and aimed.

She let the arrow fly.

The Battle of the Crawlers

Lasir screamed as the flesh was rended from her body. She fell silent as her form hit the concrete, knocking the air from her lungs. She felt the skin begin to move, stitching itself back together, and watched the blood dry on her skin, caking in her growing eyelashes. Serna's spells did keep you alive, but they had yet to spare anyone the pain of dying. Her read eyes activated, scanning the damage around her. She tried to rise, failed, and tried again. On the fourth attempt, she stood. Then, her ears started working again, and she grew very frightened.

Crawlers.

"Herid! You freaking idiot! Get back here! No, on second thought, kill that thing before you come any closer! Dammit, you're trying to get me killed!"

Cari knocked out the last eye of her opponent, then moved in to disable it, trying to keep her skin from getting ripped by the claws of the flailing metal contraption, all while keeping her eye on Lasir's newest student in the process. She had given up on dramatics, taking off the monstrosity's legs and fangs the her scythe instead of the way she'd been taught to take them off with her bare hands. She turned to see the little upstart tossing his knife at the another one, relying on its enchantments to "kill" the beastie. The mindset of youth and their surety that they were never going to die - it unnerved her. If Lasir was still alive to knock some sense into the boy after this, she'd have a veritable pummel party. As it was, Cari was determined to give him a beating he'd feel on rainy days.

Lasir crouched along the ground, grimacing as the pain racked her anew, her entire body being born against as she lurched. She slipped in a pool of her won blood and fell, cursing. She stood again, groaning, moving forwards as fast as she could. Her body was nearly healed by the time she reached the melee, though she feared it was over, her friends dead. But the machines still clanked and clattered, so her never-ending thirst for revenge would not go unsated. With a piercing war cry she leapt into the fray.

Cari fell back against the wall, clutching at the rip in her side. She smiled at the pain, determined to go on. Herid had lost his knife, and was now relying on his last resort, the hand cannon that Lasir had given him as a welcoming present. If the boy knew that Lasir had twelve others just like it, he'd tear the place apart trying to find them. He thought the one in his hand was the last in existence, and treated it like an extension of himself.

She picked up a rock and slung it across the street, tossing with all her might, screaming as the flesh in her side tore open again. She collapsed, grinning as another one went down. But there were still too many. Even if Herid wasn't a novice at Crawler battle. She closed her eyes and started to try and find and a god who still believed in her. Her concentration was broken as a loud yell sounded off to her right, and something thudded to a halt in front of her.

'Sir hit the pavement on al fours, the soles of her feet slapping against the concrete. On quick look told her that Cari was down, a glimpse to her left found Herid attempting to claw a Crawler's screen out with his hands. His feet and hands slid along the slippery surface of the metal, but he fought on with the ferocity of a lion.

She fixed on one of her 'trodes to the panel underneath a downed Crawler, wincing as she always did when making contact with these machines. They were cold, unfeeling death, but that was what she needed right now. She managed to take control of two more before she had to turn her attention back to the eleven attacking ones. She took sent two of the controlled ones out into the battle, one to help Cari, and set the remaining one behind her. She turned to face the three coming towards her, her muscles tensing.

Herid leaped off the back of the disabled Crawler and hit the ground rolling. She stopped and looked up to see if there was anything else to fight - Crawlers went down, but it was rare that they went out with one punch. He looked on with wonder at the three Crawlers still standing. The seemed to have befriended Lasir, and one was attempting to help Cari to her feet. He looked through the wreckage for his knife, finding it lodged in the leg of a Crawler. He ran a finger along the edge of a barb, wincing as it sliced through his finger. He grinned, thinking of what a really neat weapon this would make.

He saw Lasir turn and hold up a hand to her ruby eye, her other eye closed. She twisted her fingers slightly and let out a little whimper. She pulled her hand away, and with it, her eye. A hole gaped where her eye had been, which quickly spiraled closed to a pinpoint. If it wasn't for all the metal on her face, he'd almost believe she was totally healed - like a little girl who hadn't experienced the Utachex yet. He watched as she held up the ruby so it could catch the light, neon glinting off its surfaces.

She let the light catch, then extended herself through it to make the ruby come to life. Three thin cords sprouted from its base, wrapping themselves around her wrist. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, she could see through it again.

Everything was just a little off base, but it was just enough to make her have to readjust her perspective. She set it down on the ground, feeling the hooks on each barbed wire cord sink into the pavement. It scuttled along the ground, racing in between the alleys and hulks of burnt out cars. She stood shock still for a few seconds, then sat down on the rocks. It was difficult to stay up when your half your world was rocketing past you at 50 miles per hour.

She was vaguely reminded one her trips with Herid, who could fly at speeds that would put most jets to shame. If there were anymore jets. She felt for the energy trail of the machines, even though she'd already gotten the newest base coordinates from the Crawler she'd taken over. She didn't trust them, though, since the Crawlers only knew as much as their original controllers, and the people had been conditioned for years. She was not a telepath. At least, not one of humans.

She found it exactly where she expected it to be, two miles to the left of where it was supposed to be. She let the jewel follow it to make sure it was genuine, then recalled her eye as it began to slip out of her range. If it got more than fifty feet from the nearest satellite cover, she might lose it forever, and it was far too precious to try to replace. She'd implanted the electronics herself, after hours of praying and hoping and sweat.

It leapt from the concrete into her hands and whipped its tentacles around her arm and pulled itself up to her neck. Climbing to her face, it slipped all three of the metal lashes into the quickly widening hole that opened up for it. It drove the them into the tunnels in her brain that had formed at her Utachex. She felt the rush of omnipotence flow back into her, filling her every cell with information. It seemed at someone was trying to break into the computer at the base. how annoying. She sighed and waved at Cari to go home.

Cari stood and looked at the still bodies of the Crawlers, unable to shake the feeling that this was all too easy.

The Lesson

They arrived nearly an hour later, riding through the gates. Cari sighed and handed over the handlebars of her vintage '96 Harley, and the young boy walking it to the garage revved the engine once. She snarled at him almost louder than the roar of the engine, and he ducked his head as he jumped away from the bike. Lasir smiled at the scene, and moved up the stairs.

Cari switched her Utachex eye to green and looked around the night. Three shapes moved through the darkness, and their scents came to her on the wind. Serna, Maithu, and Atha walked towards her as she shrugged off the Saddlebags, finally handing them to the young Atha so the girl could teleport them to Cari's private quarters.

She trusted almost no one to go in there, especially with all the booby traps.

Serna checked over the both of them, paralyzing Herid when he began to act too squeamish. He became his normal cheerful self, the energy that crackled from his Utachex, flaring randomly. He ran off from Serna as soon as she let him go, carrying the detached leg of the Crawler, along with his plans for it, to the Smithy.

Lasir walked to her room, where she could be alone. She opened the door with her mind, imprinting the proper codes upon it without touching the keys. She slipped in, immobilizing the security as she did so. Stepping carefully across the carpet, she flipped the switch that lit up the wall of televisions to her right.

A dozen scenes played themselves out, people eating in the mess hall, two lovers in the garden, a boy walking Cari's motorcycle to garage. She felt the lock slide home, one of the functions of her programs working in perfect accord with the others. She looked on as Joshi, one of Brett's techno-smithy apprentices looked on in rapturous wonder while Brett pounded on the steel alloys of the Crawler's leg, making it into a perfect black knife. She let her mind and eyes wander, until they fell on a scene in the Training Room.

Herid was trying his skill on a pair of robots, of the higher levels at that. He moved in and out of them as if in a dance, his knife clashing against their swords in a pounding rhythm, following his steps perfectly. He would direct his shields to not only black but to redirect, hitting them with their own fire.

Just as she had taught him.. She smiles. He was lost in the fury of battle. He leapt and landed like a cat does, on all fours, soft and lithe. He turned to face another pair of metallic swords, his Utachex blazing. The two robots went up in a shower of metal and glass shards, traces of energy still running across the pieces. He nodded in satisfaction to himself, and she felt the confidence running through the many electrodes of his brain. She could sense the power that he controlled poised to burst loose as it rested in the synapses.

She snorted. He didn't know what he was to face out in the real world of assassins and runs in the dark. He counted on the sheer power of his Utachex to overwhelm any opposition, sure in the false knowledge that power was everything, that he didn't have to use his mind while his brawn was so big. She would have to fix that. She checked her clock, one of the few left from the Age of Peace, and grinned. Now was as good a time as any.

Herid wiped the sweat off his face and shook his head to clear it. He pulled off his shirt and started cleaning the rest of the sheen off, tossing the soggy cloth towards the hamper by the door. It was shredded into a thousand different pieces in mid-air. Lasir smiled at him, her swords at her sides, as if they hadn't moved to fast for him to follow just a moment ago. She resheathed them, the scabbards becoming a kwon nearly a foot taller than she was, the whole of it as thick as her fist. She placed it against the wall, then cracked her knuckles. She tied back her hair with a leather band, and took off the gloves that encased her fingers, the metal fingertips clinking as they hit the floor. She held her hand up to let the long metal claws that graced each finger catch the light. They were all razor sharp, all deadly. She never used them unless she was really going to hurt someone. And she was shutting the door behind her.

"What's wrong?" She asked, smiling as she adjusted the hem of her chainmail, leaving her kwon where it lay.

He gulped, and took two steps back, dropping into his first fighting stance. She laughed.

"Are you challenging me? Here I came to help you beat up robots, and you want to fight me? I am honored. I accept your duel."

She bowed formally, and slinked farther into the room. The jewel in her eye rotated once and the lights dimmed to near blackness. He cold only see a vague shape of her outline, though something inside him told him the image was false. Another twist and the floor began to move underneath him, twisting and turning. He stood twenty feet above her one moment, the sixty below the next. A wall pushed him off the piece of metal he'd been standing on, and he fell two feet onto another block before it plunged eighty more. It roiled and bucked.

The entire room seemed changed, all on different levels, canyons and mountains formed by tiny metal squares. Lasir stood on an upper level, laying down, looking upon him with a gaze unique to her Utachex - that of a cold unfeeling machine.

"Are you ready to become a Warrior? I am ready for you."

She rolled through the light and disappeared. He scanned the entire room with his eyes, but couldn't find her. He began to use his Utachex to scan, but heard only a high pitched whine inside his head and what sounded like a buzz. Laughter rang from his left, then all around him.

"Trying to use your powers, m'boy? It won't work. Perhaps you didn't pay attention to your tutors when they explained what Utachexes were. Do you know?"

He gulped and shook his head. She seemed to be everywhere now.

"And what is it that drives machines? Crawlers, locks, your shower, the thing that washes and dries and folds your clothes when you toss them away, do you remember what that is?"

He closed his eyes, and grimaced as his voice cracked on the syllable

"No."

When he opened his eyes, ten claws suddenly appeared in front of him, the pressure of Lair's body on his back, the tips of the metal slicing through his skin, just under the first layer. He nearly screamed, but a hand on his lips stopped him, cutting his upper lip.

"Electricity," She hissed in his ear. "It's in all of them. And I control it. I am master of it. Do you know where else Electricity is?"

He whimpered.

"It's in your mind too. What you've experienced is a synapse failure. It cuts you off from your Utachex. And there is nothing you can do about it. Even shielding yourself couldn't save you, for though it might work against a telepath, it would not work against one such as me. My power is over your control, and right now, you have none. I could make you tear yourself apart," she said softy, removing her claws from his face. Tiny rivulets of blood coursed down his face from five thin slits where she'd touched him. The lights came back on, and he saw the entire floor shift back to it's regular level surface. She picked up her kwon and then turned to leave.

"Just remember that I am not the only one able to defeat you. You cannot rely on you Talent alone. You are a Hayden Ghavami, Herid. Perhaps it is time you learned to be a Marohl. Cari, Serna, and myself are going on a Run tonight. I think it beneficial to you if you came along. Your job shall be simple...explained to you along the way."

She tossed a note at him, two sets of coordinates on it. "Meet me at the second set, after you pick up a change of clothes at the first ones."

"Why do I need new clothes?" he asked, touching his face where the blood was still slick.

She laughed a little as she left the room, throwing her response over her shoulder. "For one thing, dear boy, you need a new shirt."

He stood, gaping, watching her go. He had been her personal student for over a year now. Neither Cari nor the witch Serna had taken one, they were too busy. He had battled a few people, mostly members of the Control, but his action was limited to mainly the Training robots and Crawlers. Wondering what it all meant, he began the long trek back to his room.

The Run

The Gathering

Lasir slinked through the ducts, wishing that she could stop the feeling that there was something that she was forgetting. She had hoped to avoid doing this at all, had hoped that the many battles against the Control would've drawn Talin out into the open. But luck, it seemed, was not on her side. She'd delayed too long as it was.

She went through a list of all the people she'd be killing if she failed tonight, a slow litany in her mind. It was the only thing now that kept her moving, the fact that so many depended upon her and her friends. Her thirst for vengeance had been sated long ago, after she'd killed many of his Followers, when she'd ordered those who began to follow her into battle to kill many more. It was when she realized that she'd become a hero to millions, a single being upon whom the hope of men and women and children was cast upon like chips on the whim of the dice. It was then that it ceased being a matter of revenge and became an obsession of cleansing.

She realized with a start that her fingernails, encased in their special gloves, had sliced through the metal and were biting into her palm. She let out a hiss as she pulled them back, and sighed heavily. Looking around her, she placed where she was, only a few feet from the coordinate points. She walked forward, and touched the keypad there, opening a door that led to a room unused for more than 20 years. This was, of course, the only way in. For most, anyway.

She took a seat, near the front of the room, on a pile of pillows covered in satin. She'd given the signal to Herid, notified Serna, and sent a message to Cari, however unreliable the messenger. She rubbed her temples, hoping that Herid was the right choice, and that he was ready. She'd wanted Y'Praff, but his recent trip to Nolinas had left him weak. Herid's Utachex was strong - stronger than anyone she'd met - but it was untutored. Y'Praff was a Deitz Raiche, and Herid wasn't even yet a Marohl.

She felt him before he came within sixty feet of her. It was something he couldn't block, though through artificial means she would be keeping the Control from knowing he was anywhere near their headquarters. She just hoped that seeing that place again wouldn't trigger something inside him. He stepped lightly enough, though, that she might not have known he was there save for the sheer power of his Talent. If he could learn to control his breathing a little better, he might become a greater warrior than even Cari, in time. Very useful. She sagged against the pillows.

Is this what I have been reduced to? Measuring someone's usefulness? It used to be enough that they wanted to side with us. Now it's what they can do...Is it me? Or is this what He has wrought?

She shook her head to clear it. Now was not the time to be doubting herself. Cari should've been on her way by now - if her message had been received. Herid, it seemed, was to be the first to arrive. He wore a black turtleneck that seemed almost silken, until the light shone upon it, making it apparent that it was molded metal, joined at the seams with leather. His pants were woven silver, chainmail links so tiny they seemed to not be links at all. Brett had really outdone himself. His long hair had been tied back with a black piece of cording, falling nearly to his back. A pair of magirisaki hung from a loop at his hip, his knife now replaced with the Crawler's former leg. The barbs looked no less wicked against his limb.

He put on the eyepatch she gave him, then looked around. It covered up his flaring Utachex, rendering him nearly invisible on sight, and stopping the waves of energy that unconsciously flowed from him. He grinned at Lasir, expecting her to begin moving at any time. She certainly seemed jumpy enough. He tried looking around through her mind to find out more of what was to happen tonight, but met up with static, and he gave up.

He took in the sight of her, the long chainmail gloves and body stocking, covering even her feet in metal. Rings flowed from her left leg all the way up to her left arm, the same silver linked stuff that made up his pants wrapped around her body, threaded through the rings, making it seem to float on her.

"So where's Cari and Serna? I'd have thought they'd be here by now," he said, fingering the laces on his boots.

She noticed his fidgeting and shook her head. "From a friend, youngling. 'The way of the resting warrior is to keep his patience. Otherwise, the battle may find him unready,' my husband once said."

"I didn't know you were married. What happened to him?"

"He was killed," a voice said from the shadows, "While he was meditating. It was blamed on poor security."

Cari stepped out from the ducts and into the light. Her now emerald green hair flowed down to her ankles, and despite the lack of light, her Utachex shone with a green light. She was a striking woman, with a long straight nose and piercing eyes. Her entire posture was that of a wary animal, waiting to strike. Her suit was made of only a spattering of mail, with the oddly silk-like metal fabric fashioned into a short high cut dress. The sleeves tapered down to points over her hands. The deadly blade of her scythe caught the meager light occasionally, glinting.

She let it sit against the curved edge of the tunnel, then squatted down to rest on her heels.

"Is she coming too?" Cari asked, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She had a look that was far more deadly than anything he'd seen on Lasir's face, as if she'd been pulled away from something very important for something she'd rather not be doing. He wondered, fleetingly, what it was.

"Yes. Serna should be arriving shortly."

"What If I'm already here, Cari?" Serna queried, her head floating, disembodied, in the deepest shadows in a far corner of the room. Funny, he didn't think she had a spell like that. She stepped out to stand next to Lasir, her hazel eye glinting with mischief. Her Utachex was a huge and complex spiderweb that covered almost half her face, much the way Lasir's face was half gone by her Talent. He'd often sat watching her when she wasn't looking, trying to see if the spider that'd created it ever came out, though he still hadn't seen it. She wore an odd combination of the same materials everyone else did, but instead of the usual weapons she carried, she held a weighted chain with a long blade at the other end of it. He couldn't remember the name. She seemed even jumpier than Lasir.

"You're late," Lasir said, her irritation plain. Serna nodded.

"The time of the red moon is upon us, but I'm not sure that's the cause. My spells have been malfunctioning for almost a month. Only the preset ones and those I have known for many years seem to be working. Others have simply failed or done the opposite of what I intend."

"There's nothing for it now, Serna. We'll simply go on ahead as planned, and hope that they do not fail us," Cari said gravely.

"Tonight is the night to strike lest He take us unawares. My sources tell me that he has been gathering a large army and they need only his word to advance upon us. We must move now, or everything we've worked for shall be for nothing," Lasir mumbled, a sad look in her eyes. Cari let out a low growl and stiffened.

They stood, and one by one, stepped from the room into the guts of the building, finally stepping into the dark of the night. He felt his stomach turn, and tried to prepare himself.

Assault

They reached the Headquarters nearly an hour later, Serna's teleportation spell had backfired and set them nearly 25 miles off course. Cari was quick to point out that it had at least gotten them this far, less someone actually wanted to walk the close to 200 miles it would normally require. Lasir had only grumbled. Herid looked on, beginning to get an uneasy feeling, his eye shifting back and forth between Serna and Cari. They'd taken stims, and Serna already looked wiped, but the other woman was more on edge than ever.

"How much more?" Serna asked, her voice cracking slightly. It was shrill and grating, and she always spoke too loud. Herid hated her voice. She'd been casting spell after spell since they'd landed, some to keep them undetected, some to reverse any damage she'd accidentally done with them.

"As much as it takes," Lasir said quietly, her knees drawn up to her chest, her eye distant, her gloved fingers clacking. She sighed and looked out over the horizon where the tip of the citadel broke the surface of the sky. "And thensome."

The Crawler they road slattered on in mute acceptance, if the whirring and grinding and thudding sounds a Crawler made could have been mute. A light high atop the spire shone out over the ground, bathing it in light, but it was not a welcome sight to any who approached it. It was a twisted monument of spiraling steal and glass, covered with grime and dust and dirt that only years of neglect could bring. Cari switched her Utachex to purple and nodded, the actual beauty of the building shining through in its architectural glory. Lasir had designed it, Talin had stolen it from her the day he also stole her eye. He'd Forced her Utachex, destroying half the girl's face and causing the cybernetics that might have otherwise never surfaced to take over in a matter of seconds, almost slaughtering the girl. It was meant to be impenetrable, but nothing ever is, and the monstrosity was no exception.

"Are you ready?" Lasir asked, turning to Cari. The elder woman nodded, licking her lips. She sheathed her scythe and slipped it across her back, and crouched. Lasir slid in beside her, her fingertips digging into the ground, and nodded. Her ruby dropped from her eye to land softly on its hooks, and it flung its coils around Cari's wrist, wrapping around, the light inside it dimming and then disappearing all together.

"On three. One...Two...Go!"

They sprang into action, Lasir moving left, Cari to the right. Herid watched until they were out of sight, and then, with one last looks at Serna's drawn up body, he ran into the open doors of the fortress.

All is in Readiness

Cari rushed down the hall, her purple hair flying behind her. Thoughts grazed along the surface of her mind, though they were interrupted by Lasir's droning voice. She was giving quick instructions to both Cari and Herid, flashing up semi-transparent building plans as they navigated the corridors. The chainmail on her feet landed with even chinking sounds against the metal floors, out of synchronization only when she dodged a trap or a guard that stood along the route she was taking. But Lasir said that this route was the safest for her ( take the guard at the corner, duck and roll to get the sentry bot, turn left )to run, since though it had more wire trips and drop panels and bomb triggers than the others, there were fewer guards and robots. Cari's night vision Utachex was useless in the spotty half light, the dark places would show, but the other pierced her eyes, making her wince. So for right now, she steppe through the dark, searching for a movement. Lasir's ruby wrapped tighter around her wrist, and she was thankful ( go up the stairs, latch onto the wall, wait for the laser ) for the coils, because it kept her hands free. She did carry a two handed scythe, after all.

She jumped over the bar that lay under her feet, and crouched as the taser bolts that accompanied her stepping here raced out over her head. She thanked the gods that there was only one more hallway left before she could simply ( camera guided shots here, code 3-2-31-19 to turn them off. Open second yellow door ) open the door and put Lasir's ruby inside the main control room. Lasir was nowhere near as fast as she was, and it made Cari smile that Lasir would actually admit that and let her do this. The woman could be so bull headed sometimes ( jump to the left, forward two steps, off with his head and then to the right, wait for three seconds, duck the taser ), like when she'd gone into that house to get the security layout of this place from the informant she had on the inside.

She headed down the last corridor, racing past the blue dots, careful to only step on the red ones. The directions said that she had three seconds to step on each blue spot before they activated, but she wasn't going to take her chances, even if it meant leaping instead of merely running. The red dots were up to eight feet apart, and never less than five. Finally, she reached the door. If Lasir was within range, she would be able to turn off the security without anyone knowing it. Cari slowly opened the door and slipped the ruby inside. She heard it scurry off, and took the time to breathe again. She took up her scythe and waited for anyone to come along.

Herid put his hands to his head, trying to concentrate. The last guard had nearly killed him, the way he'd tried to rip off his skin like that. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand up all over again just thinking about it. Some of the powers in this place were a match for his own, and some of their minds were as blank as Lasir's. Only it wasn't anything they were actually doing, it was as if something had drained them of everything but their orders and their Control. He shuddered.

Lasir's Utachex sliced through his head, making the detailed map of the fifth floor appear in front of his eyes, twisting and magnifying to show his location and where he needed to be, the places where he'd fight again. He took the first in a series of turns, lashing out with his mind at everything he saw. He'd never actually witnessed someone dying before today. Dead, yes, but that was different. This was the thrashing, gasping, eyes glazing over stuff of legend, and it made him sick. He wondered how some people could kill for a living, and still be able to look at themselves in the morning and not throw up.

He picked up the pace, blasting through the third wall in his way. By now, the ruby had made it's way through the ventilation system up to the fourth floor, and he had to be at the designated point on this floor when it finally made it's way here. Lasir had been cursing this floor the entire way here, it was an obstruction that went all the way around the building, no breaks. The tubes and shafts that decorated the rest of the Spire stopped here, then continued on after the hallway. He skidded to a halt a few inches from where the two vents faced each other, and barely had time to duck around a corner as a guard rounded it. He made short work of him, the guard's Talent had been Air Weaving, useless when you're surprised. He tipped his head back and let his mind wander. He retraced the correct path in his mind, then cast out his empathic "feelers." He met nothing. Not even the buzz of a passing fly. Which meant that, for once, there was no one there. He ducked back between the vents, and stood there in the open as the lights went out, counting on his Utachex to keep him safe.

The Spire

Battles

Cari glanced up from her position facing the hallway to the sound of frantic movement above her. It appeared that their breach of the building's defenses had not gone unnoticed for long. Serna was supposed to be taking care of that, but the way her Utachex was acting up there was not telling what might be happening out there. Cari sighed and let her shoulders slump. She felt incredibly useless just standing here, in front of an abandoned security post waiting for that damn ruby to do what it needed. She wanted to end Talin's reign as much as anyone, but not if it meant her just standing here like some sheep ready for slaughter.

A sound to her left made her entire body tense, her legs bracing themselves for a forward leap. The figure rounded the corner, a green flare coming from the right side of his face. It looked straight towards her, and she felt the tingling sensation of pins and needles all over her body. A very distinctive Utachex, possessed by only one man. Jasin.

Short curly blond hair hung in front of his face, covering the blue ice chip that was his left eyes. The striped tattoo that raced from his brow to his chin stretched as he smiled, his lips revealing a set of perfect white teeth - at least on the side that wasn't blazing fire. He popped his knuckles, moving towards her with a careful gait that implied a predator stalking his prey. He bowed at twenty paces. The majority of the right side of his body was dark emerald flame, though it seemed almost to contain his former shape.

"Cari, you are surely the most beautiful bitch in this building. Not even my prized bloodhounds come close," he said smoothly, the lace at his wrist and throat swaying with a wafting gesture. She bristled.

"Are you prepared to die, Jasin? That's the only reason I can think of for you to come and insult me. Perhaps you think you might win?" She snarled, gripping the handles of her scythe. He merely laughed.

He grinned broadly at her, the green fire in his eyes flaring so bright she had to nearly close her lids. Abruptly, she felt tingly all over, her legs wanting to let her fall, fall into his arms, fall into the strong arms of the man she loved, he was so close, so warm, so...NO! her mind screamed at her, her voice echoing her thoughts. She brought the scythe around blindly, her mind still in a pleasure filled fog, and Jasin screamed like a child. The feeling of helplessness stopped, and she looked up to see him clutching his cheek, where the blade had slashed into him. She hurriedly stood up, praying that the damn ruby was finished by now.

Lasir ducked down the third passageway, jumped over the meter high tracing laser, and grabbed the bar above the pit that opened up beneath her feet. Two precious seconds where wasted as she took a second swing around the bar to pick up momentum, and she cursed. She came down hard, and her feet slid out from under her, leaving her clawing desperately at the floor, digging grooves into the tile with the metal tipped fingernails. They'd been implanted shortly after He'd destroyed her face. The memory threatened to overwhelm her, and she gritted her teeth and slashed in harder, finally finding purchase. She hauled herself up, away from the snapping jaws of disappointed alligators, and panted. She felt the ruby stir. Almost there. She stopped at a door, sneered, and brought out one of her swords. Two slashes and the door gave way, peeling away as if it were afraid of her. She leapt over a series of checkerboard tiles, hissing as sweat began to fall into her eye and blur her vision. A sudden jolt in her mind and a feeling of wholeness told her that her gem was near, and she need only open up the access hatch and grab it for the information that would help her complete the major part of the mission. Well, it was minor in the scheme of things, but important nonetheless. All she needed now was for Herid to catch the ruby and send it along to her.

"You damn bitch! You stupid bitch! You cut me! I'm bleeding!" Jasin ranted, blood spilling down his neck into the soft frills of his white shirt, staining it a bright red.

She drew in a shuddering breath, grinning at him. "I'll do your wash, Jasin. Hell, I'll lick it clean," she laughed, readying her scythe for another swipe, judging the distance between them. She took up a stance, ready to spring, and as he bobbed his head down again, still yelling, she leapt, her scythe brought up above her head, ready to strike, the point aimed at his head. She was nearly upon him, and his eyes widened, his hand going up before him, the fingers splayed. He whirled around at her, pointing his fingers, and he moaned.

She thought it the last gesture of a doomed man, like so many she'd seen before, that last move of supplication before death. Then the blade ripped into her abdomen. She looked at the long cord that ran from Jasin's forearm to her stomach as she collapsed to the floor in front of him, knocked back by the force of the blow and the countered drive she'd built up. The scythe fell beside her with a clatter, and she gasped in air in huge gulped. It suddenly felt as if she couldn't breathe.

He retracted the metal cable quickly, readying for another strike, yanking the lancet from her body, and she growled low in her throat, nearly gurgling. He laughed, and she shivered, becoming cold as she watched her blood spilling out over the floor in a pool around her. She had gotten sloppy.

"Death is so near, Cari! Can't you feel it? It pulses through my veins, waiting for you! Are you ready Cari? It's all for you!" He screamed, and she bit back a sob. She did not face anyone sane. This man was entirely mad.

She pulled herself up and took her stance again, bringing the scythe at an angle, and looked at him with cool eyes, her legs becoming warm as her blood slid down them, making the links of metal cling to her, pinching. He watched her ascent, smiling. "Do you know where Lasir is, Cari?" He asked, his face becoming a mask of sympathy and mocking concern. "Do you know? She's dying, bitch. I wonder if she wears that pretty gold heart I gave her...Do you know? It was such a nice present. I hope that she doesn't get the directions wrong and end up in Garlen's rooms instead. Talin would be sooo disappointed."

"You bastard," she gasped out, "I'll kill you."

He threw the blade out again, lightning fast, and she followed the movement, trapping the edge in a nick of her scythe, whipping it around until she severed the cord in two, and launched herself at him, bringing the scythe up once again to bear, her arched back opening to wound in her belly wide, the blood coursing down her body as she screamed, the life that was contained in her body splattered against the walls. She crooked her arms, bringing the sickle at an angle and delivering a swift slice that ended the slight fuzziness in her head and ruined Jasin's shirt even further. As his head rolled past her feet, she bent down, clutching her side, the hooked edge in her arms slamming against the floor with a clanking sound like a death bell tolling. Jasin's shirt made for a good bandage, holding in her blood as well as anything else, though the slightly rough texture of the lace caused her mild discomfort on top of the intense pain every time she moved.

"I was not meant to die here," she said to no one but herself, hissing as she limped off to the coordinates Lasir was to follow. "And neither was she."

Serna opened her big book of spells and flipped through the pages. So far, she'd all but told Talin exactly where to find Lasir, and she wasn't getting better. She knew it was just a matter of time before she collapsed, and then the few alarms that hadn't already gone off would. She had noticed Cari's wound, and had tried to fix it, but whatever was tampering with her Talents had twisted it so much that she'd managed to nearly mangle her own guts. She sat down and cast a spell of invisibility over herself, the first thing she'd ever learned, and whimpered as a huge neon light pointed directly at her, and Talin's troops began to descend.

Something Wicked...

When Herid heard the scuttling sound, his first thought was of rats. As a Crawler Potentate, he'd been kept in the darker rooms of the Spire, far down below, where the sun did not shine, and where Talin's authority did not reign supreme. It was preferable that those who operated the Crawlers were fearful of everything coming from the outside, so various things were imported. The Spire was a pristine place, so Herid knew that the rats had come from Far Away.

Far Away. A place that once struck terror into his heart, until Lasir and Cari rescued him - of all of his fellow Potentates, only he and one other had chosen to live with the Rebellion rather than die. He'd been 12 then.

But the rats had been imported, and he had hated them. Hated the sounds of their nails clicking against the walls, the floor, the ceiling. He'd only been able to eat after they had finished with his food, had never been able to slap them away as they crawled over him when he slept. The cuffs on his wrists and legs after that first time had seen to it.

The tiny sound of little toes clacking against the walls of the ventilation system caused Herid equal parts distress and anger. So when the thing came tumbling out from behind the thin screen, Herid lashed out with every fiber of his being. And when the ruby clattered to a stop at his feet, the thin wires in disarray, the fragile gem cracked like an eggshell, the pieces still landing with the timbre of silver bells at Christmas. He sobbed, his heart breaking like the little jewel. Lasir had been the closest thing to a mother he'd ever had - and he had destroyed everything she'd hoped for. He picked up the pieces, and set his lips in a grim line, and began walking towards Talin's apartments, like he'd done so many years ago.

Lasir stood, dumbfounded, as the knowledge hit her. Her ruby was dead. Entirely, inconceivably dead. It had transmitted the information just before the electricity that was its blood went out. The alarms were blazing, so they weren't of much help anyway - Serna was dead by now, and though Cari must've been alive to send the ruby on it's way, Herid had not been. Which meant her son was dead. She spent a total of 12 seconds mourning him, there would be more later, but 12 seconds was all she could spare. Serna would take a little longer, but she would come after Herid. She steeled herself, and moved on. Without her ruby, she was nothing more than a cyborg, able to interface with a computer next to her to be sure, but little more than that. And Talin still had a lifetime of grief to pay for.

Serna awoke slowly, her entire body feeling as if it were torn in different directions. It was too dark for her to make out much, but she could see the door of the room she was in and a few sparse light fixtures, the bulbs removed. She sniffed as a hair slid across her face to tickle her nose, and reached to move it. With a moment of cold panic, she realized the reason why her muscles ached so much, why her feet were not touching the ground. She was stretched over a huge metallic board, her wrists and ankles bound by iron. She screamed, struggling vainly, then sagged as her labors proved useless.

A thin laugh rang out through the room, and she turned her head towards the sound. In the doorway, backlit by a single wavering candle, stood a tall man, his hands woven together in front of his chest, his walk deliberate, slow, predatory. His left eye was a brown hue much like the fur of a doe, a ring of yellow outlining the pupil. His nose was hawkish and straight, pointing like an arrow down to his thin lips. A ragged scar ran from his hairline to his chin, breaking up only at his Utachex, a black hole inside the lid, no light, no shadow, the effect making his entire face looks desolate. Short blond hair crowned his head, nearly white, his immaculate goatee was more bronze. His shoulders were wide, making his chest taper down to his waist, his long legs giving him a greater illusion of height. He was disarmingly dressed, as usual, Talin felt no need for dramatics. Black turtleneck, dark blue jeans, socks but no shoes. The index fingernails of both hands were painted black, and he smiled at her as he brought them to his lips, blowing her a kiss.

"Good evening, Serna. Nice to see you among the living again. We were beginning to worry about you for a while - after you cast that spell that splashed your intestines over the ground. Are they backfiring on you again?" He chuckled, running a finger along her jaw line. "Perhaps you're just washed up, hmm? Too old to keep this up. We are getting along in years, after all."

She shivered at his touch, clenching her teeth to keep from screaming. She was desperate to scramble away from him, though she knew that would only please him. He shrugged, and set his hand over the patch of spiderweb on her face, and licked his lips.

"I find something every time I do this, love," he said softly, leaning close to her, his breath next to her skin. She sobbed. "I find that when I Push someone, they get stronger. It doesn't matter how far along they are, you see, how old. It's the Utachex that controls us. Utterly. How arrogant we are, Serna! To think that we'd be able to control it, to control the Powers within us! Forever. Compared the she span of human existence, our time spent nursing at the Utachexes teat has been but moments. You recall Lasir's Change, correct? She's only an example. I was not done with her yet, though. She's so much farther to go. Much like yourself."

She cringed. The thought of going through the Utachex again would be enough to make anyone quail, but her especially. Most people knew the feeling of your skin stretching and breaking, the eye falling out and your skull widening or shrinking, even chunks of it coming loose, but few knew the feeling of something crawling inside, and watching as a tiny spider made its web across your face. She'd caught the spider a few years ago, and kept it in a jar, unable to bear the incessant feel of its legs tapping against her skull. The spider didn't eat, never slept, and as far as she could tell, had an endless supply of silk. It had made another web in that jar, and she had noticed it was starting to resemble the shape of her face in the past few days.

She felt the heat start at her eye, then spread along the rest of her flesh, itching. At first she thought about the tiny spider in the jar and wondered if it were possible to force a Utachex when the key element to it was missing. Then she felt the dance of a thousand little legs running over her body and knew that it made no difference.

Lasir gasped for the air that seemed to get thinner every time she took a breath. She hadn't been able to turn off the elevators, so climbing the cables was dangerous. Each time a cart shot past, she leaped off the line to the wall, flattening herself against the steel, sucking in her chest and stomach. Even then, it was occasionally a tight fit. Finally, she reached the level she needed, the second highest on the Spire. She twisted her kwon, freeing the two katanas inside it, letting them clatter to the floor. She rubbed off the excess oil on her leg, hissing as the edge of one of the blades slid into her skin, a tiny rivulet of blood slid down her leg under the armor.

From here, it was entirely up by stairs, no way around it. She took her breaths in unsteady increments, hoping that the blade had not cut deep enough to impair her movement. Unsteadily, she took a hesitant step forward, and when her leg gave little more than a whisper of protest, she began to make her way to her destiny.

Weakening Warrior

Cari looked both ways down the hall and stepped across the multi colored tiles that decorated the floor. Her eye was a dark crimson, and she couldn't see objects very well, though the blackened lights no longer marred her vision. She wondered if this was the view that Lasir got looking through that ruby, then chided herself for thinking of something so trivial at a time like this. Her gut was beginning to throb, a side effect of Jasin's blade, no doubt. She unwrapped part of the makeshift bandage to take a morbid peak at it. The wound seemed almost to be festering, though it was difficult to tell with all the blood. She sighed and redressed it, tying it tighter, gasping at the pain it caused her to do so. Putting down the scythe she brought out her bow. Shoving the quiver a little more to the left, she ran her mind through the remaining passages, only a few more until she would rendezvous with Lasir ear Talin's apartments. The girl would probably move to finish him off, and that would be the end of that.

Serna had screamed and thrashed at first, providing Talin with no end of enjoyment. All too soon his fun ended when the spiders began to crawl all over his skin as well, spinning their webs, and he'd left her still bound to the table. The cuffs would never contain the mess that she was now, but that was something for the cleaning crew to worry over.

He retired to his rooms, shooing the various servants and hangers on to the lower levels, and set behind his desk, resting his head on his arms. He palmed the large crystal ball on his desk, letting it roll along the back of his fingers. It caught and reflected the light like a prism, casting rainbows over the room, illuminating it. Serna's transition had been horrible. No art, no energy, nothing. She had not moved for over an hour after she'd entered the final stage, he could only assume that she was dead. So strange that Jasin had survived the Change, and yet the witch had not. So strange. The wall slid along his fingers, then off of them falling a few inches before the nimble digits picked it back up again, and he looked at the reflection in the ball. It showed only his Utachex, the deep black void staring back at him accusingly. He scowled, and pulled his arm back, launching the ball across the room in a smooth arc where it crashed against the wall and shattered, turning into a million pieces of glittering stardust and light, all in slow motion. He looked away from it, and steepled his fingers in front of him, looking over the immaculate nails.

His eyes drifted across the room until they settled upon the lonely orb in its glass jar. Lasir's eye. It glared at him much like the ball, looking angry for the first time in its life on his shelf. No longer frightened, or just staring, almost malevolent. He crossed the room slowly, and picked up the container, turning it over in his hands. The unblinking blue still glowered at him as he blew the dust off the lid, flowing up in plumes. Unscrewing the lid brought a sick sweet odor into the room of the preservative as well as a slight whiff of decay. Dipping his fingers inside, he took the tiny ball out and held it up, turning it this way and that, the thick fluid running down his arm to his elbow, staining his shirt and skin. He rolled it across his fingers as he had the ball, then let it come to rest in his palm. It spread slightly, already losing its cohesiveness in the warm air.

He smiled to himself, and closing his hand into a tight fist, punctured the soft fleshy globe with his fingernails. Blood and small vines of nerves slid between his fingers, dripping onto the floor.

She could barely move her head. She felt so very insubstantial, as if she might blow away with the wind on an errant draft of air. The breeze seemed to whistle through her though, as if her skin had been stretched until she was nothing more than a piece of gauze. And yet she felt oddly alive as she never had felt before her mind separated into a million tiny fragments, whole and complete in themselves, but part of a great entity that was more collective than any hive.

She wondered if it was the spiders crawling across the room, skittering over her, through her, that made this. After a time of thinking of herself in the first person convinced her that she was still herself, and she sighed contentedly. She felt torn between rapture and disgust, her revulsion of the chittering arachnids slowly becoming overwhelmed by her wonder. She pushed her mind, and the spiders began to concentrate on one spot near the door. Pushing harder, she began to seep into that spot, the little web makers moving at an incredible rate. Millions of them built her body, making it spiral high, connecting it to the walls for stability as it grew, moving near the ceiling, around the room. She felt as it she was flying, connecting to everything and suspended at the same time, racing through the air as fast as the spider could work. She was a shimmering wonderland, and as she laughed, the chittering was heard through the halls like an eerie symphony.

Lasir stood outside of the room, watching Talin's back, seeing him wipe her eye across the wall to be rid of it. Her ruby shifted, only an inch or so, recording the look of him, the wide shoulders and deep back, the long thin feet with their unnaturally long toes.

"You came," he said, without turning, and she closed her eyes, knowing that she had missed her chance for a clean kill, the fight would come soon. Rush of feet and slap of skin and it would be over for one of them. He pivoted on his heel, and faced her fully, his hand still dripping some of the fluid and blood that he'd smeared over his apartment. Small spots of it showed on his clothes, other than that he was immaculate. She was covered in sweat and the small cut in her leg had torn open, rivers of blood running down her calf, and the smell of it permeated the room. He wrinkled his nose.

"Serna is dead. You'd hardly recognize her. It was some of my best work. She screamed until the end. I asked if she would renounce you, if she might convert to my Faith...but she stayed true to the end. It drove her mad, of course. Regrettable. Shall we die together, Lasir my love?" he asked softly, his one good eye looking at her petulantly, a small boy pressing buttons. He pressed the right ones though. She yanked her sword up, and charged at him.

He pulled up his fist to hit her as she came in range and she dodged, driving the point of the sword into his gut. His hand came whipping back, fingers spread wide, and stabbed his hands through her hair until the pads touched her skin, and her grip fell from the hilt as they fell together, him pulling her head to his for a kiss.

Their lips met and she tried to scream, and failed, tasting his blood on her lips as his heart began to falter, pumping the blood through the skin of his stomach.

Cari stopped in the hall as the spiders spilled out, coating the hall in webbing. Wisps of it reached out to her, grasping for her arms and legs, and she flattened herself against the wall to stay away from them. Serna's face formed before her on a stalk of the stuff, and looked at her curiously. She watched as a small squad of spiders made the sculpture blink. The lips did not move as a soft whisper of a voice found its way to her ears, though the spiders made her hair blow as if in a breeze.

"Cari, Cari, Cari, sweet darling Cari Cari! How nice it is to see you! Fancy that you are here as well!" It exclaimed, melodic and ghostly. Soothing even as it caused the hair on the back of her neck to rise.

"Serna...what have they done to you?" she choked out, her voice loud in the tiny clacking of the spiders.

"Nothing that was not inevitable," Serna breathed the voices of the spiders slightly out of synch, producing an echo. She seemed not to notice. "In time you may become a jewel Cari...I wonder, would you chip?"

Cari swallowed, and looked around her for a clear way out, spying one. "Where is Lasir?"

"In Talin's apartments. I called out to her...but she did not hear me."

Cari ran, leaving Serna far behind.

Lasir's skin began to sizzle where it laid over the bone as molten metal crept underneath it, some of it spreading over Talin's face, sliding inside of the void and disappearing, sealing her to him. She whimpered and whined like a dog with its leg in a trap, her limbs limp and on fire. A blinding light fired underneath her left eye, and the oculus fell to the ground, bursting open to reveal a complex series of wires and nodes, still blinking with thin fiber optic cord. The skin across her brow split and cracked like an overripe melon, blood coursing down around her mouth and into her throat, draining down in-between her breasts and clinging to the tiny blonde hairs on her stomach.

The skin of her arm began to break apart in a tight spiral, strips almost an inch thick unraveled from the bone, showing corded silver muscle underneath. Her fingernails, once just a cosmetic addition to her fingertip, drove back in under the skin, blood sliding and oozing out from beneath the cuticle.

Cari stopped dead just outside the door, Talin's back to her as she entered from the other side. He was bent oddly over Lasir, one of the girl's katana protruding just to the left of his spine, blood covering both him and the girl, mixing and pooling on the floor. Her eyes were as wide as a slou'colnal trapped in a light net, blind and not knowing what will happen next, the eyes flicking into a look of terror as you leveled the gun and blew its little head off. Her mouth moved up and down, gone dry, watching Lasir writhe and shudder, the skin peeling off to show the mechanics underneath. It was like some bondage scene gone terribly wrong, gore strewn over the room that couldn't have come from anything but flesh exploding.

She felt almost as if she were intruding upon one of her parent's arguments, the kind the guests weren't supposed to see. Her fingers reached behind her to the quiver, the arrow clacking against the sides and the bow as she finally brought it up to bear, her wrist resting against her cheek, trembling. The bile rose from her stomach and she bit it back down, the acrid taste in her mouth making her sick. The wound at her side opened again, seeping blood, causing a round of dizziness to come over her. An icy calm descended as she took aim.

Talin pulled back, and lifted her chin ever so slightly, a smile coming over his lips. The madness skittered over his eyes as even more blood found it's way from between his lips, and he flicked his tongue across them, tasting the mingled sanguinity. His smile became wide and full, victorious even as his life drained from him, and he kissed her again, chastely as before, a brother kissing his sister's wounded knee. Then the kiss deepened, suggesting lifetimes unknown, squeezed into the space of a few seconds, a kiss between lovers and old people who've fallen asleep next to each other all their lives. She felt cold to the touch, and did not move, the thin sound of machinery whirring emanating from inside of her.

She felt lost inside of herself, her senses going numb as the nerve endings ceased to exist and then overloaded as new ones took their place, feeding byte of information upon byte of information to her already overcrowded mind. Suddenly she was back at that night her parents died, with the man towering over her, large and scary to a little girl who'd never known pain. But he was not there; there was only this man who kissed her as if he owned her. He made a slight sound, almost a gasp, then a sigh.

A pinprick made itself felt upon her throat, and she came back to herself as Talin slumped against her, driving the arrow rod farther into her throat where the wires and cylinders parted to let it slip through unmolested. It cracked, and the shaft of the arrow fell down into her hands where they circled around to his back. Three feathers were lashed with animal hide to the end, two green, one black. She laid Talin back, and he gurgled, his eye flying open as his mouth and throat tried to form words, the pupil rolling wildly around the room, his arms flailing. A river of blood erupted from his throat to mingle with the blood from his belly, soaking into the wood of the office.

Cari stood still as a statue, her right wrist still perched beside her eye even as the bowstring quivered near her left. Talin's eye bored into hers, and a final bubble of blood crossed his lips. Then the eye died, becoming nothing more than a dead thing, cold and unfeeling and useless. She walked over to where Lasir still sat, clutching the arrow bit in her fingers, looking more like a lost kid than the leader of a huge army, now the leader of a new country. Tiny wires, some bare, some insulated, poked through Lasir's skin around the hairline, twisting around the hair that was left, showing that sooner or later even that would be lost to her. The visage was an almost horrific one, not a blend of woman and machine so much as a hodge podge that was trying to get away from itself. Small flecks of skin still clung in the middle of a sea of metal, and ridges showed under the epidermis - more machinery waiting to burst through.

Cari hefted her up, and looked into the girl's no longer human eyes, searching for something. Eventually she found it - a glint of sanity that still existed. Lasir sagged against her, adding her blood to Cari's own. They headed back down the levels, gathering Herid along their way, Serna trailing behind on strands of web, the spiders chittering. The long trek home began.