"Are you sure you can control them?"

"I've watched both of them since birth. I know we can."

"Even though we've never done it at this scale before?"

"That's why there are two of them. If we cannot harness the male's superior power, we will simply use the female instead."

"I still don't like this. We're destroying everything they've ever known."

"We have the right to do that. War is coming, and we're going to be ready."

He had no idea how long he had been there. In fact, he didn't know where he was. He didn't know what he was either. Well, there was some uncertainty at least. He was human, wasn't he? Yes, he had to be. But did all humans feel like this? Did all humans look like this? Did all humans live as he lived? Of the last point, he was certain - no human he had ever heard of lived in a liquid filled tank, breathing through a mask. Therefore, if he was human, something was wrong.

All these thoughts ran through his mind in less then a second. He was strangely calm, and his senses were heightened - so maybe the seriousness of the situation was beneath him? Whatever his reason, he did not panic, did not for one moment think he was in danger. He knew at any moment he could simply break the tank and climb out –

Almost as soon as the thought occurred to him, his arm flashed and smashed through the glass wall of the tank, sweeping him outward onto the floor. He coughed, his lungs adjusting to *real* air, which was rather hard for someone who had breathed through a filter for the past few months.

The past few months? He shook his head, trying to remember more. Nothing. Except…there! At the edge of memory came flashes, and from these flashes came information - he was being held here against his will, he WAS human, and…a girl? Strange, but he could clearly remember having at some time seen a girl in this place, a girl that had been held just as he had been. Surely not…he quickly glanced around the room, searching for another tank. Blank walls, blinking machinery and a few x-rays greeted him…but no tank. He grumbled and ran out the door, searching for the girl.

At the same time, another figure was stirring in a similar environment. This figure was very much like the other one, except it was a female. She yawned as best as she could in a mask, slowly opening her eyes to see her strange home that was not home. She peered around the room, her eyes at last centering on a lone figure that stood in the doorway. She waved to him. He smiled back and moved to a control panel next to her tank, his eyes running across the various levers, dials, and displays. After puzzling it out, he finally sighed and flicked his right wrist, causing 4-inch long claws to extend from between his knuckles. He casually slashed at the control panel until the liquid drained out of her tank and the door popped open.

"Thank you," she said, pulling the mask off her face.

"No problem," He replied, flicking his wrist again and watching the claws slide back into his hand. "You're Rhys, aren't you?"

"Yes. And you're Sarin?"

He nodded. "Those can't be our real names, you know."

Rhys smiled and suddenly laughed. It was a childish laugh, a laugh that was somehow innocent yet ruthless at the same time. "What was your first clue?"

"I knew such a name could never belong to such a beautiful girl."

 "Oh, so you're the charmer now, aren't you? That's not the way I remember you."

Sarin's face instantly brightened. "So you know me?"

"I remember you, at least. Funny, isn't it, that we're speaking so causally in such a strange place?"

"I know. But I can't help it. It's as if my mind strays away from that subject. I had to force myself to even remember you."

"Perhaps it's for the better. At least we're not running around in a panic."

"Even though that would be the human thing to do."

"Look at us, Sarin. We're not human."

For the first time he allowed his gaze the travel below her face, and he fully saw the truth of her statement. Her skin looked somewhat like dirty gold – that was the only example he could come up with – and had a rough texture that reminded him of a lizard. Two large bat-like wings extended from her back, and her hair was the color of bronze.

He looked down at his hand, only to see that the color and texture of his skin was the same. Although he didn't have wings, he did have claws – and the scars between his knuckles were a painful reminder. He raised his head and looked sadly into Rhys's eyes. 

"You're right, my friend. We're not human, and I don't think we ever were."