Author Note: If you're wondering why Xev's all Buffy-ish and fighting now, this is a few months after the events in Yo Way Yo. She's broody about Kai being gone, and feels that it's up to her to fight now, so she's putting her love slave programming aside, and bringing her cluster lizard side into play. Stan's still pretty much a wuss, but remember that he feels that he has to protect Xev now that he believes Kai is still dead.
Even though emotions were slowly coming back to him one at a time, aggravation was certainly one Kai was aware of at the moment. Dr. Hofryn had agreed to send him to the termination ward, but this new way of holding prisoners in place was ridiculous. First they insisted on shooting him with more tranquilizers to transfer him, so he had no idea what had happened between his interrogation and the present time. The containment suit, now that he had a better look at it, was indeed a long-sleeved black shirt and loose pants, but with circulation-stopping belts along his arms, legs, chest, down to his boots attached to it held it to either the interrogation bench, or the slab of steel holding him from the ceiling. He could feel his brace underneath, and that they hadn't removed the blade, but for some reason not matter how much he squeezed the muscles needed for it to function, it wouldn't budge. He supposed he should be used to it, since the Divine Order's way hadn't been that different, but since he was going to be alive for the next few days, it could have at least allowed him to let his blood circulate! The room itself wasn't unlike the Cluster's various torture rooms. It was about the same size as a jail cell, except that when the time came, thousands of needles would come out of tiny cavities in the walls and inject him with certain death. He was torn for the most part with escaping to maybe try and find Xev and Stan (even though he didn't have the first clue on where to look), or just letting Hofryn and her mindless colleages kill him...he hadn't decided yet on whether or not being one of the living was something he wanted to do again.
He stopped struggling against the straps, as the door to his cell slid open, and the person that walked in was someone Kai knew would only cause him more aggravation. Now Kai had certainly made up his mind. He had to get out of this place. "Hello Kai," said Prince. "It's been quite awhile, three months I dare say,"
Kai said nothing. "Ah, well, I suppose they've told you," said Prince. "The president's signature was needed to revive you, so that left us no choice but to come here,"
Prince circled around Kai, gloating over the fact that someone who'd humiliated him repeatedly, was stuck in a euthanization lab. "Well, Kai," said Prince. "Look where you've landed yourself. Such a shame, too...I'd help you, but you abused what I gave you,"
Kai rolled his eyes. "Had I not, you would all be dead," he said.
"Ah," said Prince, raising a finger, his cocky grin widening. "But you forgot one thing. Death is never the end...for me, anyway,"
Despite his intact assassin's programming, Kai was starting to feel an odd desire to hit something. Prince's overly confident smile, and his proposition coming shortly after, was making Kai want to speed things up so Prince would just leave. "I am not interested in any deals, Prince," he said. "I do not need your assistance,"
"Of course," said Prince, putting a hand on Kai's shoulder. "But how do you suppose that you will escape? You'd need exceptional strength to do so. True, you did possess that ability in death, but now, what makes you so sure? Most of your physical programming has been over-written; with all but one of your mechanical implants gone and all these new emotions gradually welling up inside you. Nearly everything about you is entirely human, regardless of how you try to deny it. You'll tire before you make it out of here if you do escape this room. They'll catch you, possibly kill you-"
"The dead do not fear death," Kai snapped, glaring into Prince's eyes.
Prince continued on, his expression projecting slight perturbance at being interrupted. "And you still refer to yourself as dead, yet you've already seen your own blood when the glass cut you. It was just as real as anything around you," he said, his voice lowering to a whisper as he came around Kai and looked at him over his shoulder. "It makes you feel weak, Kai...worthless. You feel as if that in this state you do not matter anymore...I could give it back Kai, what made you you. I can restore you to your old functions, no emotions, and no weaknesses. All you need to do is find something for me once you reunite with Stan and Xev...a box, nothing more,"
"No," said Kai.
Prince's eyes reflected nothing less than pure hatred as he came around into Kai's view again. Then he recomposed himself, and smiled. "You won't?" he asked. "Maybe I can persuade you...you don't remember this. But you will now,"
He suddenly took hold of Kai's forehead, and images flashed in front of Kai's eyes. He was in a dark room, surrounded by shapeless bioviziers and clerics. He was strapped to a table, struggling to move, and trying to speak, but his voice just wouldn't work. There were unfamilliar metal components and machines grafted into his body, but they didn't hurt for some reason. He couldn't remember who he was, or what he'd been doing before that moment, but he knew that he wanted to kill. He could hear the bioviziers speaking, and their words were even more unfamilliar. "Yes. He'll do very well. Shall we modify him further?"
"What do you mean?" said a cold, deep voice.
"Make him seem less like a Brunnen-G," said the cleric.
"No," the cold voice said adamantly. "Leave it as it is. He will not remember,"
The images faded, and Prince let go. Kai suddenly remembered that those were the exact moments that the bioviziers had awoken him after modifying him into an assassin. The voices he'd heard had been those of Mantrid, Brizon, and the Divine Shadow who'd taken his life away. Prince sighed in satisfaction as Kai found it hard to breathe again. "You thought you woudn't remember that," he said. "Xev didn't think she'd remember her past either...but I'm good with many things, not just pain,"
Kai looked away, unfamiliar disgust building up inside him. "Prince," he said. "...Get bent,"
Prince gave Kai a hurt look. "Shame," he said, exiting the room.
Kai rolled his eyes again, forcing himself to get over the shock of what he'd just seen. He started yanking on the straps again, harder this time. "That settles everything," he thought. "I'm leaving,"
As the insectoid body hit the ground with a thud, and a nice gash in the abdomen, Xev wiped the sweat off her forehead, and stabbed the sword into the ground. There was no hope left for that poor person. He had died when the insect had infected him, and was just a zombie now. The problem was getting worse. People from all parts of the universe were slowly changing, as body parts mutated into insect parts, and the desire for chaos grew. It was hopeless, of course it was. She was no hero. Now that she looked back on it, all she'd been was some stupid girl more concerned about her own needs than about what was really going on. That last kiss had changed her way of thinking for sure. One, was that she had to wise up and learn to defend herself. Here she was, part cluster lizard, and all she'd cared about was twenty minutes of pleasure. Two, was that the only person who would have really mattered in a situation such as the ones she used to so frequently fantasize about was gone.
Stan tried to make her feel better for the first few days. He'd been so sweet to her, and supported her in every decision she made, even when it came to buying a weapon. She looked down at the sword. It was primative, sure, not at all as accurate as a brace, but with her strength, technology wasn't the issue. She never thought she could injure anyone, but the first time someone tried to rape her, that changed her perspective. Killing was something she swore she'd never do. Kai had at least taught her that much. Even in death, she knew he was lying when he said he didn't care about his victims. Her squawker gave a crackling noise, startling her out of her thoughts, and Stan's voice echoed shrilly out of it. "Xev!" he screamed. "Xev, answer in, you're not gonna believe this!"
She wiped the insect slime off her hands by using her skirt (she could always wash it later), and yanked the squawker off her belt. "Stan, what?" she asked. "Are you okay?"
"Bunny just keyed into our frequency. Xev, Kai's alive,"