Coming up this chapter: Galen goes Raistlin. If you've read the Dragonlance saga, you'll probably see what I mean. If you haven't, then go read. Great books.

And if you've read any of this story, or just eyed it through, or whatever, I'd really, really appreciate any Reviews. Anything at all. Just to know that there's more than one person reading this - though muchos thanks to you, Pris :-)

Gideon darted out through the hole Galen had cut in the door, and stopped to wait for him. Outside the room of death, the corridor was identical to every other one Gideon had seen in this complex. It could've been the same corridor where his room had been. Maybe it was. The door he had just come out of was about halfway along the corridor, which continued a long way into both directions. Both walls were lined with doors. As far as he could see, there were no markings on them. He wondered how the Drazi guards found their way here.

Gideon had heard several nasty sounds lately, such as that of high-energy burners warming up, signaling approaching doom, or the strained breathing of a badly injured friend. And now, the ear-splitting alarm that went off, saying that their escape had been noticed.

Galen pitched out of the room. Gideon was about to start running, took a few hasty steps, but Galen remained behind. Gideon hadn't got a good look of him in the dark room. What he saw now wasn't promising. There was dried blood all over Galen's face – a large smear covering his cheek, and thin streams on his chin where it had flowed out of his mouth. He leaned against the wall next to the door, arms crossed tightly against his chest.

"Galen, we've got to go," Gideon told him, though he was well aware Galen knew that already.

"Yes - very soon," Galen replied. Then, Gideon discovered another nasty sound he could add to his collection, one he would gladly have missed. Galen's breath caught in his throat, and turned into a racking cough. He spat bright red blood on the floor, and then instantly zapped it away with a spell of some kind. But Gideon had seen it. This definitely didn't look good. He really, really needed to get Galen out of here, and quick.

"Galen..."

"Matthew – I'm going to – cast the camouflage on us. They won't see us," he stopped for a few more ragged breaths. "I'll cast another spell – to cover any sounds. But you will have to help me walk."

Gideon returned to Galen's side and placed one arm around him, while Galen did the same, grabbing Gideon's shoulder with his right hand.

"Just tell me which way we're going," Gideon said.

"That way. Straight ahead, and sixth door to the left," Galen replied, and suddenly Gideon couldn't see him anymore. He looked around, and couldn't see himself, either. If they were not actually invisible, they blended to the surroundings so completely that it was the same thing.

When Galen had been in chrysalis stage, before he had received his mage implants, casting spells had been a great strain, both physically and mentally. What he felt now reminded him strongly of those days so long ago. The seemingly endless training sessions in Elric's large hall on Soom. The three lines of grave disappointment crossing Elric's brow. Trying to hold on to too many spells at once, and slipping...

His thoughts snapped back to the present. Yes, he had indeed been about to slip. His concentration was wavering. Unlike normally, when it was so natural he hardly even thought about it, now he needed to fight to keep it up. Simply walking ahead, even with Matthew's support, was exhausting. The primitive fear of drowning and suffocation was constantly lurking in the back of his head, renewed each time he breathed and felt the pain and the slowly increasing pressure that kept him from getting enough air.

One hand on Matthew's shoulder, the other still clamped against his chest, he closed his eyes and stepped on. All he had to do was to walk, and to keep up his three spells. Camouflage. Soundproof shield. Shadow skin. No one could find them or hurt them through those. A while longer to the door to the repository where they would find his staff and Matthew's PPG and link. Then another stretch to a door that would lead them out of here.

Of course he would make it, it would be stupid and utterly useless to think otherwise. And still, the tech was trying to offer other solutions. They could hide for as long as they needed to, so they could stop somewhere and rest, as long as it took, so that his few remaining organelles could work on the damage. But Galen had been with the tech too long not to notice that it was not quite certain of this. He didn't have many organelles left, and they might not be enough. It might not help no matter how long they spent sitting in a corner and hiding.

"Matthew – that door," Galen said, pointing with his hand, only to realize that while his words were audible inside the soundproof shield, neither of them could see anything of themselves. The camouflage worked both ways, and it was better that way. He didn't want Matthew to see the Shadow skin. He didn't like hiding things, but revealing that in these circumstances would complicate things too much. Some other day, perhaps. Some day Matthew would find out, one way or the other.

"It's locked," Matthew replied.

Galen searched his pockets. He still had that age-old key card Alwyn had once given him, the one that was supposed to open every door. He didn't know whether that was exactly true, but at least it worked on this one. The door slid open silently. Matthew led them in, and closed the door behind them.

Galen let go of the spells, relieved. He looked around. The room was small, but the walls and even the floor were made of honeycomb-like cells of different sizes. On the floor, solid paths went around the room, offering access to all the cells. The cells were filled with all kinds of weapons, simple and complicated, ranging from knives, axes and swords to plasma pistols and complex devices that he couldn't even name without further study.

Galen checked the signal he had been following, and found that his staff was in a hole in the floor. Unthinking, he let go of Matthew, and advanced on his own. Luckily it was only a few steps away, and then he could let himself fall on his knees. He picked up his staff, and propped himself up with it. Perhaps he would manage with it, so he would not need to lean on Matthew all the time.

As he retraced his few steps back to Matthew, he knew it wouldn't work. He was too weak already, had lost too much blood. He didn't know how much, even though the tech could've given him an exact reading, down to each milliliter, each single droplet. He was better off not knowing.

Matthew was still standing by the door, his arms crossed. He looked slightly annoyed. "You could've told me where you were guiding me. I figured we were just going to get out of here as fast as possible."

"Oh. I thought you'd figure it out – I wouldn't leave without my staff. And you – you should take your things. Three steps to the right, in the wall, the second row up from the floor."

Matthew tried hailing the Excalibur as soon as he had found his link, but received no response. "They're probably jamming all outgoing signals, they wouldn't want any of the players in their little game to contact the outside world. Ah well. We'll need to get out of here anyway, I'll call them when we're there," he said.

Matthew spent a moment gazing at the nearest cells in the wall, and then, with a crooked smile, picked up a large modified plasma rifle. "All right, I'm all set up. Now, could we please find a door that lets us out of this place."

Covered with Galen's protective spells, Gideon and Galen stepped to the corridor again. They had just gotten out when a Drazi guard appeared, running towards them, or, actually, towards the door they had just closed. The guard had clearly seen the door open and close, but couldn't see them. He raised his gun – a simple PPG type pistol, and shot at them.

Gideon crouched to take cover, but before he got down, one of the blasts hit him. To his surprise, he hardly even felt it. Galen's shielding really was effective. Yet the Drazi had seen the blast encounter something, so he now knew someone was still here. Gideon couldn't see Galen, but he knew he had to be nearby.

"Galen. Can you run? We've got to get away from the guard," he asked. Stupid question, he told himself.

"Let me – try something else," Galen's reply sounded exhausted. Gideon wondered what he was up to this time, but decided to trust him. So far, every spell Galen had cast had proved to be just what they needed.

Gideon felt himself rising a few inches into the air, floating above the floor. He nearly lost his balance. Then he found himself gliding on rapidly, faster than he could've run. It was a slightly uneven ride, and he ended up spreading both arms for balance. Luckily he didn't hit Galen when doing so. They were growing the distance to the Drazi.

Some five doors away from the end of the corridor, their flight stopped abruptly. Gideon's feet hit the ground. He lost his footing and touched the ground with one hand, but was quickly up again. Galen, he noticed, was not. He was down on all fours, and clearly visible. They were both visible, and vulnerable as well.

Gideon helped Galen up, and started to drag him on, towards wherever they had been going. Gideon had no idea whether their flight had had some actual target, or if Galen had just taken them away from the guard.

"Matthew – second-last door to the right," Galen panted.

He was leaning heavily on Gideon, and they were advancing quickly, though it might've been exaggerated to call it running. They stopped at the mentioned door, and Galen used a key card, just like on the previous door. The door opened, and Galen practically fell in. Gideon went after him, and closed the door.

They weren't in a new room, but at the foot of a staircase leading up. Gideon couldn't see how far the stairs continued. Galen wasn't looking at the stairs, but stood in front of the door, leaning on his staff. With great effort, he lifted it from the ground, pointed one end at the door, and shot a bright beam of some kind out of it. First, he pointed it at the lock, and then followed the door frames, melting the door and the doorway together.

Now the door was at least temporarily secured. Galen dropped his staff to the floor, doubled over and fell to his knees, coughing, flecking the floor with blood.

Gideon knelt next to him, feeling at a loss. There was nothing he could do to help Galen here and now. He placed one hand on Galen's shoulder and suggested, "This place seems quiet enough for now. Why don't we rest a moment?"

"We've no time. The guards approach – from both directions," Galen replied, his words nearly obscured by harsh gasping.

Galen was probably right, Gideon had to admit that. "OK. Now, any idea where these stairs'll lead us? And how're we going to climb them? Could you just make us float all the way up?"

"Hopefully to the club – Matthew – I can't keep up all the spells – the shields and the flying platform – at the same time – not now – we'll have to walk."

Gideon didn't know anything about a club. The Drazi thugs that'd taken him here had caught him in a back alley where he had been supposed to meet the contact for the rumored ancient and wise alien. He had never seen the upper parts of the complex, where that cheering crowd must've been. He wondered how far above it was. Then he contemplated Galen, who was now sitting with one shoulder and the side of his head resting against the wall. The bright blood on his lips made his skin look white.

Gideon gazed at the stairs again. He had the awful feeling that this would be a very long climb.