Hey readers! Welcome back to another chapter of Team ASceND. The humor begins this chapter and the pawns begin to move into place. On with the story...

Waking to the beeping of monitors that monitored his vitals, Aionion tensed when he fully realized where he was. Then he relaxes into the soft pillows that lay behind him on the bed.

'How the hell did I get here? I barely remember hitting the ground and then blacking out.'

'I could answer that for you host.'

'Who the fuck is that!? Why are there here!? Where are they!?'

'Jesus! Quiet down! You scream like a fucking seven year old girl. '

'Sorry... Who the hell are you then?'

'A more appropriate question would be what. I am a Crysilien. An alien species of intelligent crystal that boosts our hosts abilities and heals them when injured.'

'So you're a bandage with perks...'

'Do you call your left arm a bandage?'

Then he realized that his left arm was crystal, not flesh, and panicked and tried to rip the crystal off. It only caused him pain and then he noticed it covered his left shoulder as well. He pulled the hospital dress off and inspected his arm.

The crystal started at his finger tips and covered the entirety of his arm. He went to the bathroom and looked at the mirror that was on the wall and looked at his back. The crystal spread over his shoulder and stopped just above the end of his spine.

It also continued up his neck and stopped just short of his jawline except for a single piece that swept up his face and stopped just short of his nose and rose to the bottom of his eye ridge. Aionion traced the crystal that was on his cheek. It was cool to the touch and less slick than be thought it would be; it felt like a piece of dust that had been grinded down to a smooth, polished surface.

Then he noticed that his left eye wasn't silver anymore, it had became a dark blue that reminded him of the crystal. Upon closer inspection, the blue eye had white dots in it, spread thinly throughout the eye.

'What the.. What the hell is on me! Get it off!'

'I can no more remove it than remove your arm.'

'What do you mean? My arm is perfectly fi... You don't mean...'

'Yes, I replaced your arm. It is made entirely of myself and is resistant to most blades. You'll find it can also shoot projectiles if used correctly.'

'It isn't just for defence then? Can I still use the arm then?'

'Yes, you can still use the arm. You just can't use it yet. I still have to connect all the nerves then it'll be useful. Other than that, it's just a useless thing to weigh you down.'

'Why isn't it heavy then? If it's made of this crystal stuff, it should be really heavy.'

'Do you want to double the amount you weigh? Coupled with your armor, you weigh over a quarter of a ton already.'

'How did you know that? Only I know how much it weighs.'

'Did it ever occur to you to sort through your thoughts? If I can hear your thoughts, who says I can't look through your memories?'

'Ugh. Just the thought of you crawling around in there has my me gagging.'

'You think I like this? It's like looking through a fog that doesn't let you see the end of your nose.'

'Hey!'

'Shut up! Someone's coming! Quick, hide.' Heeding the warning, Aionion dived behind the bathroom door and prepared to grab the person that was about to open the slighlty noisy door.

The door swished and groaned as it opened and Aionion listened to the persons heels click on the cool ceramic tiles. He leapt from his hiding spot and roughly pinned the person to the wall with his elbow.

The nurse he had just pinned grabbed his arm and attempted to pry it from her throat. This was futile and her vision was beginning to blur. She made gurgling sounds as the last of her breath left her and then Aionion realized his mistake.

Aionion released her before she passed out and gently lowered her to the ground with his one good arm. She took large heavy breaths to get air back into her and had slumped against the wall.

Once she had gotten her breath back, she glared at Aionion while he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. She stood up, smacking away his hand as she did.

"What the hell was that for! You could have killed me!" Aionion looked at her with glazed eyes as he had a screaming match with the Crysilien.

'Fuck her!'

'No!'

'Let me fuck her then!'

'You don't even have a body!'

'Oh yeah!'

'Yeah!'

"Hey! Are you even listening to me! I told you you leave. Your stuff is in the lobby. We recovered what we could but your appliances were destroyed beyond repair." She left the room and the Crysilien had turned Aionion's head to look at her backside as she walked from the room.

Then she turned back around to tell him she'd bring him some clothes when she realized he was nude. She blushed terribly and rushed to get him a spare change of clothes.

When she returned, it was to the scene of Aionion looking out the window, back in the hospital gown. She was condiderably relieved and placed the clothes on the bed.

Aionion noticed she had left and turned to the bed that helf the clothes she left for him. Aionion slowly pulled on the blue long-sleeved shirt and black pants that were made of a material similar to his black fatigues. They were rough and uncomfortable, but he could deal with it for room

Aionion walked out of the room and wandered the halls until he found one of the directional signs that stated lobby. He followed the signs until he entered a room that took up more room than he thought was necessary. He crossed over to a strict looking woman who sat behind a large wooden desk.

He waited there nearly seven minutes before she looked up from her work. She looked at him strangely before he pushed up his sleeve and showed her the crystal arm.

She cringed and handed him his belongings and he went to change. Dressed in his comfortable clothes again, minus his torn cloak and face mask, Aionion set out to continue the mission.

3 hours later, hidden entrance to hideout

Aionion lay on top of a hill overlooking the small, almost unnoticeable entrance to the smuggler's den. He had his scythegun nearby in case anyone exited the cave. The blade was folded back and a silencer was placed on it, but otherwise, the scythegun looked the same.

He had a monocular pressed to his head and he was looking for any traps and or guards that were in place. Counting three traps but no visible guards, Aionion set off at a slight jog towards the entrance.

Nebula, as Aionion had found was its name, was keeping track of the traps but Aionion kept track as well because he didn't quite trust him yet. Not that Aionion had anything against him, but he was a slightly unlikable guy.

Aionion ignored the faint sarcastic remark of 'All I get is slightly!' and prepared for the shit to hit the fan.

The shit hit the fan as soon as he started. When he avoided the third and final trap, he neglected to see the wire above it which he slightly brushed against. This set off all three traps and alerted them to his approach.

Forgoing stealth, Aionion grabbed his scythegun and dashed into the den. The first three mercenaries he met were dealt with with a single swing of his scythegun. Another three rushed him and a fourth swung at him from behind. Aionion had no choice but to drop to his knees and spin, bringing his blade with him.

It blocked the sword from injuring him but it created a small nick in the middle of the shaft. He finished the spin, killing one of the three charging him and injuring the other two. Aionion reversed the swing and smashed the first man's head into the wall with the butt end of his scythegun.

The man went down and Aionion killed the other two as quick and efficiently as possible. Aionion continued on, not noticing the first man stand back up and give chase. He continued like this as he went, blocking one or two blows and delivering crippling or killing blows to the mercenaries.

When he came to the main chamber, he was soaked in the blood of thirty odd men that he had killed. The three men he had come to kill turned around. Two pulled out overly large swords, which Nebula commented on. 'I think they're making up for something they don't have.' The third pulled out two small swords. He held one in a reverse grip and the other normally.

Aionion noticed all of this in an instant and shut out the power by throwing his scythegun at them. Once they were plunged into darkness, Aionion dashed to his scythegun and spun around to block once he had a hold of it.

His scythegun broke in half and he froze as the blade continued on its deadly arc until he raised his left arm and the blade deflected off of it. This gave him the time to plan and grab his broken scythegun. He threw the shaft at the odd dual wielding swordsman. This caught him off guard and disoriented him.

That was enough for Aionion to rip his swords out of his hands and behead him with one of them. He spun and cross-blocked the other man who tried to bring a war hammer down on his head. Even with gravity lessening the force of the blow, when the man fired a rocket from the hammer, Aionion was nearly driven to his knees.

Aionion slid back along the floor and dived out of the way as a huge cleaver-like sword impacted where he was moments before. The blade carved through the ground like butter and Aionion and Nebula gulped in unison.

Aionion charged and was met by a hammer to the chest. He flew back and crashed into the first man who had just caught up. The man smashed back into the wall and slumped down, lifeless.

Aionion stood back up and imitated the stance the swordsman was in. His body was sideways to his opponents and his left foot was towards them. It was a poor imitation and Aionion used it to his advantage.

He waited for them to strike and reacted to each blow as it came. When the hammer came he would duck and try to slash his leg but always had to pull back to slide the cleaver to the side to avoid being bisected.

Now Aionion was tiring and the two had regrouped and both charged as one. Aionion rushed as well and jumped over the hammer swing but got a long cut down his leg. In return, he left a sword in the hammer wielder's heart and faced the cleaver wielding swordsman that he had nicked with his other sword.

It severely limited his power as he could only use one hand but he still swung it like it was nothing. Aionion and the man charged at one another. The man let out a battlecry and Nebula mimicked him.

The two swung their swords and Aionion was shocked to see his blade slide down the length of his blade and slash his chest open. Aionion's left arm took the blow and the blade glanced off.

The man toppled over and Aionion fell without the support of the bigger man's blade. Aionion lay on the ground to catch his breath then sat up to bandage his wounds. He bandaged his left and the various other small cuts he got and drank some water before he began setting charges to destroy the cave.

Aionion glanced over at his scythegun before grabbing the two blades and limping outside. Aionion had just gotten to the hill he had been on when the charges went off. Aionion had completed the mission so he left to get a plane back home.

Aionion spent the twelve hour flight getting his leg wound redressed and sleeping to conserve as much aura as he could.

Once Aionion was back at the headquarters, he sluggishly trudged to Malcoms room to hand in the mission and injury report. Malcom never even looked up, that is, until he saw an actual report on his desk and not an excuse for not having one.

He glanced up only to sigh at the state Aionion was in. He waved him on and went back to whatever he did all day. Nebula was silent for once, still going through the minefield Aionion called his memories.

Aionion tiredly ran into the wall just outside hisdoor then walked inside. He laid the swords near the desk and fell asleep on the bed, neglecting to change out of his clothes.