Winds of Change Book II Distant Thunder

by RGZ Archer

Kai has assembled his team, and the group of seven must now race against both Cyclonia and time itself to prevent a weapon of unimaginable power from falling into the wrong hands. But just whose hands are the wrong hands? Who is their true enemy?

22. Horrors of the Ancients, Kai’s Mission!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 22: Horrors of the Ancients, Kai's Mission Revealed!

AN: Alright, here it is, the long awaited chapter has arrived. I've been dropping hints along the way, but now that the story has passed the point of no return, its time for a bit of Kai's ugly past to get dragged out into the light kicking and screaming. I'm not going to kid around here, there will be a bit of humor towards the beginning, and there will be a touch of romance too, but when it reaches its peak, it's only to serve as a cushion to help soften the blow. This chapter will have a part to it that some readers might find disturbing. It's not 'M' grade, but it's pretty gruesome. This is something that I've been building up to for a while now, but now its here. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Kai's reason for his dedication to the destruction of the Ancients.

Oh, and don't forget check out Arashi21's profile for his work as well as a few that we are joint writing. Also, apparently I never said this before since I thought it was obvious, but Kai is in fact 'British'. In my world, terra Messa is what's left of the Emerald Isles after the 'Darkest Day' event. So he has a British accent, same as Starling. I joked with Arashi21 about it not long ago and was surprised by this fact, so I figured that it wasn't as obvious as I thought it was.

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda or anything related to Fallout 3. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment Nintendo and Bethsaida (I think) however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, Kanin, Tsuki, Majah and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

It took nearly two hours for them to reach their destination.

Lunar Canyon

Kai came to a sliding stop, nearly falling off the edge of the cliff when the ground suddenly just came to a end. No warning, no signs, nothing, just empty air.

"Kanin, next time, a warning would be appreciated," Kai hissed. Feeling suddenly cold, it took a moment for him to realize that Starling had hopped off of his back. He didn't know why, but he missed the comforting warmth, at least until he beat down that part of his mind again.

Starling scanned the area with a critical eye, trying to find any obvious signs of recent activity along the cliff facing them.

"Kai, Kanin, do you see anything?"

The two males scanned the area themselves, but like Starling, they couldn't see anything obvious.

All three knew that something had to be up, despite there not being any footprints, claw marks, or other signs of recent activity in the area; they each had a sinking feeling in their stomachs.

"Kanin, is this area usually this quiet?" Kai asked in a hushed tone.

The large beast looked down at Kai and shook its head before looking back to the cliff face.

Pulling out a pair of binoculars the Piper had let her borrow, Starling flipped them to their lowest setting before activating Stork's X-ray function.

"That's strange, I don't see anything, anything at all…not even a bird. This entire area is completely void of life," Starling said mostly to herself but just loud enough that she knew the boys could hear her.

"Maybe there is something in the book that can help?" Kai thought as he pulled out his radio to call Piper for help.

Static

"Huh? That's weird; I know I charged this thing, what on Atmos is going on here?" Narrowing his eyes, Kai tried changing the frequency to a higher setting. Tigger had made the device specifically for him so that he could still hear, and be heard from the depths of terra Deep. The place was a dead zone, and radio waves had a difficult time cutting through the terra's blanket of green mist, so for something to be blocking the signal here meant trouble.

"….glory that it once was. That is why I am asking you to continue the fight that your forefathers started so long ago, for the preservation of the pure and blue world."

"Kai, I understand that you have a short attention span, but could you please cut back on the tomfoolery until after the mission?" Starling asked, irritation dripping from her voice.

"Star, it's not me, I was just trying to get in touch with Piper," Kai defended.

Not believing him, Starling took the small radio from his hand and checked it herself.

"Two twelve? Kai, that's a high priority emergency frequency," before Starling could continue however, the voice of what they guessed to be a middle aged man began speaking again.

"Though many years have passed, I, President John Henry Eden ask that you not forget the cause that our great people fought for, the banner that they all served, and the country that they defended," not wanting to listen to any more of the mans patriotic dribble, Kai took back the radio and lowered the volume.

"I told you it wasn't me," Kai said with a snort.

"Kanin, do you know of anyone named John Henry Eden on this terra?" Starling asked the giant, trying to figure out what was going on.

"No, never heard of him, or anyone even close," was the werewolf's half grumbled reply.

Frowning, Starling reached out for Kai's radio.

"May I borrow this? It'll only be for a moment, I promise."

Kai shrugged and handed the device to her and watched as she fiddled around with it. He was a bit of a tinkerer himself, but he couldn't figure out what she was doing.

When the mans voice suddenly stopped, he saw a small smirk spread itself across her lips.

"Bingo, I think we've found just the clue we were looking for," Starling said confidently.

"Uh…Star, what are you talking about?" Kai asked, still not getting what she was thinking.

"This area is a dead zone, no radio signals can get in or out, but we were still able to pick up that one, any idea why?"

Running the information over in his mind, Kai tried to put the pieces together, and was having a rather difficult time doing so.

"If nothing can get in or out, we shouldn't be able to pick anything up at all; I still don't see how this helps any."

Shaking her head, Starling used the toe of her boot to draw a decent sized circle in the ground.

"We are inside the dead zone," Starling said as she pressed her toe into the middle of the circle. "Nothing can get in, or out," she continued by drawing a line from the middle to the edge of the circle, then drawing another line from the outside of the circle to its edge.

"If nothing can get in or out, then how could we pick up that one signal?" Starling asked, hoping that she had dropped enough hints.

"The only way would be…if…it was inside the circle too right?" Kanin asked gruffly.

Nodding her head, Starling continued.

"Correct, wherever that signal is coming from, it has to be within this area, otherwise we wouldn't be able to pick it up."

Kanin crossed his large clawed arms over his torso and leaned against a nearby tree. "It still doesn't tell us where it is though, just that it's around here," he replied, slightly smug over her plan not actually doing all that much.

"Actually…it might, let me have it back for a sec," Kai asked smoothly, his mind instantly going back into 'mission mode'.

Taking the radio, Kai turned the settings back to the way they had been before, and raised the volume just high enough that the mans voice could be heard. He didn't need to be able to understand what he was saying; he just needed to be able to hear him speaking.

"You going to use S&R recon on it?" Star asked with a grin.

Kai's face went blank.

"How did you know that?" He asked, slightly stunned as she pulled the radio out of his grip and adjusted the power setting.

"Kai, I have been a Sky Knight for years, and I was trained for the Special Forces. It wouldn't look too good for my record if I didn't know basic search and rescue protocol," as she spoke, Starling got the power just low enough that the mans voice could barely be heard. Happy that she had it just the way she wanted, Starling took several steps back from the cliff.

Sure enough, the voice disappeared.

"Wherever it's being broadcasted from, it's somewhere in the canyon, or across the other side," Starling said as she moved back towards the two males.

"Anyway to get that thing to tell us exactly where?" Kanin asked, wanting to get this mission over with as quickly as possible.

"Unfortunately no, it can only tell us if we are getting closer or further away from it, not the exact location," Starling replied.

"Did you see anything strange when you came out here last time? Anything that might have been manmade?" Kai asked scratching his chin.

Kanin shook his head. "No, didn't have that much time since a storm was pounding down on me at the time. I ran from one end of the canyon to the other, but I didn't investigate down in the canyon, there was too much water."

Starling frowned at that.

"If you didn't see anything up here….then that means…it…"

"Must be down there," Kia finished Starling's thought with a groan.

"Is there a path or a lift to reach the canyon floor?" Starling asked hopefully.

Kanin chuckled deep from the bottom of his throat at her question.

"No, the only way down is by climbing. This is our proving grounds, where one must descend alone, and retrieve a Lunar crystal before climbing back out, on there own. No woman is allowed either. Looks like you'll just have to sit this one out."

Feeling his lip pulling back into a scowl, Kai calmed himself. He knew that Starling probably hadn't picked up the hidden insult in the message, especially since she was not a native of this terra. The comment had been aimed at Kai, and he was not going to let it go without returning the favor.

"Actually, the laws state that no woman may become a warrior, it doesn't say anywhere that they cant complete the ritual, just that they wont be recognized for not rolling over to the customs," Kai shot back.

Kanin scowled but didn't say anything to push the matter further while Kai kept his face neutral.

"I guess that means we're going down then. Any suggestions?" Starling asked as she peered over the rocky edge apprehensively.

"Yeah, don't fall," Kanin replied as he neared the edge and sank his claws into the ground, and slowly crawled down the rock face, leaving Kai and Starling alone.

"Well, guess there's nothing else we can do huh?" Kai asked before snapping his wrist out and grabbing Starling by the arm.

"What are you doing?"

Pulling her arm free, Starling shot Kai a scathing glare.

"I was about to start climbing down, at least I was before you almost made me fall over the edge by grabbing me like that," Starling retorted.

"You're joking right?" Kai asked seriously (though inside it was more along the lines of hopefully pleading).

"No I was not. Kai, you're not seriously thinking about leaving me up here are you? You know I don't give a…"

"I know you don't care about their customs Star, I just don't want you…to fall," Kai said bluntly, not knowing how else to put it.

Rolling her eyes, Starling pulled on her thick riding gloves and said everything she needed to with one 'look'. Basically reminding him of who he was talking to in the first place.

"Fine, just…let me go first alright?" Seeing the questioning look in her eyes, he continued. "If you go first and I fall, then I'm probably going to take you with me on the way down, but if I go first…" he let the rest of the unwelcome sentence hang. It wasn't something he wished to dwell on, but if there was anything he could do to lower the chances of her getting hurt, he'd do it.

"Very well, you may go first, just try not to get distracted, I wouldn't want to step on your hand or something and us both fall," Starling replied exasperatedly.

Nodding, Kai followed Kanin's example, and sunk his gauntlets claws into the ground, and started his way down.

The trio continued to descend for a good ten minutes. Kanin had a head start, so he was a bit further down than Kai and Starling. Though he wasn't feeling tired or weak per say, Kai was growing weary of the climb. Since Starling was only a few feet above him, she was continuously showering him dirt and small bits of rock every time she moved a hand or a foot. This was annoying, but he didn't say anything about it. If he did, she would tell him to move to one side, or she would move to one side, and if she fell afterwards, he wouldn't have a prayer of catching her in time.

Starling herself was starting to get a bit tired. Unlike Kanin and Kai, she was a normal human, and had only normal human grade strength. More than once since this decent had started she had thought about stopping, or trying to find another way down, but those would only be a waste of time, and would serve to prove Kanin right. Her desire to prove herself however was not quite enough to stop the slow burning sensation creeping up through her arms and legs. She knew that her muscles were starting to reach their limit.

"Maybe when we reach the bottom I get another lift?" Shaking her head to clear the though, Starling felt her grip slip.

"Oh bugger, Kai!" Was all that she managed to say before losing her grip.

Looking up, only took half a heartbeat for him to figure out what was happening.

His worst fear.

Flexing his shoulders and hands, Kai waited until he saw her grip break, and her start to fall.

Thrusting out with one arm, he caught her by the waste and pulled her as close as he could, adrenalin making his heartbeat pound in his ears.

"Before you even think it, no, I'm not letting you drop, now get back on that wall!" Kai ordered, feeling the strain from her added wait starting to loosen his own grip.

Biting her lip, Starling hissed in pain. "Kai, I think I slit my palm," she replied shakily.

"Just bloody great…man, if this doesn't kill me, she will, I know it."

Still holding her by the waste, Kai tried to maneuver her between himself and the wall of earth and rock. He needed both arms to keep them up, and this was the only thing he could think of. One hand was just about buried into the rocky wall, so he let gravity pull him down and against her like a wedge to keep them both from falling. It wouldn't last for long, but it bought them some time.

"Star, I need for you, to listen very, very, closely to me, alright?" Kai's voice strained only slightly, but he didn't allow an ounce of fear to seep out. His face was being pushed into the rock, forcing him to breathe in dirt with each passing breath.

Starling, still frozen in a half shocked state was only able to nod her head in response. There were too close to each other for him to see the movement, but he had felt it on his shoulder.

"Ok, I need for you to hold on to me as tightly as you can, hold onto me like your life depends on it ok?" Kai made sure to phrase it as 'like your life' and not 'because your life' since he didn't want to add any more stress to the situation than it already had.

Straining from their combined weight, Kai groaned. "Please, sometime soon Star."

Without replying to a word he said, he felt her arms snake around his neck and legs wrap around his waste, each like a pair of vices.

For one fleeting moment, Kai wondered why the Ayrgyn in the back of his mind was keeping so quiet at a moment like this.

"Well, here it goes. Express lift to Oblivion, bottom floor," Kai thought with a gulp as he released his hold on the wall, and let them both fall.

This was a last ditch no other option left plan, he knew it, but that was the sort of thing he was used to, and since it had never failed him before…

Thrusting out his hands and legs into an X, Kai tried to slow their fall as much as possible. Never in his life had he been so glad to have been wearing armor before, and he doubted he ever would again.

Hearing a loud screeching noise from above, Kanin looked up in time to see Kai coming at him like missile, sparks flying out from his gloves and boots.

Snorting, he swung to his left by releasing his right arm for a moment and allowed the teen to speed by him towards the bottom.

"Showoff," he thought before grinning. Sinking his foot claws into the rock as best he could, Kanin hefted himself up and started running up towards the top of the canyon, before twisting around and reversing his direction.

"No way am I going to let that whelp make me look bad!" Kanin's grin spread as he ran on all fours down the wall of rock.

Kai and Starling fell for over a full minute before the inevitable occurred.

SLAM

"Ooowwwww," Kai groaned, suppressing his cry of pain as several weak coughs.

Forcing his eyes open, he could see what looked like waves moving through the air along with several various colored spots and other random shapes moving around.

"This…has happened before…and I don't think it was a good thing that time either," was the only thing he could think as he tried to pull himself together. It took a few seconds for his brain to start functioning again, but when it did, he became aware of the large purple shape taking up a large portion of his vision.

Groan

"Kai….are…you ok?"

Starling's voice was hushed, but at the same time he could tell that she was very close by. A moment later the purple blob moved away from him a bit and allowed his eyes the chance to focus.

"St…ar? Could…you….get…..off….please?" he managed to say between coughs.

Instead of getting off, she leaned closer to his face, close enough that he could have sworn that he saw his reflection in her eyes. When he felt one of her hand reach up to his face, he felt the familiar unwelcome burning sensation of embarrassment burning across his cheeks.

Thankfully, she didn't seem to be focusing on his face, just his eyes at the moment.

"Kai, your left eye is dilated, there's a good chance that you've sustained a concussion, you need to stay awake, if you fall asleep…"

"There's a…good chance that I…won't wake up, yeah, I know…Star. Not like this is the…first time it's happened," the teen said between dry coughs. "I thought this felt familiar, well, lets have it, the scolding and the speeches," Kai thought wistfully.

To his surprise, she didn't scold him; she didn't say anything at all actually. Her face just shifted from being focused and a bit concerned to one of half hidden pain and disappointment.

"Um….Star….could you get off…please?" Kai asked turning his head to look the other way. It only took a moment, but he felt the slight pressure of her bodyweight remove itself from him, and caught sight of her outstretched hand. Without a second though, he accepted the help in getting up off his back.

"Hold still for a moment, I need to check something."

Taking a deep breath, he waited as she stepped behind him, he knew what was to come, he had gone to see Rondana for concussions before after all.

Nimble fingers quickly worked their way across the back of his head, pushing and prodding, not gently but at the same time not too hard. When he didn't grunt or hiss in pain, he felt Starling run her gloved hands over his head from front to back, then side to side.

"No blood, so at least we don't have to worry about that. I guess that hard head of yours is good for something after all."

Biting his tongue, Kai stopped his joke before it could leave his mind. He knew that it wouldn't be appreciated at a time like this.

"Do you feel any sharp pain, like anything's sprained or broken?" She asked, still in her 'mission mode' voice.

Clinching his fists, Kai rotated his arms slowly, flexed his shoulders, rotated his neck and lifted his legs one at a time as slowly as he could.

"No, just…a dull ach, like having a headache in my whole body," he replied with a light chuckle.

"That's what happens when you fall flat on your backside like that, what else did you expect to happen whelp?" Kanin shouted as he landed beside the two with a much lighter 'thud' than Kai had.

"We need to keep moving, and Star, don't worry about me. Like you said, as long as I stay awake I'll be fine….now if the ground will just stop tilting like that, I can start moving," Kai said as he started moving forward, wobbly and a bit shakily.

Kanin snickered at the boy actions, and though she couldn't make out what he was saying, Starling swore that she heard something along the lines of 'so this is what he acts like drunk' roll across his canine lips.

With a groan, Starling quickly caught up to Kai and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Hold on, we need to…oh….Kai…please don't tell me that you…." The sound of a gloved hand slapping its owner's forehead could be heard echoing throughout the canyon.

There, before them, were the busted remains of Kai's radio, in the middle of a crater that looked suspiciously like a human's outline.

"Not….my…fault Star….how was I supposed…to know?" Kai asked hazily.

"It matters not, we have no need of the thing now," Kanin said pointing at the ground around them.

Sure enough, all around where they had been standing were foot prints.

"So that's why I'm not dead huh?" Kai said with a small smirk. The ground was covered in what had to be at least several inches of mud, thick, deep, almost swampy mud. That of course made him realize something else.

"Aw man, that means…my back is…" shuddering, Kai's senses were slowly returning to him, including his ability to feel things other than pain. At the moment, all he could feel was cold wet mud sliding down his neck into his uniforms top.

"Oh grow up, come on, we need to find where these things are coming from," Starling chided as she started following the tracks.

Kanin shook his head before following her, not wanting to waste time at the moment arguing, especially not when he was sure that there would be a battle soon at hand.

Pulling his thoughts together, Kai leaned with one hand against the wall and slowly started following the other two.

Had it been for any other reason, she probably would have been enjoying herself. Though Starling was focusing on following the footprints, she was still able to see the Lunar crystals that lined the canyon wall out of the corners of her sight, she was even able to see what looked like drawings carved into the rock with claws. Some looked fresh while others were almost faded with age. Lunar canyon was indeed a remarkable place, but at the moment, her thoughts were less than positive.

"He shrugs off a concussion as if it were a stumped toe? Kai, what have you been doing to yourself since you left?"

Starlings face went from a scowl to a frown.

"I thought that he would find a place with others after I sent him off, I had hoped that he would find a place to fit in, but instead…why did you do it Kai? Why didn't you just move on with your life?"

Clinching her fists, she took deep breaths as she continued following the tracks almost like she was on auto pilot.

"He doesn't have to continue doing these missions for Ayrgyn, but he does. Why? I know he has a kind heart, but he's not exactly the hero type that just does things for the good of mankind. He's either trying to find something, or he's trying to do something. Kai is a methodical person, he never does anything for no reason. The question is, what? What is he searching for? Or what is he trying to achieve? I saw his swag room back at terra Deep, he could buy a decent chunk of a terra if he wanted to, or a fleet of skimmers. So it must be something that you can't buy. If it's not something that can be bought, then that cuts out quite a few of the possibilities. Could it be something of the Ancients? That would explain why he is constantly dungeon diving, and why he doesn't want anyone to know what he's up too, but it wouldn't explain all the work he's put into establishing a network for himself throughout Cyclonia and Free Atmos."

Twisting her neck to try and pop the crick she had been feeling since they 'landed' Starling eyed Kai for a moment, and tried to figure out just when your young friend changed, and why.

"Kai, you're a puzzle of a person if I even met one. I just hope that whatever it is you've put your life on hold for is worth it."

The trio stopped when they came to a dead end. The tracks seemed to continue through the wall of rock, which could mean only one thing.

"Great, a secret entrance. Any ideas?" Kai grumbled as he leaned against the cold rock and closed his eyes. It wasn't that he was tired; he just wanted the ground to keep still for a little while.

"We open it moron," Kanin shot back before slamming his fists into the wall as heard as he could.

The result was the sound of rock cracking, along with a snarl of annoyance.

"Oh yeah, like that would work," Kai muttered under his breath.

Looking over his shoulder, Kanin snorted. "Let's see you do any better whelp."

Not one to let a challenge go unanswered, Kai smashed his gauntlets together before slamming them into the wall of rock as hard as he could.

To his credit, a visible crack did spread out from the point of impact and spider web out for about a foot.

"Hn, just what I though," Kanin snorted.

Narrowing his eyes at the werewolf, Kai reared back his fist, and struck again, then again, and again.

Kanin, not wanting to be outdone copied the younger male's example and started pounding as hard as he could against the wall.

Kai's fist would strike, and then as soon as his hand pulled back Kanin's would strike the same spot. This process continued for several seconds while Starling watching from a few feet away and sighed.

"Males, they're all a bunch of cavemen, what's next, them howling at the moon and beating their chests to a drum beat?" she thought as she rolled her eyes.

Reaching into her ponytail, Starling extracted a single lock pick (one of seven that she carried, three of which were hidden in her hair) and fit it into a small space between two rocks on the wall. Ignoring the males as they descended further and further down the evolutionary ladder, she focused on the clicks of the lock.

Click

"That's the best you've got? I've been slapped harder by girls!" Kai shouted.

Click Starling ignored them, but filed that comment away for future explanation.

"Ha! I've had fish bite harder than that, you're not even a whelp, you're a pup!" Kanin shouted as his fist connected with the rock wall.

The two pulled their fists back at the same time, and threw them towards the wall of rock, sending every last ounce of strength they had into the blow.

Pop

And connected with nothing but air as the two were carried by their own momentum several feet into a dimly lit cave, and landed face first with a thud.

"Savages" Starling though as she stepped into the cave and surveyed her new surroundings.

The walls were obviously metal, but unlike anything she had ever seen before. It was flat paneling, like the inside of a carrier, but it seemed to go on for miles and miles.

"Where would anyone get this much metal from? You could build an entire city with this!" Starling realized as she looked up and saw that the metal walls ran clear up the length of the canyon.

"There's more metal here….than in all of Free Atmos," Kai said with a pensive face.

"You've seen this before?" Starling asked as her gaze continued to travel across the giant construct.

The only way to describe it was that they were inside of a manmade mountain. The walls rose up for well over several hundred feet, and continued out further than they could see.

"One could live their entire life in this place, and never see it all," Kanin said dumbly as his eyes tried to take in everything at once.

Just when they were starting to come back to their senses, the three found themselves blinded as white lights suddenly flickered to life above them and to their sides.

Snap pop

"Oh," Kai started.

Snap pop. With widened eyes, Kanin continued. "My."

Snap pop. "God," Starling finished.

Snap pop, snap pop, snap pop, snap pop.

Row after row of lights came to life, no longer were they inside of a dimly let cavern. As the lights continued to cut on, they were bathed in light as they would had they been on the surface.

"What is this place?" Kanin asked as the three looked on, feeling smaller and smaller by the second.

Scanning the walls for something, anything, Kai overlooked the various pieces of machinery that cluttered the area.

"No…it can't be…." Kai felt his heart stop and his stomach drop into his feet.

"No…no…nononononono, this is bad, very, very bad. We need to get out of here, now!" Kai ordered.

Starling and Kanin both spun on their heels to face their team's third member.

At first they were confused, but now they were both worried.

Following Kai's gaze, they saw an unfamiliar symbol etched onto the wall above the entrance.

Kanin stared at the emblem with little more than confusion, but Starling was now focused completely on Kai.

"What is it? You've seen this mark before?"

Kai nodded, feeling the blood drain from his face.

"No, how many more of these things are there!?"

"I don't see the problem with it, it's just a poorly done cave scratching. I've seen pups do better with sticks and mud."

Kai shuddered as images from not too long ago fluttered across his vision, images that had left him waking with nightmares for weeks and unable to eat meat or go near Rondana for even longer.

"You don't get it, that's….that's an insignia…for one of the Ancients…one of the worst ones that ever existed," shuddering, Kai felt the bile in his stomach starting to quiver.

"Keep it together, just breathe in and breath out, you have to get them out of here, if they see anything like…that…" Kai was unable to prevent his shoulders from trembling. He had seen many things in his life, but there were only a few he wished he hadn't.

"Do…do you remember….what Piper said this place was?" Kai asked as he pushed the memories back as deep as he could.

"She said that it was a testing facility of some kind…something about failed experiments if I'm not mistaken," Starling replied, now genuinely worried about her friend.

"So what? They send a bunch of junk contraptions here and smash them; I still don't see the problem.

As soon as the word 'smash' left Kanin's mouth, Kai's eyes widened and he fell onto his knees. His fast breathing now becoming raspy, he felt his entire body began to convulse and shudder.

"Kanin, don't say anything even close to that word again, please, I can't take much more," Kai begged.

Lowering herself onto her knees, Starling grabbed Kai by the shoulders and pushed him back slightly so she could see his face.

"My Lord, he's crying? What on Atmos could he have seen that has him shaken this badly?"

Looking her dead in the eye, Kai could almost hear her thoughts; it didn't take much given what was happening.

"I…I….cant….tell you….Star….I cant….."

"Kai….you need to pull yourself together. We have a mission to complete. I'm right here with you ok? I'm going to help you get through this, just take deep breaths, and try to calm down.

If anything that made his eyes shift from fear to terror.

"No, you can't, Star, you have to get out of here, you can't see it."

Slight fear became deep concern. Never in all the years had she known him had she ever seen Kai this bad.

"If it got to him like this, then it must have been something terrible….what could people do that is so horrible that someone like Kai would be driven like this?"

"I don't care. The team comes first, and the mission must be completed. Kai, what would happen if Lark were to find this place?"

She wasn't sure what exactly was here to begin with, but she knew that Kai did, and she hoped that it would 'kick him into gear' so to speak.

"Or….the Council….dear…." shutting his eyes tightly, Kai slumped forward into Starling.

"Please Star…please leave," his muffled voice pleaded.

A part of her was offended that he apparently had such little faith in her, but something else was at hand here. His tone, his voice, the way he was almost pleading with her, it didn't seem to fit.

"It…doesn't seem like…he thinks I can't….its almost as though he doesn't want me to…"

Taking a deep breath, Starling pushed herself up, and held out her hand. She wished that she didn't have to play this card, it was dirty, underhanded, and went against everything she tried to uphold, but right now, she knew it was he only option.

"I'm going, if you can't, then stay here, but I'm going," as she spoke, Starling began moving towards the gigantic bases interior.

Pat

Pat

Pat

Closing her eyes, Starling forced back the hurt she felt within. She had just used her closest friend's deepest fear against him, like a weapon, the way an enemy would.

And it worked.

Stopping for a moment, she watched as he walked past her with a dead, almost haunting look in his eyes.

"I promise Kai, I promise, that no matter what, I will make this up to you," she swore to herself as she watched her broken friend move towards the bases interior.

After nearly two hours of walking, the group stopped. Starling and Kanin had been taking in everything they saw with a mixture of amazement and dread. Never had they seen such fantastic mechanical devices, even if they didn't have a clue as to what they were the sheer scale of what they had seen was enough to impress them. But at the same time, they both knew that there was something…dark about this place. Some of the devices they saw, despite not recognizing what they were or what they did, were obviously weapons of some type. The overwhelming number of these things gave the two a chilled feeling running down their spines. Added to that, they knew that there was something else here, something that Kai had run across before.

As they moved deeper and deeper into the base, they had come across several large hanger doors, each with various markings emblazoned across them. Kai had pointed them out and mumbled what a few of the marking meant, but for the most part had been silent, the only sounds aside from his breathing being his foot steps across the metal floor.

"How do you know where you're going?" Kanin asked after they turned down what looked like the twentieth identical hallway.

"Because….they're all the same…they made em that way of purpose," Kai mumbled.

Reaching the end of the hallway, they came to a stop in front of a pair of hanger doors. Like the ones before it, it too had a large emblem in its center.

"….you….should cover your eyes….when…I open…it. It's a straight shot through here, just….don't....just keep walking straight forward."

"Is it some kink of light based security system?" Starling asked, confused by his request.

Kai only shook his head as he reached up and traced the symbol on the door with his gloved had.

Unlike the others which looked like giant symbols, this one looked more like what one would expect to see as a squadron insignia. A large golden pole ran down the middle of the design, and wrapped around it were two snakes, coiled from the base of to the top staring at each other. Behind them was a pair of what looked like golden wings, like those of a large eagle.

"Kai, what is behind this door? Is it something dangerous? Is it a threat of any kind?" Starling asked with narrowed eyes.

When he turned to look at her, the pained expression on his face was almost more than she could bear.

"Remember…how you and the others…asked about the Virage? Where they came from….how they….were made?"

Starling nodded her head, remembering how evasive he had become whenever the topic was brought up.

"These….Deathclaws….they're just….like them….they….are…the same…I think."

Glancing from the door, back to Kai, Starling could feel the pain, the fear, and the dread that was pouring out from her former ward.

She would later be amazed at how simple her choice had seemed at that moment, amazed at just how much it would later change things, but never once would she regret it, no matter how many sleepless nights it brought to her.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Starling reached out and placed her hand on top of his, entwining her fingers with his on the cold metal door. She could feel his shaking hand still beneath hers, giving her the final push she needed.

"Kai…whatever is on the other side of this door…I want to see it."

She watched as his face slowly turned towards hers stared deep into her eyes.

Regret, fear and dread were all there in equal parts, but she could make out just a tiny flicker of something else.

Relief

"Are…you sure?" He asked breaking eye contact and looking back at the door as though it were the gates to the underworld.

Without hesitation, she answered.

"Yes"

Kanin watched the exchange between the two. He was getting a bit tired of the way Kai was acting, but his nose was telling him that on the other side of that door, death would be all that they found.

With one shaky hand, Kai reached up to a strange looking pad covered with buttons that sat on the adjacent wall, and smashed it. Pulling his other hand free from Starling's he reached inside and pulled several wires out. It became painfully obvious to Starling and Kanin that this was something he had done more than once, or even a few times.

Holding up two wire ends, one in each hand, Kai looked over his shoulder at the other two.

"I'm sorry," was all that he said as he connected the two wires.

With a woosh the door split open, each half retracting into the wall on each side.

Seeing Kai's pained face, Starling reached out and grabbed his hand with hers again. She knew that he needed help getting through whatever this was.

She only hoped that she was strong enough.

Preparing for the worst that she could imagine, Starling found herself no where near properly prepared as she stepped into the room hand in hand with Kai.

It looked like a plain enough room at first, just like the one's they had seen throughout the base. But unlike the empty rooms, or the rooms full of various mechanical and electrical equipment, this one was not 'empty'.

Lining the walls on all sides where what could only be described as large clear tanks. Each stood at about seven feet in height and was close to four feet across, and each was made of some sort of glass.

Seeing their contents however, Starling felt bile rising into the back of her throat.

Not one of the tanks was empty, not one of them.

Inside some of the tanks were half rotted and decomposed creatures that looked like they had once been Deathclaws, or something similar. Others held creatures far more monstrous than she could have ever imagined. Large sections of flesh was missing, chunks of muscle were exposed, in some cases she could even see bone.

It was far worst than any horror movie she had seen.

This was real.

Kanin felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he looked around the room. More than one of the dead creatures had what was obviously fur.

Starling felt Kai's hand begin to shake in her own, looking over at him, she saw a vacant look in his eyes, one that she knew meant he was reliving or reseeding something terrible.

"They….grew weapons?" Kanin snarled, unconsciously forcing his claws out from his finger tips.

"They….did….a lot worst Kanin….a lot worst," Kai replied with a distant voice.

"What could be worst than taking some poor animal and…and….doing THIS to it?!" Kanin roared in anger. It was taking everything he had not to smash open the tanks and destroy the remains of the long dead creatures inside.

Kai looked over at Starling, and without saying a word, told her everything.

Looking into his eyes, Starling saw pain far worst then she could have imagined, pain that radiated from him and almost choked her.

"What could be worst then experimenting on animals?...Oh dear…." Starling felt her stomach clinch so tight that it hurt.

"They….didn't…"

Seeing black leak into the corner of her sight, Starling fought to keep herself conscious.

"They…couldn't have….no human would do something like that….would they?"

Feeling his hand tighten in hers, Starling saw Kai mouth two words, just two tiny words.

'They did'

Feeling her strength quickly fading, Starling was thankful when Kai started moving. Kanin kept perfect pace with them, fuming more and more with every step they took.

"Seven months ago…I found the first one…." Kai began as Starling forced herself to see everything in the room. She knew that Kai had done so at least once, and that this must have been the answer to her question, the very thing she had been seeking since this mission began.

"It…I didn't know what it was….but when I found the second one…I found out."

As they continued to move through the room at a brisk pace, Starling shivered when she spied several surgical tables coming into view.

"The third one though….that was when I found out about….the Virage…."

Not wanting, but needing to know the answer, Starling asked the question, dreading its answer.

"When….when did they start?"

Feeling the fear in his clinched hand replaced by a sudden flood of anger, Starling knew what he was going to say before he did, but that didn't lessen the blow in the least.

"They started from the beginning Star, they started…from zero," was Kai's frosty response.

Starling pulled her free hand up and wrapped it around her stomach tightly as the painful truth settled into the pit of her stomach.

"How….could anyone….even think…"

"Star….I…wish you didn't….know…"

Fighting back the tears as best she could, Starling shook her head. "No one, no human should have to carry that burden by themselves."

Kai snorted.

"No one should have to carry it at all…..that's why I do this Star….to keep anyone from finding out….or the Oracle stone forbid, try to use it."

Kanin might not have quite understood everything that Kai was saying to Starling, but his nose didn't lie. This place had been empty for a long time, but it took more than time to wash away the stench of blood.

The blood of humans.

The blood of his people.

The blood of those that never had a chance.

Kanin was seeing red, and he needed to vent. This was no longer about the safety of his village; this was something far more important now.

He didn't know why, but Kai felt like a great weight had been eased from his shoulders. It was still there, but it wasn't as heavy. Another part of his mind though was screaming bloody murder at him for not forcing Starling to leave, for dragging her into this mess.

Looking over to her face, Kai felt a tiny spark of comfort when he saw that she was not looking away, that she had not chosen to ignore what was around them. To see her studying, inspecting, and committing to memory every scrap of detail made him feel oddly reassured, comforted even.

Reaching the end of the horrid room, they were surprised when the door opened for them automatically.

"This can't be good," Kanin said before shifting back into his 'human' form.

Kai and Starling nodded silently in agreement.

"Ah, there you are. I was beginning to wonder if you needed help finding me."

Kai, Starling and Kanin's faces flew up as a large translucent human head appeared in the middle of the room before them.

"Please, please, do come in. I have been expecting you for quite some time now."

"That voice….it's…"

"Allow me to introduce myself; I am President John Henry Eden, nice to make your acquaintance," the man spoke with a warm, almost calculated tone.

As he spoke, the doors closed behind them.

Kanin and Kai both took a quick whiff of the air, something wasn't right, but they couldn't tell exactly what.

"You have been expecting us?" Starling asked, raising her eyebrow at the large floating head.

"Why of course….well, I have been waiting for you not for those," he replied nodding at both Kai and Kanin.

"How do you know who I am? And for that matter, who are you?"

The man smiled. Though it might have seemed innocent, it made Starling's skin crawl. The mans smile was almost identical to the one worn by the members of the Sky Council.

"Best be careful with this one, he's up to something."

A green light flashed, going across Starling, then Kai, and finally Kanin. It was so fast that they barely even saw it, and by the time they reacted, it was gone.

"What did you just do?" Kai asked warningly. He had never seen anything like this before, but he could already tell that he didn't like it.

"Scanning, I wanted to see if my assumptions were correct, and of course as always, they were. One level fifteen metahuman, most likely a descendent, one modhuman most likely a surviving test subject, and one near pure blood human. Not a mutation or a modification, but a hybrid.

None of them liked that comment one bit.

"Tell me…Starling, who are you?"

"What? He knows my name, but not who I am? What is this about?"

"You ware the uniform of a soldier, and from what I can tell based on how you carry yourself, you have the training of one as well. I'm wagering that our allies have finally finished a viable test subject if you are here. Too bad it was a waste in the end," the 'head' said disdainfully.

"My name is Starling, Starling Nitens, and yes, I am a Captain in for the A.S.F. but why does this interest you?"

The man's eyes widened.

"A.S.F? Not possible, I did not authorize any such promotion."

"What the heck are you talking about? You have no say in what the old gasbags in the Council do. Why don't you come out here and try talking to us face to face!" Kai demanded.

The man snorted.

"I am speaking to you face to face; subhuman were you not taught proper protocol when they put you into service?"

Somewhere, deep, deep in the back of Kai's being, he felt a dagger plunge and twist in his back.

"Sub….human…"

"Look, I think you have me confused with someone else…but what did you mean by 'you are' speaking to us face to face. This is…an illusion of sorts correct?"

The man face shook and he sighed. "I am speaking to you face to face, I do not have a physical body, I am what you see before you. Long ago I was created to protect this great country, but then something…happened. I have been unable to reach any of our allies for quite some time. I was only recently able to send out scouts from this instillation. Tell me, how did you manage to convince one of the ferals to help you? I did not think they could be reasoned with, unless this one is an outcast of some sort.

Despite not looking at or indicating who he was speaking about, Kanin knew that the man was referring to him, but chose to keep his mouth shut. He would have 'his turn' soon enough.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Starling took a deep breath. "Kanin chose to lead us here of his own will, I did not have to 'convince' him of anything."

Adopting a thinking expression, the large head looked down and focused on Starling. Do you travel with….these….creatures willingly?"

Not liking the way this line of questioning was going, Starling gritted her teeth.

"Yes, I willingly travel with them, Kanin is native to this terra, but Kai is my friend and my apprentice, why does it mater?"

"APPRENTICE!? Why waste your time training something that isn't even human? They do not require any more training than one would a dog. With the numbers of them we can produce there is no need to waste precious time and effort on something so easily replaced."

Again, Kai felt that dagger push even deeper.

"I beg your pardon, but Kai is not some common….animal that one treats like a pet. You have no right to address him as such. He is a human being, just as much as I am."

Snort

"My dear, I can understand if you have grown…attached to it, but I can assure you, there is nothing special of unique about it. I suggest you seek counseling if you truly do feel for it in that manner."

Shatter

Something, though he wasn't sure what, broke. At first nothing happened, but then Kai began to feel very, very cold, colder than he had in a long time.

Before anyone could speak, the large floating head continued.

"Enough of this, we have important matters to attend to. This outpost has become overrun with ferals, and I require your assistance in removing them.

Kanin's claws grew slightly.

"I'm afraid that I don't follow," Starling replied coldly.

"Ah, yes, I was afraid that my transmitting was being intercepted. Very well, I shall explain it to you in full."

A small hole opened up in the floor behind the head, producing a reflective metal cylinder, roughly the size of a large thermos.

"This is an enhanced version of the F.E.V. or Forced, Mutation, Virus. I managed to take a sample from one of the ferals and use it to produce this batch. It should eradicate them from the face of the planet, along with any other genetic mutations. The two that came with you will unfortunately be affected by it as well, but as I said before, they are expendable."

Through the corners of his eyes, Kai saw red. This man had mocked him, stripped him of the one thing he had left of any value, and then dared to say that he was expendable at the drop of a hat?

"Is…that….is that all I really am?" A dark voice whispered in the back of his mind, one that he had been hearing a lot out of frequently.

Kanin was using every last ounce of self control he had left. Nothing would have pleased him more than to shred this guy limb from limb, but his gut instinct was holding him back.

"WHAT!?"

Starling, despite not knowing completely what was going on, or what this man was up to, knew exactly what he had just suggested.

"He speaks of genocide as though it were the weather? What kind of people follow such a leader!?"

"I'm not here to help you; I came to help Kai destroy this instillation. I don't know what kind of sick and twisted creature you are, but I have no intentions of helping you, not with something like that." Each word she spoke was laced with venom, more than Kai had ever heard her use before in all the years they had known each other.

Seeing her narrowed eyes, Kai couldn't help but compare her to a very angry pit viper.

Sighing, the man shook his head.

"I was afraid of that. I knew your intent all along; this entire base is outfitted with microphones. I heard every word that you spoke since setting foot in here. I had hoped however that your training and your loyalty would bring you back to your senses, but it seems that your judgment has become tainted beyond recovery. Very well, you leave me with no choice."

Every wall panel in the room opened as he spoke, each revealing a door behind it.

A door that housed a Deathclaw.

"Try to keep their remains in as close to one piece as you can, I would like to study them after they have been dealt with, particularly the female if at all possible."

The scant few threads that had been keeping Kai together, snapped.

Kanin let lose a feral roar as his body transformed into its full werewolf form. Muscle tore and healed to the point that he only felt the pain form it, not the effects.

Starling was shocked at the transformation. The other times it had seemed so natural, but this was forced, and full of seething rage. Never before had she seen any of the others eyes turn solid white.

"This is bad, it's like he's gone feral, Kai, I need Kai's help if we're going to get out of this mess!"

Turning to her friend for instructions or help of any sort, Starling was shocked to see her friend become encased in black energy. Looking down at her shirt, she could see the tendrils of power shooting from the Shadow crystal she now kept to him like angry serpents.

As she watched, she could see the familiar energy field surrounding him, the 'Shadows Embrace' but something was off this time, it felt….hot. The few other times she had felt his energy up this close it had always been cold, but she could feel heat radiating from him now, scorching heat.

His mind blank, Kai felt his mouth twist into a sneering scowl as he pulled free his staff and brought it around into an offensive stance.

Starling felt a well of dread bubble up from inside her as she saw the Deathclaws charge, and Kai and Kanin lunge towards them.

This was not going to end well, and she knew it.

End Chapter 22

AN: Oh yeah, aint I a stinker? I'll tell you right now that the next chapter picks up with Marina and the others, so your going to have to wait a while to find out what happens with the trio here lol. I was trying to incorporate a bit of everything into this chapter, but not make it over the top. It should be pretty obvious just which group of 'Ancients' are responsible for this. As for what the 'big bad thing' that Starling realized and that Kanin smelled was, I'm not going to outright say it, your free to guess, and I'll tell you if you get it right, but I'm not going to give any hints. It's not a pleasant thing to dwell on, that much I can tell you. I did leave several clues throughout book II, so yeah, that's the only hint you're getting out of me. Starling's last name is not random, I actually worked to come up with it. A prize to whoever can figure out what it is or where it came from.

That's all for now, till next time, Ja Ne!