Chapter 74: Prison Riot

Kay wriggled within his fluid-filled prison as the needles in his arms whirred to life. The scientists assisting Faddoh activated a mechanism that drawled out the precious fluids that hydrated his body at an alarming rate, but his zerg regeneration enabled him to survive the drain, his almost heroic fortitude capable of negating the siphoning of his blood. He was currently being put into another rigorous test by the commander of the Cube Research Division. Faddoh seemed quite invested in analyzing Kay's conscious condition when he had finally woken up. After applying several strips of adhesive to his tank, Faddoh allowed the breaching team to install several automated turrets along the walls an on the ceiling. Apparently, Faddoh didn't want any more toxic nests to form near or around Kay's bio-stasis tank. Once he returned, he brought with him several different kinds of equipment, many of which that Kay didn't know the names to, or how they functioned.

In the most latest of tests that the scientists performed at the behest of their commander, Faddoh seemed rather elated with the tests he was performing on Kay, his coppery metal fingers clicking against one another when he began to plead them together. "Incredible... We have drained four gallons of blood from his veins already, and we are STILL drawing out more?! How is he containing it all!? It's as though his active consciousness is either enabling him a greater means of regeneration, or that his carapace is absorbing and metabolizing the fluid in his tank to account for the loss of blood! Perhaps both!"

'Yeh yeh yeh, keep thinking that. I had to use my mending ability a few times to keep myself from passing out, you invasive copper leech.' Kay growled silently to himself.

Much of the tests that Kay had been awake for were painful and grueling. Faddoh was very thorough in his analysis of Kay's vulnerable condition, and Kay couldn't do anything about it without causing any further trouble for himself. He had only kept himself from acting out and breaking from his bio-stasis tank because Faddoh had warned him that there were hidden particle charges installed in the room that he was within. Kay didn't know if the commander of the Cube Research Division was bluffing or not, but he thought that it would be best to not make the room explode with him in it.

But after checking up on the broodmother that was born within the immortal maze, apparently named Broo by the maze's inhabitants, Kay knew that it was only a matter of time until her brood grew big enough to challenge the residents of the dark mausoleum.

Before Faddoh could continue his research with yet another test, a shadow assassin had entered the room. She interrupted him by appearing right in front of his view, blocking his sight of Kay's bio-stasis tank. Faddoh didn't seem too particularly disturbed by her sudden appearance, despite the surprised yelps of the other scientists that were nearby at the time. She seemed to be carrying a folder.

Faddoh gave the shadow assassin a friendly smile. "Guik! It's good to see you again!"

Guik shook her head as her face/mask's letters changed to 'plain.' "Pleasantries aside, Commander Kralluf has discovered several dead corpses. You need to perform an autopsy on them."

"I'm afraid those zerg bodies will have to wait, Guik. I have to get all of my research on my most prized specimen out of the way before I do anything else." Faddoh replied, walking past Guik and keeping his gaze focused on Kay.

Guik's face/mask's letters changed to 'impatience' before she began tapping her foot. "I didn't say they were zerg bodies."

Faddoh's expression formed a frown as he turned toward Guik. "... They're not zerg bodies? I don't think I am following with what you are saying, Guik."

Guik showed Faddoh the folder and opened its contents, showing several laminated images to Faddoh. "As you can see here, there have been a string of deaths that are similar to each other. Several victims have suffered severe burns, or have otherwise been amputated, decapitated, or had their torsos split in half with similar burn marks."

Faddoh inspected the images contained in the folder as Guik quickly flipped through each of its pages. After Guik was done flipping through the folder's pages, Faddoh nodded slowly as concern steeped into his face. "That is truly strange. I have never seen wounds like that before! It's as though their bones were sliced through cleanly, and their flesh became cauterized at the moment of sustaining the injury. Is this a new type of zerg organism?"

Guik shook her head as he face/mask's letters changed to 'confounded.' "Our autopsy reports says otherwise. When we tested the bodies for signs of zerg virus infestation, the results were a negative on any form of infectious activity. As far as we know, all zerg-related attacks always results in a gilanian victim contracting the zerg virus, whether dead or alive. This is something completely different."

Faddoh began to pace around with a copper hand clasped to his LED chin. "Hmm... This is a rather unfortunate. Did Kralluf have anything else to say about these 'mysterious deaths?'"

Guik shook her head, her face/mask's letters changing to 'nonchalant.' "Pallax and Gollog expects a report from him, and he doesn't have enough data for the presentation. He needs you to provide him with the information he needs."

Faddoh sighed in frustration. "Well this is a fine mess he has spilled onto me. I suppose I have no choice but to entertain his dilemma for the moment." He then turned toward Guik. "Make sure that my specimen doesn't let himself out, my sweety. I'll be going on a little trip."

"And when the doomsday clock reaches zero?" Guik asked.

"Leave the specimen here." Faddoh answered as he neared the only exit out of Kay's containment chamber. "He'll remain long after the zerg are gone."

"Uh, sir?" One of the scientists under Faddoh's command interjected. "What about us?"

Faddoh stopped as he neared the exit and turned to his scientists. "Oh! You may continue with your current test. Once you are done, you may use a MEM device to leave for the axle rail station that connects to the fifth sky ring."

"Yes sir." Faddoh's scientists replied back.

Faddoh nodded with a smile and took the opportunity to leave the containment room. But after a couple seconds had passed, Guik turned to the scientists as her face/mask's letters changed to 'stern.' "But report to me first if you are seeking transfer from my facility. I don't want any office supplies or any valuable data being stolen from my division. Understood?"

"Yes mam." Faddoh's scientists replied back.

After a cursory gaze over the Cube Research scientists, Guik nodded her head and turned to walk to the door as well.

'Bitch.'

Guik stopped her herself from leaving and looked around, as though looking for someone close to her. After several seconds of inspecting around herself, she paused for a few more seconds before turning to leave.

Kay sighed when the needles stopped sucking the life out of him. Apparently, the scientists were done with their current test, but they didn't seem too interested in continuing with another test afterwards. Apparently, the 'doomsday clock' that Guik mentioned was a topic of grim discussion, which created doubt within every gilanian's mind. All they were told was that Gollog's 'secret weapon' doesn't differentiate between gilanian targets or zerg targets, and that the weapon's coverage was supposed to be so widespread that it could cover the entire world of Kiln. Much of Golden Star's citizenry and military assets were already tucked safely away on the fifth sky ring super satellite structure installation, but there seemed to be a select few low-ranking soldiers that were ordered and commanded to stay. It elated Kay to know that he was safe from this supposed 'secret weapon.' But it saddened him to know that the rest of the swarm was still in danger.

Despite the bad news, Guik had revealed some unusual information that Kay remembered. Apparently, there was some kind of assailant that was accosting Gollog's forces. Guik may have briefly showed Faddoh the images of the burned bodies, but it gave Kay enough time to get the general idea of what was happening to Golden Star's personnel. Mostly to its military personnel. He couldn't say for certain, but Kay thought the damage that was done to those bodies almost seemed familiar...

But at any rate, those bodies didn't relate to his current condition whatsoever. What he needed was Broo's brood to break out of the immortal maze and come rescue him! He hoped that she can use a zergling to sniff out the charged particle warheads that were hidden in his chamber. Perhaps they can also disarm the charged particle bombs and defuse them? If the zerglings could do that, then Kay would be able to escape this claustrophobic nightmare.

However, an unexpected surprise caught everyone off guard as the automated turrets began firing at the only entrance into Kay's containment chamber.

"AH, WHAT THE HELL?!" "Was it another burster node?" "Don't fuckin' know. They shot at the only door into here." "You know what? Fuck it! I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm taking the first opportunity to MEM shift out of this creepy-ass dump."

One of the scientists decided to walk to the bullet-riddled entrance, despite the recent mysterious misfire of the automated turrets. It seemed as though one of the scientists had enough of the chaos that went around the dark mausoleum. The stress that inquisitive shadow assassins, spawning toxic nests, and random automated turret firing was apparently enough to warrant an early leave.

However, at the very moment he passed through the door, he became instantly bisected from the head down to his crotch. A split second later, a thunderous storm billowed into the containment room, which began electrifying everyone that currently inhabited it. The nerve-rending jolt also managed to affect the automated turrets on the ceiling and walls, making them explode in a shower of junk and ruined technology. Kay had to clench his teeth, despite the restraints that was placed onto his jaw and neck. But this electrical charge that ran through his body felt so familiar to him. It was only when the storm faded that Kay understood immediately what was happening. The electricity pumping into the room wasn't just a normal coincidence, if it could even be considered a normal coincidence. The origin of the shock didn't originate from a short in the electrical system, but was generated by a powerful psionics user.

"Hello, Kay." Kay began to feel the presence of a protoss mind entering into his containment room. His familiar words spat out with what felt like pure spite. Somehow, the protoss that he had saved from the secret facility was grumpier than usual. Such hatred almost made Kay felt like he was naked! When the protoss came closer, Kay could mentally see that he had donned several different kinds of items onto his person, some of which were not of typical templar garb. However, he could see that the protoss was in a slightly modified templar armor, which seemed somewhat damaged, but was also patched together. The khaydarin amulet that he sported on the middle of his forehead seemed to glisten with power, which appeared to amplify his power to unimaginable levels. However, there were two other items that he carried, which was a strange combination of equipment for someone of his caste to carry into battle. He seemed to awkwardly carry an avenger's psionic scythe, while he was being cloaked in a wreath of unseen light that made the naked eye unable to see the protoss. Kay could see the protoss with his mind's eye, which easily dispelled the illusion that the protoss projected around himself.

But he failed to keep himself calm when he began speaking to the protoss. 'You?! Why the hell are you doing here?!'

"I am not here for a charitable cause, if that is what you are wondering." The protoss said, as though anger dripped from his mind. "If it were up to me, I would wait for another twenty years before I even began to contemplate finding and freeing you from your prison. I would find that rather... ironic in a certain sense. A poetic form of kismet between us. Letting such a length of time pass as you remain rotting in that tube would almost seem like a form of justice that I can accept. But it pains me to free you from this method of containment so early."

'Wait... You came to break me out? Why?' Kay asked, feeling surprised.

"You may blame your lizard friend for that. He is the one known as Kragnon, the lovechief." The protoss replied, as he walked up to Kay's bio-stasis tank and inspected it. "He was the one that convinced me to retrieve you from this dark mausoleum. Despite being filled with gilanian shadow assassins, their technology offered little means of detecting my intrusion into their facility."

Kay smiled and sighed in relief. 'Wow. I really have to return the favor to him someday.'

"Actually, you may want to avoid talking to him. He was not very keen on what he had to sacrifice in order to bring me here." The protoss readied his psionic scythe. "Prepare yourself."

'WAIT WAIT WAIT DON'T DON'T DON'T-' Before Kay could warn the protoss in time, Kay's bio-stasis tank was cut apart in blinding strikes. The restraints that kept him floating in the tank had been sliced off with practiced precision, and Kay could feel his body sliding forward as a wave of fluid carried him, until he finally stopped on shallow ground. After a moment's pause, Kay shakily got up from the ground and began prying off the restraints that irked him since the day he had awoken from his latest coma. After removing his breathing apparatus and metallic blindfold, he threw them to the ground and stared at the protoss with manic. "YOU FUCKING JACKASS! THIS ROOM IS NOW GOING TO BLOW UP!"

The protoss paused as he looked around Kay's containment chamber. This pause lasted for several seconds before the protoss talked to Kay again, with an even greater veil of anger. "Curb your insults against me, infested terran, lest I regret freeing you from your hold. I sense your truth, but I believe that you have been lied to. What made you think this room would detonate upon your release?"

Kay waited a few more seconds for something to happen. ... Nothing happened? Kay looked around the room that he was kept in and felt confusion plaguing his mind. "... But... But that metal headed, copper-assed asshole said that this room was rigged with charged particle explosives..."

"'Metal headed?' Are you saying that this... metal head, is a machine?" The protoss asked plainly.

"Uh... Yeah..." Several more seconds passed as Kay tried to predict the explosion that was to come. However, it didn't come. Kay began to feel foolish."... You know what? Now that I think about it, I think Commander Faddoh was bluffing about the bombs."

"I take it that he is this metal head you spoke of." The protoss replied, almost sighing.

"Dammit." Kay said through clenched teeth. "I can sense lies from a living person, but that skill won't do me good if I can't sense the emotions of a damn robot commander." He shook his head and turned away from the protoss, feeling frustration pouring through his mind.

The protoss huffed impatiently. "You may mourn your tactical disadvantages later. We need to leave this mausoleum, and return you to your hive cluster."

Kay sighed and gestured to the protoss to stop. "Wait..." The protoss seemed to be slightly irked by Kay's request, but he remained in his usual floating stance. Kay walked up to the protoss in a non-hostile way and looked up to him. "... I want to say thank you." Kay said.

The protoss sighed again. His patience was thinning by the second. "You're wasting a lot of our time here by doing this, Kay. Make it quick."

Kay nodded at the protoss. "Then we'll just use small talk as we make our way out of here. The protoss and the zerg might have been fierce enemies in the past, but it was proven that they can rely on each other when the need to survive arises. Lead the way."

The protoss nodded as a respectable huff emanated from his mental telepathy.

However, before he could turn and lead the way, a blaring klaxon exploded in Kay's containment room and the hallways that resided outside of it. After several seconds of this ear-splitting noise had gone on, the klaxon deadened in volume as a female voice calmly spoke to the current residents of the Pyramidal Guard facility. [Warning. Facility has been compromised. Self-destruct sequence has been activated. Detonation will occur in ten minutes. Please evacuate the dark mausoleum facility in an orderly fashion. Thank you for your time.] Once the announcement was over, the klaxon blared at its normal full volume.

The protoss looked around as he listened to the announcement, and sighed. "It appears as though we do not have much time for small talk as well! We need to hurry to the exit!" The protoss exclaimed as he started hovering forward.

Kay followed after the protoss, despite the noisy klaxon. Kay didn't know how the protoss kept himself aloft, nor how he had came to acquire the avenger's psionic scythe and whatever kind of technology that enabled the protoss avengers generate a cloaking field, but it was a matter that was not important to him. "Then how about you share with me your name?! You know, in case we meet some opposition and I need to get your attention!?"

"Refer to me as Templar Xidion!" He answered, nearing the only entrance into Kay's containment area and carefully peering into the halls. They seemed clear. "Be warned! The shadow assassins are invisible to my sight! We may need to cut across rooms to avoid detection!"

"Maybe to you, but not me!" Kay said, coming to a stop right next to the templar. "Stay close to me, Xid! I'll point them out if they get close to us! I'll act like one of your protoss observers! ... Except I'll be visible."

The templar looked back at Kay with contempt. "Very well, but please cease calling me Xid!"

And with that, the infested terran and protoss duo began their journey through the dark mausoleum.

Once the klaxon had erupted into life, the staff within the dark mausoleum began their evacuation procedures. Much of the scientists belonging to the Cube Research Division began to make a mad scramble toward the nearest MEM device. The shadow assassins that inhabited the dark mausoleum, on the other hand, were not present during the entire evacuation procedure. It was a possibility that they used their mobile MEM devices to transport themselves to safety, but neither Xidion or Kay was confident in that theory. However, Kay felt confident that wherever Xidion was leading him, they would eventually cross upon the entrance that Xidion infiltrated through that entered into the dark mausoleum.

But curiously, when Xidion stopped at a hatch along the wall, and the highest possible floor of the dark mausoleum structure, he noticed that there were several gilaian symbols that read 'danger', 'caution,' 'warning,' 'restricted area,' 'no access,' 'hazardous machinery,' and 'do not enter' surrounding the hatch. Kay looked at this hatch carefully before saying something about it. "So uh... This is how you got in?!" Kay yelled. The klaxons were still blaring within the facility.

The protoss named Xidion nodded as he opened the hatch, revealing a ladder that led up. "This was how I got in here, yes! The entrance is set next to a fly infested oasis near a stone pillar forest, but is guarded by a complex doorway that alters the dimensional size of anyone and anything that enters this facility! The Pyramidal Guard Division prefers to use their MEM devices to transport troops and equipment to their deployment areas, so they kept the physical entrance into this facility a secret! Not even the shadow assassins in Golden Star's Pyramidal Guard Division knows of the true entrance into their dark mausoleum facility!"

"I uh... I see!" Kay nodded at Zidion, but he didn't pursue after him. "You go on ahead! I have some people I need to rescue!"

Xidion turned to Kay with a perplexed expression. "You cannot be serious! In eight minutes, this facility will self destruct!"

"There are prisoners in the lowest part of the dark mausoleum! I want them to be freed before I leave this place permanently!" Kay answered loudly.

Xidion paused for a few seconds before nodding at Kay. "Very well, Kay! I had only came here to free you from your prison, just like you had freed me from my own! Consider my debt to you fulfilled!" Xidion said as he began scaling the ladder.

"Request a bunch of overlords with ventral sacs to hover over us!" Kay shouted as he watched Xidion go up the ladder for a couple seconds before he focused on his connection to the swarm. It was strange. He could barely feel the rest of the swarm just above him, sounding like distant voices that were far away and muffled. But rather than focusing on his swarm, Kay focused on Broo's brood. 'Alright, my broodmother. Listen well. A self destruct sequence has activated. You need to get out of here now. There is an exit at the top floor, through an access hatch.'

'I am mutating ventral sacks on my overlords as we speak. How much time do we have left?'

'Uh... I think maybe seven minutes? How big is your swarm?' Kay asked.

'I managed to persuade the prisoner population to join our cause. They will be riding on the backs of my zerglings when we attempt our escape.'

'They can do that?! How are they riding on the zerglings? Do their attack-claws or wings get in the way? ... Actually, never mind that. Can you direct them to come to my position in less than five minutes?'

'If any of our enemies do not bar our path, then we can achieve that in four minutes.'

'Kay! You go ahead and escape this facility! I'm going to make a slight detour. The private quarters of the Pyramidal Guard Division is not far from my position.'

'Why are you going there?' Broo asked, confused.

Kay began running as quickly as his feet could take him. "Bolstering our forces, I hope!"

For as long as Kay had fought against Golden Star and its assets, the commanders of each division had an aquarium that had a type of animal that inhabited it. With commander Ralkan, he had soft jellyfish that could revert their physical bodies into a larval stage. Commander Faddoh had plant lice that could telescope their generations, which can enable their own unborn young to become pregnant. Sadly, he was incapable of acquiring the contents of Commander Kralluf's aquarium. When he stealthily intruded into Kralluf's private quarters, the first thing that he had inspected was his aquarium. When Kay looked into the innards of Kralluf's aquarium, he was saddened to see that it was filled with nothing but rocks. Or to be more specific, they looked like meteorites. It was a curious find, since the quantum veil shouldn't allow any small celestial objects to impact the Kiln prison system's planet with craters. Or at least that was what Kay had thought. It made Kay later theorize that Kiln's veil acted as a one-way barrier, where objects could enter through it, but never exit back out the same way they came.

However, such thoughts were mere distractions to Kay. Within that moment, Kay was more focused on finding and plundering Guik's private quarters.

Kay eventually found what he was looking for, and barreled through the doors that sealed Guik's private quarters from everything else in the dark mausoleum. The walls were stylized in the typical colors of the Pyramidal Guard Division theme, which consisted of black with several kinds of violet shades. The room seemed totalitarian in design, which had a simple desk that had several complex computer towers that surrounded it. The light of several monitors brightened a keyboard below them, but their light shone on a chair that was vacant. Sadly, Kay found no aquarium within this room.

"Dammit." Kay knew that his time was very limited, and each second decreased his chances of escaping the Pyramidal Guard Division's self-destruction.

Kay expeditiously scanned Guik's private quarters. After finding a couple doors that connected to Guik's office, he decided to punch through the closest door to enter through it. A shower of metal shrapnel replaced the standing door, which spilled into the next room as Kay charged through it. Kay immediately noticed that he intruded into Guik's bedroom, judging from the large and soft bed that had several pillows covering the top of the mattress. The room smelled of perfume, which originated from a desk with a large vanity mirror, containing several perfumes which potentially emanated the fruity smells.

But Kay also found what he was looking for. A glass aquarium. Strangely enough, it looked empty, with the exception of some sand and a few mock-coral structures. But he could also feel the presence of an animal from within its confines. Without wasting time on thinking, he quickly went up to the aquarium and jabbed his hand through the glass. The glass shattered, revealing that it had contained salt water.

He didn't had time to think. He only hoped that his stomach didn't dissolve the animal too soon once he has time to analyze and absorb its genetic essence. He ignored his gag reflex as best as he could when he felt the slimy thing writhe uncontrollably down his throat and into his stomach. He could also feel its teeth graze onto his innards, as though it had no intentions on being scarfed down like a food item. But despite its complaints, Kay had other purposes for it instead. Again, Kay hoped that his stomach didn't dissolve and digest the animal too soon. Alas, with his goal achieved, and still having lots of time to spare, he turned around and began to sprint again. With his side mission complete, escaping from the dark mausoleum became Kay's primary concern.

But before he could escape, a sudden and unexpected obstacle barred his path. Out of all the shadow assassins that Kay had ever confronted, or were confronted by, Commander Guik happened to be the only shadow assassin that he had fought twice. And there she was. Stopping Kay from leaving the facility that she commanded.

The letters on Guik's face/mask changed to 'angered' as she readied herself into a combat stance, while two black disks formed on her forearms.

"... Well this is just my luck." Kay said as he gulped his nervousness. It was because of her that Kay had suffered the knockout blow, which led to him to being captured, being delivered to, and waking up in her dark mausoleum. And now, Kay was face-to-face with her again.

A/N: That Vampyr game is looking pretty good. Might pick it up later. '3'