And we keep rolling into the next one.

Heart of darkness...What She Saw

The ship had landed. Piper, with her hands bound behind her, was escorted off the cargo ship with two Talons on both sides of her with Cyclonis in the front. They were met on the landing platform by none other than Dark Ace and several dozen other Cyclonians, a mixture of technicians and Talons. They quickly got to work unloading the strange containers off the ship.

Dark Ace approached and kneeled before Cyclonis. "Master Cyclonis, it's good to see you safely return." He looked up from where he knelt, catching sight of Piper behind Cyclonis. "I see it wasn't a completely boring trip." He added with a smirk as he stood.

"I would imagine you encountered the rest of the group already." Cyclonis asked she began to move around Dark Ace ad make way to some of the already offloaded containers.

"Indeed." Dark Ace affirmed as he moved in step behind his master. "We've already captured them and had them put in confinement."

Piper felt her heart sink further at Dark Ace's words. That's it then. There really is no hope left.

Cyclonis approached the container she had been casually caressing while she had been talking to Piper. She put her hand against it and began to rub it lightly once again. She looked over her shoulder to one of the technicians over seeing the offloading. "Take these to have them installed, to replace the ones that I'm sure are useless now." She turned her attention back to the container in front of her. "This one though, I want for that." She looked at Ace after she said this with a smile on her face. "Bring her along. I'm sure she can appreciate the sight of it." She said indicating Piper who was completely feeling vulnerable and confused.

At that moment, Stork was being wheeled off the ship on a gurney. Piper looked at him as he was wheeled passed. He was still unconscious and looked a shade of pale green that made Piper worry even more.

The Talon pushing the gurney stopped in front of Dark Ace and Cyclonis. "What do you want me to do with him?"

Cyclonis let a small dark smile cross her face. Piper could almost see the evil radiating out from under Cyclonis' cowl. "He needs treatment. I roughed him up a bit to much." She looked over at Piper now as she continued. "We don't want him to die just yet. He might be 'useful' later." She turned to look at Dark Ace as she finished. "It's a good thing we have a good doctor on staff. Best to take him there."

Realization suddenly hit Piper. Heron. "No!" She yelled as she rushed forward at Cyclonis only to be quickly held in place by the guards around her. "You can't take him to that mad man. Stork would rather die than be treated by him." She struggled vainly against her guard's grip.

"Then he will die Piper." Cyclonis said flatly, turning back towards Piper. "Slowly." She raised her staff, pointing it Stork's unconscious form. "If you want, I could kill him now. Quick and painlessly." The crystal on the end of her staff began to glow, reflecting Cyclonis's intent to kill.

Piper felt her strength leaving her again as she stopped struggling against the grip of her guards. "No." She said in a small voice. Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes. "Please don't kill him."

Cyclonis lowered her staff, the glowing of the crystal subsiding. "Then behave yourself." She said in a mocking, self assured tone. "I give you my word that he will be treated and made better than he was before, but only if you behave yourself." Cyclonis turned on her heel and began moving towards the platform door that led into the citadel. "Now come along quickly. I have a surprise for you that I'm sure a crystal expert such as yourself can truly appreciate."

Piper looked around her as she was being led into the citadel. The Talons and technicians were busy transporting the strange containers into a separate door from the one she was being led to behind Cyclonis. There were some crates being unloaded and immediately cracked open. They contained regular energy crystals used by the talons for their staff weapons.

Great. Piper thought to herself. Looks like Stryker's not so brilliant plan is only good for getting us captured. I swear, if i see that man again, I'm gonna kick him in the crotch so hard his grand kids will feel it.

She was moving through a dark hallway now. Cyclonis was still in front of her, lighting the passage with glow of her staff, with Dark Ace in tow behind her. Behind her was a couple technicians pushing the strange container on a moving jack.

Piper could not help but be curious of the contents of the container. Why were we on such a small cargo ship anyway? there's no way that such a small ship could carry enough crystals to re-power this place. Is what ever inside this container behind some sort of new power source. Ugh, i hate surprises. Piper continued following obediently behind Cyclonis, an uneasiness feeling her from the whole situation. Whatever was in the container, Piper was sure now more than ever that it couldn't be good.

A few moments later, Cyclonis and her entourage emerged into an open area. After they entered, a technician went over to the wall and pulled a crank. As he turned it, a door came down sealing off the passage they had just passed through. Piper looked around the room, taking in as much as she could make out with the limited light to try and get an idea of what may be coming next. The room was lined with various monitors, all of them were still dark from a lack of power.

"Hmmmm." Cyclonis let out a disappointed sigh. "be sure to discipline the technicians for not get everything running faster. Everything should have been powered on before we even reached here."

As if on cue, light filled the room. The various monitors now began powering on, all showing various readouts that Piper couldn't quite make out.

"Much better." Cyclonis said, the cowl over head began to unfurl, forming it's usual high collar look. "Now, time to begin." She nodded over to a figure that Piper hadn't seen before.

Piper jumped from seeing him suddenly there. Was he there the whole time? In the dark? Quickly calming herself she looked over the new person.

He was a Merb, but strange by comparison to Stork and other Merbs she had met. He stood straight up, but at the same time was a bit shorter than most Merbs. He had a slightly worn out looking grey coat that matched the color of his skin. He had long black hair that he kept slicked back out of his face. There were hints of grey at the temples that was slightly off shade of his skin, showing his age. He wore goggles over his eyes that were shaded, further bringing into question how he was moving around in the dark. Then the description hit Piper as familiar. With a strong tone of disgust in her voice, Piper addressed the Merb. "Dr. Heron, I presume."

A smile crossed Heron's face. "I see that my reputation precedes me." He put a hand out. "Indeed you are correct. I am Doctor Heron, master of all things medically mysterious. And you are?"

"Very angry to see you. You disease spreading freak." Piper added showing her disdain while knocking away Heron's outstretched hand.

"Ahhhh." Heron said in a tone that showed how little this statement affected him. "Been reading up on some unpleasant rumors about me, eh? You shouldn't put to much stock in what they print in books these days. It's always so closed minded and one-sided. No one ever appreciates the full scope of my work."

"Oh I think I appreciate it." Cyclonis spoke up from where she was standing. "And i would appreciate if you got back to it already!" Cyclonis said in a tone that reflected her impatience.

"Quite right." Heron said as he moved quickly over to the container that the technicians had set up next to a series of relays and monitors. He quickly pressed series of buttons on the large container. "Please begin connecting the cables." He said to the technicians as he stepped away. He moved over to Cyclonis, taking her lightly by the arm. He then casually guided her to a chair-like device in the center of the room. Various cables ran out from it. Some went monitors while the others connected to the container in front of her.

As she sat down, heron moved in front of her. "If I may?" He said in a reverent tone.

"Continue." Cyclonis said in a slightly annoyed tone. "It's not like this is the first time."

"Yes, but it never hurts to be courteous to a lady." Heron said in a slightly eager, almost joyful, tone. "You are, after all, living proof of my crushing defeat of death."

Piper was almost mesmerized by what she saw next. Heron simply reached over and undid some of the binding on Cyclonis' top. He carefully pulled back the cloth and, to Piper's surprise, revealed a metal plate on Cyclonis's chest. It was placed in the middle of her chest, directly on the sternum. Heron pulled her shirt down to just above the swell of her breasts, revealing a connecting port. Heron grabbed a cable from just over Cyclonis' left shoulder and connected it to the plate.

"Well, time to begin." Heron said in a giddy tone.

"Wait." Cyclonis said in an almost anxious tone. "Let me see it first."

Heron frowned a bit. "I can never understand your fascination with wanting to see them before the process." He quickly sighed then nodded to the technicians standing by the container. "You are the boss, so what you want, you get."

Piper, who was already feeling uneasy by the whole situation, felt the strength leave her knees as the container opened across the middle. The top half raised up on to reveal the contents. Piper collapsed to her knees, the sight of it causing her to feel sick and fascinated all at once.

Inside the container was a tube filled with red liquid. A figure could be seen floating in it. Looking at it, Piper could make out human features. But the form was distorted by various growths all over it's body. In the middle of all the various growths, Piper could make out energy crystals.

"Oh my god." Piper said in a weak voice as she tried to keep herself from vomiting. "You implanted a person with crystals? Why?"

Cyclonis and Heron exchanged a quick look before let out a small laugh. Heron began to explain while keeping a slightly amused tone in his voice. "We wouldn't do something so crude as that my dear girl." He took a few steps towards the container raising his hand to point out one of the growths on the person's body."If you look closely, you will notice there are no scars or anything similar that would point out obvious surgical operations. Though in the beginning we did do that." Heron paused for a moment, as if thinking back on old memories. "But those results were mixed and highly unreliable."

Piper could only stare as the crazy Merb in front of her continued in a tone of voice that reflected no remorse on what he had done. If anything, it sounded more like a lecture a teacher would give to students.

"What we have done here is for more efficient." Heron paused a moment to look at Cyclonis, who simply nodded. Heron continued. "I have some background, as you are aware, in diseases. One particular disease has a interesting effect of causing foreign organic matter to grow inside to body. A few slight modifications later and PRESTO!" He yelled last bit while shaking his hands like he was a magician. "We have viable crystal energy being produced from a living being." A grin was now wide on his face.

"That's monsterous!" Piper yelled at the smiling Heron.

Heron let the smile fade as he raised a finger, wagging it back and forth. "No no no, my dear. That's progress."

Piper was dumbfounded by how casually this person in front of her talked about destroying peoples lives. "That means that all those other containers are..."

"Yes Piper." Cyclonis spoke up from where she sat. "They're all just like him. They power my citadel. And when your little attack that Stryker set up went off, it killed the previous reactors."

"How could it kill them?" Piper said, a bit confused. "It would have just de-powered their crystals."

"Wrong again my dear." Heron said in a mocking tone. "Part of the beauty of this disease that I modified is that converts life energy directly in to crystal energy. As long as the hosts are alive, the crystals produce energy. But, sucking out all the energy from the crystal sucks out all the life energy as well."

"Where did you even get these people from?" Piper asked, afraid of the answer.

it was Dark Ace who answered this time. "You really don't think we keep prisoners forever do you?"

Piper was horrified. "But how could you do this? Why?"

"The answer is simple Piper." Cyclonis said in a flat and firm tone. "I'm dead."

"Now now, Master Cyclonis." Heron quickly added. "Your beyond death now, and more alive then any before you."

"Yes, I am" Cyclonis said, and then let a dark smile cross her face again. "Now to make sure I stay that way. Please continue doctor."

"With pleasure." Heron said as he went over to a series of monitors. "Prepare the main transfer sequence." He ordered the technicians around him.

"Wait, what are you doing now?" Piper asked feebly from the floor.

Dark Ace walked up beside her. Everyone else was ignoring her as the busied themselves. "Sadly, Master Cyclonis can't produce life enrgy herself anymore. She needs a transfusion of energy, and what better place to get it from than crystal energy created directly from life."

Piper was beyond her breaking point now for the horror she was seeing. "Wait, please dont do this."

"Oh please, Piper." Cyclonis said mockingly. "It's not the first time we have done this, and it won't be the last."

Heron let out a small chuckle from where he stood at his monitoring station. "I still remember how crude this all was the first time. We had to flood an entire wing of a prison with raw crystal radiation in hopes that the irradiated prisoners would give us enough energy to restart Cyclonis's life."

Dark Ace chuckled. "You were so reluctant then. But, my sword at your throat certainly got things moving."

And that was it, Piper realized, the great answer to Cyclonis's resurrection. They have sacrificed countless lives to keep her alive. The realixation out her into shock. The rest of the events that followed flowed across her numb eyes.

With a quick pressing of buttons, Heron activated the transfer. "Begin extraction!" He yelled to his techs.

The crystals in the growths on person's body began to glow brightly, filling the entire room with a bright red light. Even thought she couldn't hear anything, Piper saw the person in the glass move their mouth. She knew they were screaming. Loud noise filled the room from the various machines reaching full power.

"Energy levels reaching the transfer point!" Heron was yelling now to keep his voice above the whine of the machines in the room. "In three...Two..."He readied his hand on a lever. "NOW!" He pulled the lever.

Bright red energy streamed across the room through the various cables connecting to device Cyclonis sat on. It quickly arced into the cable connected to her chest.

Cyclonis arched her back as the energy began to pour into her. She gripped the armrests and she opened her mouth as if to scream, but no noise came out.

Then, just as quick as the energy streamed across the room, it suddenly stopped. Everything was quiet.

Cyclonis quickly broke the silence as she stood up. "It always leaves me feeling tingly afterwards." She said with a small laugh and a grin. "Heron, the results?" She said as she turned to face Heron who was reading over various monitors.

"We had much better efficiency that time." Heron said as he looked away from the monitors. "I'd say about a forty-seven percent increase from our last transfusion. That should give you about a month before we need to do another one."

Piper was thrown at the last statement. Only a month. They took an entire life for a month. She wanted to get up and do something, but she found that she had no energy. The shock of the whole situation left her motionless.

Cyclonis reached up and disconnected the cable from her chest. "A little bit more each time." She said with a slight sigh. She turned her attention to Piper. "Poor girl." She looked at Dark Ace. "I think we broke her." She and Ace shared a laugh at this. "Take her to go spend some time with her friends. They should enjoy what little time they have left."

Dark Ace saluted and bent down to pick Piper back on her feet. He then started shoving her towards the door.

Cyclonis suddenly turned to Heron. "I just remembered. We have a guest for you."

Heron perked an eyebrow. "For me? Who?"

Cyclonis grinned. "I hurt a little Merb by the name of Stork. He's in you lab waiting to be patched up."

"Stork you say?" Heron's surprise was evident in his voice "Never thought I'd see him again."

"Please be sure to give him the procedure after your done treating his wounds." Cyclonis said with a grin.

Piper, who hadn't passed through the door yet, caught a bad tone the way Cyclonis had said that. "Wait!" She yelled as she pushed back against Dark Ace's shoving. "What are you going to do to Stork? You gave me your word you would treat him."

"Poor little Piper." Cyclonis said with a laugh. "I do believe I said that he would get treated and be better than he was before. And I plan to keep my word." She let a small dark laugh as she turned her back on Piper.

Ace started shoving harder now pushing Piper through the door.

All the while Piper was yelling at the top of her lungs. "No! Leave him alone!"

Ace quickly cracked her over the head, knocking her out. He picked her up and caried her over his shoulder. She didn't regain consciousness until just before they reached her cell.

...

Aerrow felt a mixture of sadness and anger. "We have to get out of here."

Finn, who was just as equally enraged, spoke up, "Would love to do that, man. But unless we get some keys I don't think that's gonna work." He pulled on his restraints to emphasize his point.

Suddenly, from the vent above them, they heard a noise. They all looked up in time to see a set of keys drop through the vent.

"Um.." Finn stammered. "How about a blue eyed amazonian beauty to come sweep me off my feet?"

Just as he finished saying that, the vent crashed open. Radaar landed on the floor and chirped out a quick "Ta-Da!"-like noise.

Aerrow grinned. "Close enough for me"

Radaar quickly scooped up the keys and began to unlock all their restraints.

"Time to strike back guys." Aerrow said to his now completely released team.

"And strike hard." Junko said as he cracked his knuckles and punded his fists together.

Whew long one this time. Hope you all enjoyed it. If you did or didn't, please let me know with that little review button. Time to start the counter attack, see ya there.