A/N: As I continue to edit and revise my stories I will, when possible, replace the old, sloppy chapters with the new and freshly edited ones as soon as they are to my standards. You will see this note, along with possible variations of it, above all the chapters I have edited. Once all chapters are completely edited I will remove all author notes pertaining to the revision of the story.

Nox ran down the corridor. Her bare feet pounded painfully against the concrete. She wasn't sure for how long she was running, but it had been a while.

"I… I have to get out of here," she panted.

When she reached the end of the hallway, she came to a halt. There was an intersection at the end of the hallway. She could go either right or left. Eventually her instincts told her to take the hallway on her right. She was half way down the hall when a group of guards spotted her.

Julie and Drew stood at the door to Lokar's office. They exchanged looks of worry before knocking.

"Enter," Lokar ordered.

Together they entered the room. They noticed Lokar seemed upset, and that concerned them.

"You called for us, Master?" Julie asked timidly. Ever since the incident at the tournament, she had been chary of Lokar's rage.

Drew stood next to Julie. He, too, was concerned about being in Lokar's presence.

"I have not heard a progress report from the prison unit guards," he began coldly. "It's been over twenty minutes. Nor am I able to contact them or check the security cameras. I fear that our newest prisoner is up to something."

"So… You want us to go check up on her?" Drew asked.

"Precisely," he nodded. "Now go," he ordered. "I expect you to return shortly."

With that, the two Kairu Warriors hurried out of Lokar's sight.

Julie ran in front of Drew as the two made their way towards the prison unit.

"Do you really think she managed to escape?" Drew asked.

Before Julie could answer, they ran across several incapacitated guards.

"Does this answer your question, Drew?" she growled. She knelt down to one of the guards that was coming to. "What happened?" she asked him.

"She got out…" the guard groaned. "I don't know how. One minute, we were walking down the hallway. The next, we spotted her. We tried to grab her… But she over powered us. She took one of my blasters…"

"Which way did she go?" Drew demanded.

The guard pointed down the hall. "That way, I think."

"Come on!" Julie ordered Drew. "If we don't get her… We'll have to answer to Lokar."

"I'm on it," he replied.

They quickly went the way the guard had pointed.

"Now, which way do I go?" Nox muttered to herself. She had yet again reached another fork-in-the-corridor. Suddenly, the hair on the back of her neck went ridged. Her grip on the energy blaster tightened.

"Back to your cell," she heard a voice behind her.

Nox turned around to find Drew and Julie running towards her. When they were about a yard away, they stopped.

"Well, well, well," Julie smiled. "If it isn't the newest test subject. How's that working out for you?" Her eyes rolled over Nox. "You seem a little different since the last time we saw each other."

"Shut up," Nox snapped.

"You know," Julie went on, ignoring Nox, "after the tournament, I was hoping to get a chance to see you again."

Drew frowned, "Julie, what are you waiting for? We need to get her or Master Lokar will flip!"

"We can't issue a challenge to stop her," she sighed. "She haven't an X-Reader. It wouldn't be fun. But we can use physical force on her."

"You're going to try and stop me?" Nox hissed. She didn't have time for this. It was only a matter of time before more guards would show up.

"Of course," Drew sneered.

The two Kairu Warriors charged at Nox. Julie went to grab Nox's arm, but Nox dodged out of the way. Drew, however, managed to punch Nox in the face. She yelped.

"You're getting in my way," Nox growled, blood oozing from her noise. She swung the blunt end of the blaster at Drew. It caught him in side of his head and hit him in the temple. Drew crumpled to the floor.

"You hurt my partner!" Julie screamed. "Now I'm going to hurt you!"

She ran at Nox, sending a punch towards her face. Nox retaliated and rammed the butt of the blaster into Julie's abdomen. Julie staggered backwards, gasping for breath. Nox then took the blaster and smacked Julie across the face with it, effectively rendering her unconscious.

"That was a waste of time," Nox breathed heavily, bringing a hand to her nose. The blood ran through her fingers. It was hard not to look. The sight brought back painful memoires. The familiar sensations of anxiety and panic took over. There wasn't time for this. She shook her head, dispelling them from mind, and made her way down the hallway.

She came across another intersection of corridors, but continued to head straight.

Footsteps echoed from behind her. She glanced behind her to see a group of five guards unknowingly turn into the hallway. One of them she recognized to be Brick.

"Whoa! Hold it right there," Brick exclaimed. "Who let you out of your cell?" He noticed her bloody nose and hands, as well as the blaster she was caring. He immediately reached for his energy rifle and aimed it at Nox. The others did the same as well. "Tony," he snapped. "Relay the message that she's managed to get out up to Stone. Let him know she's managed to snag herself an energy blaster as well."

"On it," Tony responded. He tried to use his Com-Unit, but it wasn't working. "That's strange. My Com-Unit's signal is down."

"No," Brick shook his head. "The Com-Units never lose its signal. Try again."

Tony tried again, but nothing changed. "Nope. Still not working."

"Mine's not working either, Brick," another guard said.

"I don't know what you did, Brat," Brick snapped at Nox, "But you've managed to block our signals. Congrats." He nodded his head at another guard, and ordered, "Joey! Detain that prisoner. She shouldn't have been able to get this far."

The guard known as Joey nodded. "Look, kid," he began. "If you give me that blaster, and surrender now, we'll go easy on you." He made his way slowly towards Nox.

"No." Nox was grinding her teeth. She had to stand her ground now more than ever. Her grip on the blaster tightened. It would be pointless to give up now. She'd gotten so far.

"No?" he frowned. "Look, I'll even tell Lokar you gave up without much trouble," he added. "How does that sound?" He was almost in front of her now. "You won't be punished as severely. It'll be a win-win situation. You'll get off easy, and we'll get rewarded. See? Everyone gets a happy ending."

"You forgot to mention the part where I still stay a prisoner and get used a guinea pig," she spat.

Joey frowned, "You're getting yourself in a lot of trouble, kid." He went to grab the blaster from her hands.

In retaliation, Nox rammed the butt of the blaster into Joey's jaw (it was the only non-covered part of his body). There was a loud crack and Joey staggered backwards. Blood gushed from his mouth and down onto his combat armor. He spat out a considerable amount of blood along with some teeth. He went to steady his aim and fire at Nox, but she thrust the butt of her blaster into his jaw again. She kept doing it until Joey fell to the floor.

"What are you all standing around for?" Brick snapped. "Get her!"

The other guards swarmed her. Someone nearly managed to zap her in the arm with a stunning beam, but she dodged out of the way. Instead, it hit another guard, rending him unconscious.

A guard with blue eyes tried to stun her as well, but his weapon seemed to be jammed. So he charged at her, preparing to buttstroke her with an upward swing. She fired her blaster. The beam hit his energy rifle. It exploded, singeing his armored right arm, right of his helmet, and the area of his face and neck that wasn't covered.

His screaming made Nox's stomach lurch. She didn't mean to hurt him that badly.

Another guard tried sneaking up behind her, but she saw him coming. She swung the butt of her blaster into the side of his head. It knocked him to the floor. She focused her attention on Brick, who seemed to be trying to use his Com-Unit. He looked up and noticed Nox about to charge for him. He glanced down at the guard on the floor near her.

Just as Nox lunging forwards, the guard grabbed her ankle. The floor beneath her shifted. Her ankle twisted awkwardly. She yelped when she landed with a crash. Then the guard who she had bashed across the face was on top of her, trying to restrain her arms.

"Get off me!" she snapped.

"Stay still so I can cuff you!" he growled back.

Nox wrestled for freedom, and succeeded in pushing him off with a considerable amount of effort. However, he managed to take her blaster and toss it aside. The guard took the end of his blaster and bashed the butt into her shin with a downward strike.

A loud cry escaped her lips. Pain surged up her leg. She wasn't sure if she heard her bone crack, but it certainly felt like it did.

The guard lunged after her again. She used her good leg to kick him in the face multiple times. Something warm and sticky coated the bottom of her foot. It wasn't until he had backed up, grabbing his nose and jaw that she stopped. Then she got to her shaky feet. Someone grabbed at her from behind, initiating a chokehold on her.

"You'll pay for what you did to Dom, Joey, and Tony," she heard Brick hiss into her ear.

"L-Let… Gah… Go," she croaked, clawing at his armored arms. She tried to break his grip, but it proved too strong. It was getting harder and harder for her to breathe. The sounds of desperate gasping filled the corridor. Her vison began to fade. Her knees gave way. Brick loosened his grip until she was hanging limply in his arms.

Something felt strange to Nox. She wasn't sure how to describe it, but it felt like something was clawing at her skin from the inside out.

A loud, hasty knock disrupted Lokar from his work. He glanced up from his desk, and ordered, "Come in."

Warden Stone hurried into the chamber. Though his helmet covered most of his face, it was obvious that he was in distress. "She's making another escape attempt, Sir," he said briskly.

"Again?" Lokar frowned. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why didn't you contact me through the Com-Unit?" he demanded.

"She's found a way to jam the signals," Stone answered. "It appears that she's been on the run for a while now. I fear she's nearly made her way out of the prison unit."

"Well," he ordered angrily, "lock down the prison unit."

"Already done, Sir," Stone replied. "She's off the grid," he went on. "Though I'm certain she hasn't left the prison unit yet."

A Krrzzchrut noise interrupted Stone.

Stone immediately unclipped the Com-Unit from his belt. "War-Warden S-St-Stone?" came a staticky voice. "It's B-Brick. We were able to break through the jamming signal." Another round of static drowned out his voice. "W-We've apprehended the prisoner."

"Good," Stone responded. "Get her back to her cell."

Over the Com-Unit came a sickeningly high-pitched scream, a low growl, along with another round of deafening static. "Holy… For fuck's sake… What the…? Argh! S…Send back up…" the voice faded into an eerie static.

"Brick? What's going on? What happened?" Stone asked frantically. Stone looked over at Lokar. Lokar's expression was enigmatic and leaned towards the verge of annoyance, but Stone still couldn't make out what Lokar was thinking.

"Warden Stone," Lokar said calmly, "you and I are going to go pay Test Subject XIV a visit."

When Nox opened her eyes, everything was dim. Her breath was rapid and uneven. Something warm, wet, and stick was on the soles of her feet and covered her hands. She looked down. Her eyes widened and her heart stopped at the sight.

All she saw was the mangled body of Brick. He was gasping for air as his blood was slowly spilling out beneath him. He looked at her through bloodshot eyes. He mumbled something to her, but she couldn't make out. She glanced around to see several other guards incapacitated. A light fixture had been torn off from the ceiling and was covered with blood.

"What the Hell happened?" she asked herself. "What the Hell did I do?"

An alarm sounded, startling her. There was no time to think. She had to get going. Now the entire prison ward knew she had escaped. Continued to run down the corridor, leaving behind her bloody foot prints and a trail of her own blood.

"Sir?" Stone asked as they made their way down the corridors. "What are we going to do once we find her? The way Brick screamed concerns me. Do you think she's capable of any serious damage?"

"I'm well aware she's more than capable of incapacitate them. Though, she won't kill any of them," Lokar responded. "That I'm certain of. At least not knowingly. That is, however, what makes her quite dangerous."

Stone glanced at Lokar. He wasn't sure what that meant. "What are we going to do once we find her?"

"Corner her," he replied.

Soon they came across the first group of guards Nox managed to take out. Once Lokar gathered enough information from them and then had one call for a medic, he and Stone Left them.

"She took them out with ease," Stone said to Lokar after a while. "How strong has she become since we've first captured her?"

"From what I gather, her skills and strengths have increased by a considerable amount," he answered. "Though, that has been the cause of the experiments instead of any natural development of her own."

Lokar eventually ran into his E-Teens, who had been recovering slowly from their encounter with Nox. He told them to report to the infirmary. That was all he had said to them as he continued off with Stone.

They walked in silence for some time before either one of them spoke.

"Sir, is she safe to be around?" Stone asked softly. "You know what happened with the other test subjects… Will that happen to her? Do you think, she too will turn into one of those-" Stone stopped mid-sentence.

It was then that they reached the mangled bodies of Brick, Joey, Dom, Tony, and another guard. Stone couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Joey's broken and bloodied jaw, and Dom's brunt and singed armor and body. What truly got to him was Brick's mangled and beaten body. Bick's blood drenched armor was full of dents, torn off and broken in various places.

Stone charged forwards. "Oh… Oh God…" he gasped.

Lokar surveyed the scene carefully. He noted the damaged guards, the torn down light fixture, and the trail of blood. "Stone," he called. "You may remain here, with your comrades. Get a medical team down here. I'll handle the prisoner on my own."

"Sir?" Stone asked shakily. "Are you sure?" He didn't want to see Lokar end up in the same state as his comrades.

"Yes," he said, walking away. "It seems like all of you are incapable of dealing with her."

Stone watched Lokar make his way down the corridor. If he wasn't mistaken, he noticed a glimmer of worry in his boss's eye. Stone shook his head. Lokar was a Redakai Master. Handling one reckless prisoner was more than manageable for an experienced Master of Kairu.

He called for several medics, and then made his way over to Brick. He held his sadistic friend's hand.

Brick was barely breathing, but managed to say, "B-Brat… G-Got me good. Eh?"

Nox staggered forwards. An entryway up a head labeled 'Stairwell' was just a few more yards out of reach. Her heart filled with relief. If she managed to get to that door, she'd be out. Or at least out of the prison ward. Then she could figure out her next plan.

Suddenly, the emergency door began descend, threatening to block her escape. She hurried forwards as fast as she could. By the time she reached the stairwell, it was too late. A thick sheet of metal had blocked off the stairwell.

Nox screamed, "Great Kairu! Why?" and smashed her fist painfully into the metal. The last ounces of energy were quickly being drained. She turned around and glanced at the faded trail of blood. She leaned back against the metal. Eventually, her back slid down and she ended up sitting on the floor.

With her bummed leg stretched out and her good leg pulled close to her chest, she closed her eyes and sighed. It was only now that her body began to feel how beat-up it truly was.

It wasn't long before Lokar eventually caught up to her. He kept walking until he was about five feet away from her. Then he stopped. He studied her carefully, noting her beat-up look. He noticed her blood stained feet, hands, and lips along with her bruised knuckles.

Nox glanced up at him with a defeated look. She wondered why he didn't say anything. It occurred to her that he was most likely going to punish her for trying to escape and for what she did to the guards. That thought terrified her.

"I'm impressed you actually managed to get this far, Test Subject XIV," he finally stated. "Nevertheless," he went on, brandishing his hand dismissively, "your escape plan failed. I'm certain you realized that, considering the fact you've seem to have given up."

She didn't respond. All she did was look away.

"I was shocked to see the conditions you left my E-Teens and warders in," he scowled. "You could have seriously hurt them. I won't tolerate my subordinates' safety being threatened." He stared down his nose at her. "Joey and Dom will heel, of course, and without too many complications. However, it's Brick's injuries that concern me the most," he confessed. "I didn't think you were capable of such abilities."

"He's still alive, right?" Nox asked shakily.

He frowned, "You mean Brick?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

Lokar raised an eyebrow. "Yes, he is still alive, but barely." He noticed her sigh of relief. That confused him. "You know very well that he doesn't care for your well-being. In fact, if I hadn't told him to stop beating you, he would've continued until you were nearly dead. You know that, don't you?"

"I know…" she nodded.

"Then why do you care about Brick's safety?" he questioned.

She responded with a shrug. The thought of killing another living being scared her, but she wasn't about to tell Lokar that.

"If you truly didn't want to kill Brick, then why did you attack him in such a manner?" he asked. When Nox remained silent, he frowned. It puzzled him that she seemed so distraught. "You do remember what you did, don't you?"

Nox shook her head. "No…" she answered softly.

He knelt down so he was eye level with her. He considered her carefully. "Look at me," he said firmly.

She, reluctantly, met his gaze. Normally being so close to Lokar set her on edge, but this time it didn't matter. She was far too busy having an internal freak-out over everything that she did and her lack of memory.

"You actually have no memory of what happened between you and Brick?" he asked warily.

She shook her head.

There was a pause in their one-sided conversation where Lokar eyed Nox carefully. She felt strange with him being so close. It felt stranger that he legitimately seemed concerned over her mental stability. Worst of all, she couldn't remember anything between when Brick had her in a chokehold and when she found herself standing in a puddle of blood. That scared her. Eventually Lokar stood up and scowled down at her.

"Get up," he commanded. "I'll take you to the Professor. He will mend your wounds. Then I'll bring you back to your cell."

"I can't stand," she muttered. "My leg hurts. I think it's broken."

Nox shifted under Lokar's menacing glare. Her heart started to pound frantically when he bent down again. She was terrified he was going to strangle or hurt her in some way. He noticed her starting to panic.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Test Subject XIV," he said sternly. "If your leg is truly broken, then I'm not going let you walk on it. I'll carry you to his office." With that said, Lokar began to pick her up in a bridal style carry.

Nox wasn't sure what she should do with her arms until Lokar instructed her to wrap them around his neck (insisting that she needn't worry about staining his cloak with her bloody hands), and Nox, reluctantly, obeyed. Her stomach lurched at the contact.

Once Lokar was certain that she had a good grip on him, they headed off towards the Professor's office. He seemed oblivious of Nox's internal meltdown.

Usually any sort of physical contact Nox had with Lokar ended up rattling her to pieces. However, this was something else entirely. Something worse. She felt his body. Granted it was under about four layers of clothing, but she felt his frame. It reminded her of how much stronger he was than her. Both physically and when it came to Kairu. She hated to think of herself as weak, but compared to Lokar, she was. It was world shattering.

Not to mention that her arms were around his neck like… Like a hug. It was hard not to think of it that way. It was the most physical contact she had in such a long time that didn't actually involve her being beaten. It was with Lokar and that was too much to handle. She was certain that she was trembling, but if she was, Lokar didn't say anything.

"Though I'm going to have to punish you for all the damage you've caused, and making me come all the way down here," he said, startling her, "I'm still rather curious to know how you managed to get so far this time." He glanced down at Nox and smirked at her discomfort. "You've must've used you Inner Kairu to interfere with the surveillance systems," he speculated. "Although I can't figure out how you managed to find your way around so easily. A map, perhaps?"

"I didn't use a map," she said curtly, recovering from her panic.

"Oh?" Lokar raised an eyebrow. "Then do tell how you managed to get this far."

"You already know that I can use my Kairu senses to figure my way around," she frowned. "How else do you think I was able to get Maya safely to Boaddai?"

"Ah, yes, I nearly forgot," Lokar nodded. "It's a shame that your Kairu senses couldn't find a way to avoid me. Then you wouldn't be in this position, now would you, Test Subject XIV?"

That comment nearly pushed Nox over the edge. It pained her every time to think that if she had developed her skills a little more, she could've avoided ever running into Lokar. Then she would still be with Maya and not some stupid test subject for an experiment that will most likely kill her.

"Lokar?" she asked meekly after a while.

"What?" he said briskly.

She gulped. "What, exactly, did I do to Brick?" Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Brick's disfigured body lying in a puddle of his own blood.

"That, my dear Test Subject XIV, I intend to find out," he answered.

When they made it to the Professor's office, he gently placed her on the examination table. As the Professor tended to Nox's wounds, he continued to ask and make snide comments about her being covered in blood. Lokar informed the Professor that should he continue to harass his test subject, he would wring him up with a stethoscope. That stopped the Professor's remarks.

Eventually the Professor determined that Nox had fractured her leg. He put a brace on it. Then he tended to her other scrapes, cuts, and injuries.

After Nox had been taken care of, Lokar carried her back to her cell. He gently placed her on the cot.

"You shouldn't have much trouble moving around," he stated. "However, it would be prudent to try and remain off of that leg of yours. That means no more escape attempts for a while."

With that said, he left. Nox was alone with nothing but the crushing guilt, confusing, and fear of having no memory of nearly beating Brick to death.