CHAPTER 7

Kalb landed right outside the towering Medical Labs and gently deposited Lili on the ground. "Go," he grunted. "Your friend is in the first room. Save him, and it will create a time for me to reveal all."

Lili was feeling very scared, even more scared than she had been the first time they encountered the savage-minded creature. But she was scared for Raz, not herself—afraid that she might find him lying in blood-stained sheets… she shook the thoughts from her mind.

She entered the first room as told and immediately spotted him. Calling out his name, she rushed to his side. He was deathly pale, barely breathing, and seemed to be caught in some sort of nightmare. His brows were furrowed, and he was sweating profusely. She knelt by the bed he was in and took one of his gloved hands.

"Raz, it's alright," she said desperately. "I'm here." Then, noticing Kalb had positioned himself in the doorway, she asked, "Why won't he wake up?"

"A powerful hallucination-inducing chemical inside the scales of my counterpart," Kalb answered. "He is trapped, reliving his most painful memory. He is dying. You are his only chance… you must show him that he has people who care, that he is not alone…"

Lili leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on Raz's cheek. "You can wake up," she repeated again, more afraid than she had ever been in her life. "You're not alone. You never have been. I'll always be here…"

She looked to find Kalb, to see if his disposition could tell her if she was making any difference. The armored being simply turned away and walked out, his shoulders sagging in what seemed to be sadness.

"No…" she whispered. "He can't be gone…"

She stopped trying to choke back the tears and put her head in his chest, sobbing bitterly. She refused to believe that the one person who had put meaning back in her life was gone.

"Hey…"

She gasped and snapped her head up. The voice was weak, but definitely real. Lili turned to face Raz and saw with utter delight that his green eyes were half-open, although he looked thoroughly exhausted.

"…what's with the tears?"

Words could not express the relief in happiness she felt, just in hearing his voice. She lunged forward and hugged him tightly. Slowly, he returned the embrace.

Suddenly, Kalb was right there beside them. "Razputin, do you remember what memory you were trapped in?"

His eyes were suddenly filled with sadness. He looked away, feeling Kalb's eyes gazing at him steadily from behind the T-shaped visor. "Yes."

"Then perhaps you should tell us."

Lili's gaze was full of question. Raz suddenly knew that he couldn't keep it from her any longer.

"When I was young," he said, taking a deep breath before continuing, "I was severely abused. Every night it seemed they would be there waiting for me. My parents were no better… even through gloves my mother wouldn't touch me. My father was in on all of it… he would force me to 'train', to practice my acrobatics all day long. But the pain I endured during training made me strong… strong that I could survive the abuse that occurred each and every night. It was a vicious cycle…"

It's no wonder he ran away, Lili thought, fresh tears springing to her eyes.

Kalb didn't say anything. His glowing, T-shaped visor gave no clue to his expression. Lili slid closer to Raz and let him lean against her, obviously distraught by his memories. Lili thought she had it bad where she came from, but compared to Raz's tale it was nothing.

"Razputin," Kalb murmured, "Take comfort knowing that you will never be affected by that nightmare-inducing powder. But there is one thing I must ask of you: did you find a cavern filled with runes?"

Raz lifted his eyes, but his head remained rested on Lili's shoulder. "Yes. We even tried to decipher the runes, but could only understand a tiny fragment."

Kalb stroked his faceplate, seeming distracted. "That is a very ancient, coded language. I am surprised you were able to translate any of it. What could you read?"

Lili answered first. "Six cycles after The Entanglement a new power shall emerge…"

"…And it also mentions a gathering place for psychic power," Raz cut in. "We figured out that it meant the psytanium mother load in Ford's Sanctuary, so we went there first. That's when we first saw that thing."

"Tsyr was in Ford's Santcuary?" Kalb asked, sounding troubled. His body tensed, and he leaned forward. "What was he doing there?"

"Hunting us," Raz stated flatly. "Apparently, it got bored while waiting, and decided to practice on all the tech' in there. The entire cavern is in ruins now."

Kalb sat back again, although he seemed far from calm. "This is dark news you bring. I suppose both of you know, deep down inside, what the Entanglement is?"

Raz and Lili both looked at each other. Suddenly the answer became painfully obvious. "When my brain became entangled with Oleander's, thus creating the Meat Circus."

"I know for a fact that cycles translate into years," Kalb stated, his tailfeathers rustling softly as he shifted. "And it has been six years since that event, has it not?"

"It has," Lili replied.

"Then we have less time than I anticipated. Tsyr's awakening brings only trouble… and the fact that I was not able to detect it brings even more problems. I'm afraid my powers are diminishing rapidly without the subconscious of my creators to envigorate me. Razputin, Lili, it is up to both of you now. I will help where I can, but I cannot lift a finger against Tsyr in my current state," Kalb said, his ovice sounding strangely sad.

"Your creators?" Raz asked, finally lifting his head from Lili's shoulder. "Who are they?"

"I was wondering the same thing," Lili agreed. "And on the way over here, you said about Cruller and Sasha:'they are me'. What exactly does all of this mean? Before we do anything, we need answers."

Kalb stood up rapidly and headed for the door, as if he was going to ignore them. But at the last second he froze, looked owards them, turned away again. Then he turned completely, paced in a circle, and collapsed. He seemed to be suffering from a great deal of inner turmoil.

"Fine," he snarled, sitting up so he was resting on his haunches. "I'll tell you everything."