Hey guys! Thanks for all the compliments! Wow, fourth chapter already! This one might get a little hectic, but worry not! The next few chapters will be calmer. Enjoy!

A resounding clang could be heard across the prison halls. Asterix shot up from his bed, stirred awake at the noise. That was a sound he hadn't heard here before. After rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he began to look around. Everything was as usual. Dark and gloomy, with those glowing red lines running across the floor. And it was clammy and warm, like a jungle. Just the same old.

"Come here, you disheveled vermin!"

He suddenly heard skittering of the tiniest of claws coming from down the hall. He got curious as of who would be stirring trouble out there. Either way, it was something the Inquest deserved. He got up from his bed. He was a little wonky, but that was to be expected, after all he has been going through. As he walked to the glass-like force field that formed his prison door, a tiny white-black blur came running past.

Wait a minute, was that-?

"Give it back! That's my sausage!"

An asuran lab specialist, Inquest, no doubt, was running after the animal. Asterix quickly walked up to the door, pressing his face sideways against it so he could see what happened. The asura snagged the poor thing by its scruff, and then he lifted it. "Ha! Now I have you. Can't get away this time, you filth! I will have you exterminated right away." In response, the animal began to howl and struggle.

No, it couldn't be…! How did he get here!?

The asura sneered a toothy grin as he turned around, walking past Asterix's cell, a wiggling and crying white terrier in his hand. But, it really is. It really is! Suddenly, Asterix found himself raising his voice.

"Hey! Leave him alone!"

The asura stopped, turning his head at the direction from which the voice came. The dog suddenly started yipping excitedly and wagged his little black-tipped tail when he saw who stood there behind the prison frame. The lab specialist glanced down at the animal, and then he walked to Asterix, holding the dog up in front of him.

"This is your pup?" He inquired.

Asterix almost began to feel dizzy when he watched Dogmatix dangling by his scruff in the asura's hand. Like how one would feel light-headed when they stood up too fast after too long a period of laying down. But quickly, he recovered. "Yes," he suddenly snapped, making a foul scorn directed at the asura.

"Then you can watch it die." The man's sneer suddenly curled into a creepy smile as he took the pup into his other hand, folding his fingers firmly around him. He then drew out a red and black, linear dagger from its sheath that hung from his belt, directing the blade towards the dog's neck. An unwise decision. The animal retaliated in the fashion he knew best: slamming his jaws down on the asura's hand and digging his canines deep into his fingers. The lab specialist let out a painful yowl, dropping the animal and the dagger at the same time.

"Dogmatix, come!"

The pup barked, crawling underneath the small opening between the floor and the force field panel. Reunited finally with someone he knew, Asterix knelt down and embraced his animal companion quickly in his hands. He could almost burst out in tears! Dogmatix returned his joy by showering the man's face in dog kisses.

But that moment of happiness wouldn't last long. Grunting angrily, the asura looked at his bleeding finger. His face, filled with revenge, shot up at the two, and this time, he drew a different weapon from another sheath; a dark red prod, about two feet long, sparked furiously. A menacing grimace crept out from his features and his nostrils flared. "Hand over the dog, human…and I won't make you regret it." Asterix slowly backed up, keeping Dogmatix close to his chest. His heart suddenly sped up, feeling its beat in his throat.

"Come and get him, flap-eared mongrel!" he blurted. The sudden outburst even surprised himself. Hearing himself insult a stranger was rather unusual. But apparently it was something he had been holding back for days. He felt some relief washing over him, as if he had been penting up his anger and frustration towards the Inquest for far too long.

The asura blinked at the words, registering the insult as quick as lightning, but not having expected such a retort from a prisoner, of all things. This time, his features darkened, wrinkles and creases of anger forming on his face. He held his four-fingered hand to a panel close to the prison doorway, tapping down a code, and the force field evaporated. Now there was no obstacle between himself and the person who just insulted his amazing ears. He crept forward, a sadistic smile forming across his face as he held the weapon to the defenseless Gaul. The prod sparked violently with electricity. A well-aimed jab could stun Asterix, and kill his pet together with it.

The Gaul kept on walking backwards until his back was pressing against the wall, keeping Dogmatix close with him the whole time. He started to feel light-headed again, an irritating byproduct of his undernourishment that had been pestering him for the past days. This is no time to faint! He stared out at the prod, threatening to electrocute them, and he gulped down his angst. Dogmatix whined nervously in his hold.

The moment felt like it was being stretched into long minutes, but in reality only lasted seconds. The lab specialist drew back his prod, preparing to give the Gaul a jolt of electrical punishment. By this time, Asterix had his eyes pressed shut and held his breath, oddly prepared to take the beating in full force. He waited, and waited…it didn't come.

Instead, a loud continuous noise, like a monotone trumpet, bellowed out across every corner of the facility. The Inquest specialist's ears shot up, and he turned his face. Asterix's eyes opened again at the noise and he glanced up, surprised by the interruption, but also thankful. A voice, riddled with buzzing, suddenly echoed across the building's interior.

"Attention! The facility is under attack! Sylvari incursion detected! I repeat: the facility is under attack!"

Sylvari?

Asterix, who was the first to look back down, stared at the distracted asura. A little bell rang in his head: this was his chance! He let Dogmatix down swift and quietly. Just as the asura turned his head back, he was met with a fistful of pain that cracked into his cheek. Dropping the prod, the asura fell to his knees. He looked dizzy and taken by surprise, but he opened his mouth, getting ready to call out for reinforcements. Oh no you don't! Asterix grabbed the Inquest by the back of his head, and he turned around and slammed his face right into the wall. This time, he slumped down to the floor into limp heap. A thin smear of blood stained the wall. Dogmatix winced and looked away as the pup's ears registered the forceful thunk that could almost be heard over the blazing noise of the alarm.

Asterix jumped back in shock, taken aghast by his own actions. He bent down to his knees carefully, gripping the limp figure by his hair and pulling him up carefully. He was unconscious, alright, thick blood rolling down from his flattened nose. But he was breathing. Thank all the gods. He'll probably be all right. Asterix let the asura's face drop back to the floor with a light thud. "Let's go Dogmatix."

For the first time, Asterix found himself outside of his cell without wearing shackles and having a golem guard looming over him. This time, he was accompanied by his dog and the blearing noise of the alarm. He glanced left, and right, and left again. Where is the exit?

"Hey! Hey you! Help!" a squeaky, high-pitched voice yelped.

His head turned sharply at the voice crying out for help. The hunched, skinny rat-girl scratched her prison frame with her thinly clawed fingers. Her big beady eyes were pleading to his. It was the prisoner he once met before. A skritt, wasn't it? He ran over quickly, Dogmatix staying close to his heels.

"Yes! Yes! Help out, please!" the skritt chittered. "Hurry!"

Asterix scanned the doorway up and down until he found the panel next to it, that kept the force field in place. But he simply couldn't make out how it worked. He tried pressing some buttons, but in response, the panel spoke in a robotic voice. "Invalid-input. Please-try-again. Number-of-tries-remaining:-3"

Asterix gulped. This was some form of security he'd never seen before. Maybe he needed a key? A password? Or did he simply have to know the right 'input'? He tried pressing some again, and once more, the same voice and sentence responded, but this time, he only had two tries left.

"Quick, quick! They're coming," she said as she got hysterical. And that didn't help Asterix in the least.

"I can't do it!" he yelled back, a flush of panic overcoming himself. They suddenly felt a light shake across the floor, and an explosion could be heard in the distance. And soon, they heard voices, coming from down the hall. The Inquest were coming. Asterix leaned himself against the wall to give himself a better footing, and gave the panel one last try. Again the disappointment of a wrong input. This frustrated Asterix. He didn't have much time left.

The skritt suddenly called out to him, this time saying something else. "Run! Run! Save yourself!"

Asterix hesitated. He didn't want to leave an innocent person to her fate, but she was right. If Inquests found him, outside of his cell, they would most definitely catch him. And he would be back at where he started, or worse… The voices were getting closer. They could be coming past the corner any moment now, and they would see him. It would be too late.

The skritt shouted, making him snap out of his train of thoughts. "What're you waiting for! Run! Run! RUN!"

This time his mind had never been clearer. "I'm sorry," he regretfully told to the skritt. He bent down and shifted a hand below Dogmatix. They had to move as one unit now. His fingers slipped between the animal's legs so he could keep his other hand free in case he needed it. Going the direction where he hoped no Inquest would come running down, he snagged the dagger the lab specialist had dropped from the floor as he passed it. It was no bigger than a butter knife, but it was definitely much sharper than one, and a weapon is a weapon.

The facility was a literal maze. Every time Asterix reached the end of one hall, it would split into three more. There was no sign of them ever stopping. It was almost enough to drive him into insanity. Every so often, he would see Inquest running down the halls with their weapons out, grouped with defense and assault golems, and he had to turn fast to hide, Dogmatix carefully pressed against his chest. Thankfully, the gods had smiled on them. So far, they had not been detected. The Inquest seemed far too distracted with this 'incursion' of…what was the word again?

Indeed, there were times when he saw swift, colorful blurs running past him like ghosts. At first, he thought it was because of his malnutrition that he was starting to see things, but then he realized those blurs were fighting the Inquest. He didn't know what their intentions were, but he wanted to keep from getting involved with them as much as possible. But then, he had an idea. These invaders had to be coming into the facility from somewhere, so what if he went the opposite way they were headed? It was worth a try, he deduced. Better than to keep running down the same hall for the tenth time, anyway. With some luck, and the gods' blessings on his side, both the Inquest and their enemy would be too distracted with each other to notice him slipping out of the facility.

Determined to go with this idea, he glanced around the halls, trying his best to stay out of sight as much as possible, though there was not much to hide behind. Asterix waited quietly for those blurs to appear again. He heard shouting coming down the hall behind him, and his head turned to the direction. Yes, there they are: tall, limber and humanoid in shape, and as fast as the wind, a group of the multi-colored figures ran past him. One of them, a blue-green one, shot the Gaul a glance with its luminescent, crimson eyes as it ran, but no more than that. They probably thought he wasn't worth their trouble, and he took that as a blessing from Toutatis. When the figures had long passed him, he quickly turned and ran into the direction from which they came.

He was starting to make progress; he no longer recognized some of the halls he went down, eventually even reaching a laboratory. To his joy, the lab room had a holographic chart of the facility's layout flickering on the wall, and he rushed over to inspect the map carefully. Most of the layout glowed in red, as per the Inquest fashion, but there was one small white, upside-down triangle pin-pointing a certain location. This must be where he and Dogmatix were. He shot a quick glance down at the white pup. The animal cocked his head sideways, those big, deep-brown eyes looking back into his own. How did the poor thing even get himself into the same mess that Asterix was in? The most logical explanation he could think of was that the little fellow had fallen down the gaping hole after the earthquake as well.

He looked back up and continued to read the map, looking for ways out. There was one exit, down several halls south-west of the laboratory he was in, apparently. But would it really be that wise to take that route? What if he ran into the Inquest again? Maybe those strangers busted a wall somewhere, where he could-

"What do you think you're doing here!?"

Oh, no… Those words were the first that came to mind. He had been standing in one place too long.

Asterix turned his head slowly, recognizing the voice belonging to that particularly nasty Inquest boss, the mentor of Vamma, that he disliked with a strong passion. The man was accompanied with his personal guard and several defense golems. Apparently he was going to chicken out, until his yellow eyes settled on the Gaulish fugitive. "Who let him out of his cell!?" he angrily inquired to his personal guard.

"An idiot did," Asterix answered with a cocky smile. This time, his insulting words were fully intended, knowing the asura did not like being questioned for their intelligence, let alone being insulted about their ears. He somehow even enjoyed watching the Inquest leader's face turn red.

He shot a clawed finger at his escaping subject. "Seize him! He mustn't get away!"

Asterix didn't understand why he was so important to this guy. Neither did he care. He watched two of the defense golems approach him, intending to drive him into a corner so he couldn't escape. But instead he found himself not moving a limb at all, keeping his dog close to him in one hand, and the Inquest dagger directed to the enemy in the other. He was too tired; tired of running, tired of being here. His last resort was to fight. Even though he knew undoubtedly he would lose this battle. So be it, then. He was done being just another toy for the Inquest. Instead he chose to die like a true Gaul.

"Asterix!"

Everybody's attention shifted to the voice calling his name. It was Vamma, running over from another hallway and snaring a guard with an electric prod in her hand. The jolt was strong enough to make the guard drop down to the floor. She jabbed another guard in his neck, the only exposed part under the metal armor.

"Stop her!"

She raced past the two golems, and before Asterix even had the slightest of what was going on, he was grabbed by the wrist and pulled along. The sudden movement had made him drop his dagger. The golems' bulking bodies shifted laggingly, their crystalline eye failing to lock on their target. For a moment, they just stood like idiots.

The Inquest boss, wide eyed, scowled at the golems' stupidity. These morons needed to be recycled. "Don't just stand there," he shouted furiously, "Get them! Get them both!"

"Yes-Leader-Klipp-sir," both robots resounded, and they gave chase.

Asterix was almost sure Vamma was not leading him to the exit, but he trusted her anyway. Why else would she have come to his rescue, then? Not to just betray him again. That would be impractical, especially now that the Inquest were under attack. She suddenly stopped, and he bumped right into her. That hardly appeared to bother the sturdy and healthy asuran girl. She knelt down, pressing a seemingly normal brick in the wall. But then Asterix reminded himself, there were hardly any bricks in these walls at all, having been carved out of solid rock. It was a button.

A panel flickered on from the pushed block, displaying a similar set of buttons that the prisons had. She flawlessly tapped the code into the console, and with a crack, shards of rock in the wall magically realigned themselves to reveal a once camouflaged doorway. "Get inside!" Vamma commanded. Asterix obeyed her, and quickly entered the new room. It was pitch-black inside. Vamma remained kneeled by the door, still behind the console, pressing the buttons some more. Her big long ears darted high up like a rabbit's. She could hear the thumping of stone feet rhythmically pounding the floor. Soon enough, Asterix heard the approaching golems too. Dogmatix began to growl in his hold.

"What are you doing!?"

"Almost there…"

With a swift final push of a button, Vamma got on her feet and lunged herself through the doorway as it closed itself once more. Just in time too. One of the golems reached an arm through the closing gap, trying to snag one of the two. Instead the reformed wall cracked its arm, snapping it as the arcane crystal that formed its joint was crushed between the rock. The dismembered arm twitched for a short while until the magical attunement left it, and it dropped to the floor. It was now as dark as a moonless night. An abyss of blackness.

Asterix leaned his back against the wall, slumping down gently until his bottom plopped on the floor. He was having yet another dizzy spell, feeling as if the floor below him could vanish at any second and send him falling into the abyss. The unexpected moments of high tension left him almost depleted. Unable to see a thing in this inky blackness, he closed his eyes to let them rest; just for a little while. His eardrums registered the soft weeping of Dogmatix in his hands, but also the footsteps, fiddling and the muttering voice of Vamma. Behind him, he heard the faint pounding of golem fists as the wall he laid his back against vibrated softly. It felt oddly therapeutic. When the dizziness was gone, he reopened his eyes, and unpleasantly, was met with light. It was still dim; only just a little brighter than his eyes were accustomed to, but it hurt all the same. He squinted a little. Eventually, he got used to it and glanced around. It was an old control room, monitoring the prison halls with the use of asuran holo-technology. A locked iron door was at the end of the room, only wide and tall enough for someone of asuran girth to fit through. The dust that had collected on the shelves and desks indicated that it had been abandoned and not used in a very long time, nowadays only serving as a means to hide. He looked up at Vamma, who seemed preoccupied in finding something, checking tables and shelves and drawers. He then heard the yip of a white terrier, and he was greeted with more happy dog kisses when he looked down at Dogmatix. He smiled, comforted by his pet, and relaxed by the softly vibrating wall against his back. But knowing what it truly meant, he simply had to ask:

"Will they break through?"

"No, but it won't take long until Klipp figures out how to bypass my passcode override. That's why you need to get out of here as fast as possible… Ah." She beamed up, finding what she was looking for in one of the desk drawers. She pulled out an empty short sword's scabbard, and a green belt, and laid them on the dusty stone desk. And then, she dug back into the same drawer again, retrieving an white-winged helm, and…

Asterix allowed Dogmatix down to the floor, forcing himself back on his feet. He slowly walked over to the table. Vamma looked at him and smiled, placing the brown gourd into his hand. "They confiscated these after we found you," she said. "They…no, we, wanted to be on the safe side and threw it all in the trash." Her smile turned into a culpable frown. "But then I saw how much you suffered, and…I felt bad for you. I had to dig around a bit, but I got them all back for you and cleaned them up. I even think there's still some water in that gourd, but it's probably stale by now-"

Asterix lifted his hand and shook the gourd gently near his ear, listening and feeling if any contents remained. There was a little left; hardly enough. He uncorked the gourd, taking a quick whiff. Magic potion! But there was only enough for one last use. He would have to save it for an emergency only. He corked the gourd firmly again to not let any of the precious liquid escape.

"Thanks," he said, glancing up at Vamma with a smile. He put the gourd down and instead reached for his belt to put it on. Not much to his surprise, he found that the thing was too wide for him when he fastened it at the hole he normally used, so he refastened it to fit better. He tied the scabbard, never know when it might come in handy, and the gourd back to their usual places. And then, finally, he picked up his helm, taking a short moment to examine it. One of its wings was roughed up, missing feathers, and hanging weakly from its base where it was attached. He couldn't help but let out a miserable sigh, but then he raised the helm and put it back on his head, where it belonged. He looked down to Dogmatix, and the pup yipped, tongue lolling about.

"Listen," Asterix said as he looked back to Vamma. "I'm sorry for never talking to you during those checkups-"

"I'm the one who should be sorry," she retorted back, interrupting Asterix's apology. "I should have helped you sooner. Everything that the Inquest have done…what they're still doing…it's so wrong! I only just joined them a few weeks ago, because they promised they could help make my ideas become a reality… But I never thought they would be so cruel." Her head faced the floor and her ears drooped, looking as though she was not worthy to even gaze at him. "If I ever get out of this place alive, then I'm quitting the Inquest for good."

She raised her head again and her ears returned to their normal stance. She turned around and paced to the small door at the end of the room. She pressed a code on the panel next to it, and the block of iron unlocked itself. She took the door by its metal grips and pulled it open. "You can escape through here. Just keep following the hall. You'll end up far outside the facility. Then keep heading down the river until you hit a Lionguard outpost. You can't miss it."

"You're not coming with me?" was Asterix's first response as he picked Dogmatix up again and stopped just in front of the path to freedom.

"I can't. I have to free the other prisoners first," she answered.

Asterix immediately felt the guilt lift from his shoulders, for having been unable to free any prisoners himself. Vamma knew the code, once having been part of the Inquest. She wouldn't have any issues getting them out…unless those invaders, or the Inquest, got her first. That thought made him cringe. She had done so much for him. And she righted her wrongs. She didn't deserve to die or get caught. Then and there, he made a decision.

He set Dogmatix down once more and untied the gourd of magic potion from his belt, handing it to the asura. "Here. You'll need it more than I do."

Vamma eyed the gourd and took it sheepishly, realizing that whatever was in it, it couldn't be water. "What's in it?"

"Something special from home," the warrior answered back. "If you drink it, it'll tenfold your strength for a little while. Use it if you get in trouble."

Vamma looked up at Asterix, her large and clear blue eyes making contact with his own. She opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly, her ears perked up. "Oh! I nearly forgot!" She shot back to the table, picking up an old book and tearing out a yellowed page. She took a pot of ink from one of the shelves and a goose feather, and hurriedly scribbled something on the paper. When she was done, she folded it neatly and handed it to him. "Keep this safe. Don't ever lose it!" she told him sternly. Asterix didn't know why it could be so important, but he nodded obediently, shifting the piece of paper into his pocket.

Kzzzt!

The two people and the dog shot a look at the wall behind them. It was starting to re-shift its shards again to form the doorway. Klipp bypassed the passcode.

"Go!" Vamma shouted, pushing Asterix forward into the hall. Dogmatix quickly skittered off after him, and once she had made sure they were both through, Vamma pushed the iron door shut and relocked it. She took the prod from the desk and zapped the panel that served as the door's lock, frying its conduits and rendering it useless. Asterix was free now. He could make it out on his own. Her instructions were crystal clear.

Once he's at the outpost, he'll be safe for a while…