Bright light shone down, piercing Adken's eyelids and bringing him back from his induced slumber. The lack of wind and the bright seemingly artificial lighting suggested that he was indoors somewhere. Where though, he could not be certain of. His thin blindfold obscured his vision slightly but not entirely. However his other sensory receptors, namely his large ears due to being a Lombax, picked up few others inputs. Aside from the dull hum of the lights were all that he could make out. Nothing could distinguish the place where he was being held to his room back at the orphanage.

Where... Am I?

The bright lights did not aid in clearing Adken's mind, causing him to struggle even more to comprehend what had happened earlier.

How much earlier? The ex-human's brain shot at him.

I have no clue... He threw back. Maybe I'm suffering from concussion?

A pang of worry shot through his furred body, the thought of having suffered brain damage twice within the past few weeks was deeply concerning. If he kept on getting into situations akin to this then it was a short road down to much more severe health issues. There was only so much nanobots could do, or that's what he assumed. But Adken decided to put those qualms to one side for the moment and instead he concentrated on the present. As far as he was aware he was sat down, which was a comforting revelation in spite of the many others things working against him. However, his hands were bound to the chair behind him as well as his legs being tied to the... legs of the chair. Still, this did not fully aid his current predicament. He felt a slight pressure on his legs from what he assumed were his trousers, stripped of armour of course. However there was no similar pressure on his chest or feet.

At least they gave me some semblance of decency. He mused.

Using his large sensitive ears, a vast improvement over his human ones, the Lombax tried to discern any further sounds that could hint at where he was being held. As he poured more effort into the task he managed to interpret more sounds that seemed to be coming from the rooms surrounding him. The faint sound of footsteps far away echoing of what must have been a corridor of sorts; fans whirring from a ventilation system and other vaguely mechanical noises emanated from the vicinity of where Adken was being held. After a brief moment the only sign of life, the footsteps that had been only a quiet noise to begin with, disappeared entirely leaving him alone once more.

Returning to his senses Adken took a deep breath and assessed the situation.

The first thing that I need to do, he began, is get out of these bindings. But then I don't have any form of weaponry so escape would be incredibly risky...

His posture lowered slightly at his partial defeat.

No. I can't give in. However, I should at least find out why I'm here in the first place. I highly doubt it but perhaps I may be able to have an amiable conversation with these people. A niggling doubt surfaced from the back of his mind But surely if they've bound me like this then they are not on my side... Ugh! I just... I just... The white furred Lombax let out a long sigh, I just wish I could go home and get away from all of this. These adventures have been fun and all but somehow... I just feel lonely. This world, no, this universe is so vast that it's easy to feel alone. I've been torn away from the distractions and the things that kept me whole. If only there were a way back. I could visit the book store on the weekend and look at what books I haven't read yet; I can relax in my room at the orphanage...

Again he sighed, trying to release the stress and anxiety that was building inside of him like a small storm; a storm that threatened to grow and burst out causing him to lose control of his emotions. A storm that he had to control. The most favourable option for the moment was to, of course, re-induce his slumber and wait until someone came to see him. Adken assumed that someone would come and find him at least, considering he was in some sort of building. Unless he'd just been left here to...

No. I can't think about that. Depression began to creep in, the product of his worries. I should rest for now then at least I can think more clearly. And so, submitting himself to sleep, Adken let his head slump slightly against the tufted fur on his chest and drifting off into the land of turmoil that contained his dreams, and his nightmares.

Thud.

A heavy boot collided with the metallic floor.

Thud, thud.

The sound was coming closer now, bringing Adken back to full awareness of his surroundings. Well, as much as his limited vision and movement could decipher of them at least. Closer still came the sound bringing a sliver of hope to Adken's heart at the prospect of being able to converse with someone. At the very least I can find out who I'm being held by if not where as well. I need answers, lest my melancholic thoughts get the- He realised he had drifted off into those very thoughts he was about to mention. He cinched the stem of thought trails at their source before he let his mind distract him from the more important things at hand, or paw as it were.

The thuds of the potential sentient life form stopped for a moment. A faint sliding noise, from what Adken assumed was some sort of motorised door, came from his right bringing about the continued stomping of the boots getting louder. And louder. Until they came to a halt in front of him. The only sign that the Lombax could garner of it being someone that was stood in front of him now was the distinct humanesque shape that blocked out the dazzling lights that had been blinding him earlier. The creature, or human, or whatever species this thing was, appeared similar to the one that had abducted him earlier as now that the lighting had been obstructed, and thanks to the poor blindfold, Adken could make out the distinct curve of the hood over the abductor's head as well as the similar skinny build and small frame. At least, he assumed this was the person who had taken him. Nothing had certified that claim yet, but Adken was determined to get answers now. He pushed his worried thoughts to one side and attempted to utter a question only to be stopped by a hand pressing against his lips.

"Quiet, my little Lombax." Spoke the stranger with a peculiar tone.

One that Adken almost immediately recognised, for it was one he had heard recently. The sound was processed by his brain as it began to make the connections to whom the voice belonged to. A thought train shot back to the bar where they had met the strange hooded man. Darius he was called. At least that's who Adken assumed he was talking to, yet his fatigued state could be causing his ears to betray him.

"Darius? I know it's you!" His voice sounded weak, perhaps due to his fatigue. Adken knew that he had been driven to his limits recently what with fighting off Agorians as well as several other things. Until he had been brought to this world, or universe even, Adken had never even been in a proper fight with someone. Let alone strange thuggish intergalactic beings that were trying to kill him.

Realising that his thoughts had gotten the better of him again he returned to his previous train of thought.

"You! You were-"

"I know where I was." The voice did not seem angry, quite the opposite. It even sounded smug and was dripping with confidence. "Yet you don't know where you are. And you are probably wondering why you were brought here, yes?" The stranger who seemingly now identified himself as Darius, although Adken was uncertain about his willingness to divulge that information albeit in an indirect manner, stepped back from Adken allowing him more room to take in his surroundings. "Oh I should remove the blindfold too, where are my manners?" He again spoke with the same tone; quite in contrast to the one that he had spoken with when they first met in the bar, the voice that he spoke with gave him an overpowering aura. His intonations weaning self doubt into Adken's mind whilst the hooded man, or whatever he was, removed the blindfold wrapped around Adken's visage.

Blinking several times to acclimatise to the slight increased brightness that now invaded his eyes Adken tried to glance around to garner any further information about the room he was in. However searching every facet of the metal coated walls, floor and ceiling all that could be discovered was that they were just that – metal coated walls, floor and ceiling. Aside from the chair that he was being confined to, and that was now beginning to become slightly uncomfortable, there were no other objects present in this room therefore it was safe to assume that they had been removed prior to his arrival for the faint marks of crates against the metal could be discerned from the change in tone of the wall.

"Now, I believe you had some questions?" 'Darius' asked in a kind tone, but it was not one that filled Adken with trust.

"I do." The Lombax snarled at his captor. "Why did you capture me?"

"That's simple really, for information."

Adken stared dumbfounded at the hooded figure, information... But for what? I haven't experienced this universe for too long, all I can recall are some planet names and the names of those of importance in the council. What information would I have that he doesn't?

"Information then?" Adken mumbled to himself, not expecting his captor to be able to hear.

"Quite so." The hooded male replied, his tone still brimming will cheer and glee contrasting Adken's mood greatly. "I suppose you're wondering why I'm telling you this though? If I were in your position then I would question the motives of my captor for doing such a thing."

Still lost in his thoughts Adken thought back to his first meeting with the mysterious hooded man, Find the bunker, The words rang through his head once more. "The bunker..." The young Lombax muttered, "Find the bunker." A question flung itself to the forefront of Adken's thoughts. Raising his voice he enquired, "What did you mean, 'Find the bunker'? A bit cryptic don't you think?" The change in direction of the conversation seemed to throw the hooded man off slightly. It had not been Adken's intention to do so yet it was a beneficial side effect. A grimace quickly shot across the man's visage. "The bunker? I see." The captor raised a gloved hand to his chin, which was hidden in the darkness that shrouded his face from view, and scratched it. He was now the one lost in his thoughts, not Adken. "My contact told me that you would know about the bunker..." Darius mused as if talking to himself, yet Darius was the one who had told Adken that very tidbit of information, or riddle as it may be, and the pondering of the supposed 'Darius' threw Adken off his train of thought entirely. But Darius was... Then... Wait. If his paws had been unbound then he would have planted one of them on his forehead in a face-paw, at least that was what he surmised it would be named. He never said he was Darius. I need to think more logically. But this is no time to be criticising my stupidity, I can save that for later.

"What is your name?" Adken asked, more politely than his last question that he had posed to this strange individual. He wanted answers, not to insult this person.

"My name is one you should know. For we have met before."

Oh what a surprise, classic villainous line. I feel almost as if I'm in a cheesy story right now. Adken thought to himself bitterly, remembering many books that he had read with the atypical villains always stating their motives and plans so the hero could swoop in and save the day. Yet is he a villain? I doubt it's as black and white as that. Morality, realistically, is grey in an area between the black and the white. But that's not really important now... He chided himself for, again, getting lost in his thoughts.

"Then you know mine." It was not a question that Adken posed.

"Of course Adken. I'm someone who you know."

"Yeah I gathered that Mr 'I'm a stereotypical villain'" His normally calm demeanour was slowly being whittled away by the ramblings of this strange man, "Now just tell me who the hell you are." The last part almost came out as a growl which surprised both of them.

"No need to be so angry! And, contrary to your false beliefs, I am no villain. I merely need your help with garnering some information."

Adken growled again, "That's what a bloody villain would say!" He had truly lost his temper, being dragged to another world, attacked by mercenaries, having to deal with entirely alien politics, no pun intended, and now being kidnapped had driven the young Lombax to the end of his tether. "Just. Tell me. Who. You. ARE!" His voice had raised to a shout by the end of the sentence causing the hooded man to back away slightly in what appeared to be fear, although Adken could not be sure. He allowed himself a small grin at the thought that he had terrified even his own captor though he had his doubts that that was the case.

"I am William Pazner, lead scientist and weapons expert in the Brotherhood of Knowledge."

The dumbfounded look that Adken had adopted earlier now returned to his furred visage, his eyes widening and his pupils dilating as he now fully took in who it was that he was speaking to. The shock seemed to render him incapable of speak for his only utterance was, "b-b-but-b..."

Willaim Pazner drew back his hood to reveal his pink Markazian head which peered inquisitively at the Lombax that sat in front of him. "To quell any doubts," He explained, motioning to the hood that was now rested at the nape of his neck, "About my identity." It was his turn to sigh now, "I didn't expect you to get this angry abo-"

Drawn out of his shock induced stupor Adken now glared at the short Markazian that stood in front of him, his brow furrowed at the man who he had trusted. Albeit for a short amount of time, but the trust that they had founded was still there! Ratchet had trusted him, and that at least was enough to convince Adken of the legitimacy of this man's allegiances.

Until now.

"Angry?! Of course, I'm angry. Oh, because being knocked out cold in my own house, I mean the place where I was staying," He amended himself before continuing at full strength, his anger fuelling the tirade that was flying from between his lips, "And taken to who knows where by a mysterious hooded figure against my will is completely normal? Yeah sure. Maybe in some twisted alternate universe," Adken allowed himself a chuckle at the slight irony of that statement, "But not here." He only just realised he was hyperventilating from releasing all of the pent up stress from inside of him. Taking slightly deeper breaths he attempted to relax his contracted muscles. He felt his energy ebb slightly as he allowed himself to be induced into a calm state and prevent himself from ranting further.

"Yes... Quite. Well I do apologise for the whole 'tying up and blindfolding thing' but we cannot allow outsiders to know where we reside."

"So there are others then?" Adken questioned, attempting to be more reasonable in an effort to acquire more information from William, It seems I am now the one garnering information, not him. He mused within the confines of his mind.

"Of course." William answered, a slight hint of confidence returning to his tone. "In fact I have someone outside who you could meet, if that would make you more comfortable of course."

"Please, yes." Adken replied with relief. Hopefully they aren't all as eccentric and mad as he is.

"I shall undo your bindings and bring him in. But you must promise me that you must not try to escape, okay?"

Reluctantly, Adken agreed. There's no way I'm getting out of here anyway. I have no clue where I am and am unarmed and helpless in hand to hand combat. The only way I'm going to get out of this is by cooperating. And so, restraining his urge to escape, Adken let his bindings be removed and stood up stretching his sore limbs. In an attempt to stand he pushed down on the sides of the chair and stood upright, almost faltering on the ascent. After a slight wobble due to what he assumed as fatigue he managed to right himself and regain full use of his enhanced limbs, at least compared to when he was a human. The faltering upon standing shot more doubts into his already ragged mind. How long has it been since I've eaten, or even had something to drink? I can't have been out too long. The rumble that conveniently emerged from his stomach countered his thoughts. Adken sighed. Well now I have another thing to worry about.

The sudden burst of speech from his periphery brought the Lombax back to his senses, glancing around to see who it was that spoke.

"Hey man," A deep voice rumbled, "I'm Matthew Visible." The person in question was a tall man clad in the same robes as William Pazner. He too had joined his Markazian acquaintance in removing his hood. Matthew had a head of dark hair and a dark skinned face which seemed rather human, at least in comparison to most of the people whom Adken had met in this peculiar universe. The Lombax now noted that the robes had infinity symbols sewn into the top of the sleeves, near the shoulder. The symbol of the brotherhood, he assumed.

"Nice to meet you too... I guess," Adken took the hand that Matthew proffered in greeting, the human shaking it with vigour.

"Now William was just telling me that you do not know of the bunker too. But you said you'd heard of it, yeah?" Adken nodded curtly in agreement. This man was much more laid back and friendly than William had been; although the Lombax had pinned all of his stress and anger on the short Markazian so he was bound to be more inclined towards this new individual who had introduced himself. Perhaps that's why he brought him in? To try and get me to relax more. He allowed himself to calm down slightly more at the thought. Perhaps I've been overreacting and all they did want was information. Although the way in which I was approached once I had been brought here- He tossed aside the thought, No. Focus on the present. Perhaps if neither of us know everything about this 'bunker' then I could gain some insight into what this 'Brotherhood of Knowledge' has discovered.

"I don't know anything about it though," Adken replied meekly, now voicing his thoughts, "I have only heard the name. Nothing more."

"I see." The tall man scratched his chin, which was coated in thin stubble, thoughtfully taking his gaze away from Adken whilst he pondered. "Then you're looking for this place too, right?"

"Mhm" The Lombax nodded to confirm the agreement, "That I am."

"Then perhaps we could come to an arrangement?" Matthew raised an eyebrow and looked across at William who was staring intently at Adken. "What do ya think Will?"

"Yes. Yes I agree. You mentioned this Darius character, yes?" Again, Adken nodded, "Indeed. Perhaps we can find more answers from him that is, if you are willing to lead us to him?"

"Well." Adken began, a small smile curling his lips, "You did just try to kidnap me and you do need to make up for it. So if we can come to a mutual agreement, then that is reasonable." William opened his mouth to speak but before he could begin Adken raised a furred finger to silence the Markazian, "But." The Lombax began, "I'm not going to let you live this down. You owe me." This remark elicited a deep chuckle from Matthew. "He's right ya know WP. It was a bit unfair kidnapping him."

In a now surprisingly high pitched voice the Markazian protested gesticulating wildly with his short arms, "But I didn't want him running off and telling everyone! How was I to know he'd agree or not?" Matthew raised an eyebrow at his friend's remark, "Alright," Will continued, "It was stupid of me. I'll make it up to you Adken, I promised," He said in a sincere tone, "But you look famished. We shall eat first, and ask questions later so to speak!"

Yes. Adken mused, yet I'm still searching for answers...

Author's note: Hey guys and girls. I guess I owe an apology, yet I fear that I can't really apologise enough for leaving you in the dark for so long.

I finished my exams two months ago, and got my results. I head off to university in three weeks and I should have continued writing but, to be quite frank, I just didn't have the motivation until now to carry on. I recently read Fallout: Equestria and that is what inspired me to continue writing; just the development and interaction of characters in that made me yearn to continue with my own story. Yet I feel like there are things that I did wrong earlier on in the story. Chapter length being the primary factor in that. I'm going to be doing some heavy formatting of the early story to combine some chapters together and edit some things but that shouldn't affect you guys.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is I'm deeply sorry but I couldn't come back with no motivation and try to write something. It would just end up being utterly awful, and I know my writing isn't amazing anyway ^^ , and just not worth your guy's time. But yeah... Until next time folks. Hope you enjoyed.