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Full Circle (Razgriz x Candira)

"If you can talk and watch," she said, staring off into the horizon. Watch duty helped her to calm down and get a handle on her emotions. She glanced over at Kamina and motioned for him to sit down, though inside she was still a pile of hurt.
 
Kamina took a seat next to Yoko; he could tell she was hurting inside by the way she responded to him. "Yoko, what's eating you? Is it Exodus? You've been like this for a while now, I need to know what's going on."
 
"I just..." She sighed and looked at Kamina, obviously frustrated with the way she felt. "He's been lying to us all this time. There's part of me that wants to believe that he has a very good reason. And there's a part of me that just feels so betrayed." She curled up a little in her seat. "I thought he trusted me, ya know? I thought we were really getting to know each other, but all this time, he's been hiding a part of himself. I want to be on his side, but I just can't. I don't know, maybe it's stupid to feel like this, but it's like what would I do if you or Simon kept something so important from me? What if you kept your ability to use gunmen away from me?"

She paused and looked back out to the field trying to calm down again. "It's just really shitty to block someone out of your life when they care about you and want to help." She looked at Kamina again and tilted her head. "Am I making any sense?"
 
Kamina nodded as Yoko explained how she felt; he kind of felt the same way, but decided early on that Exodus had his secrets, and he should be the one to choose when to divulge them. Everyone has skeletons in their closets. "I understand, Yoko. But something you need to know about men; they aren't too keen on reaching out to others. It's only when they can completely and one hundred percent trust someone that they reveal their inner-most secrets. The do it because it makes them feel vulnerable and unprotected. Exodus has something to hide because it knows it might hurt not only him, but others as well."

Kamina then stood up and said, "By the way, Exodus wants to meet with you, me and Simon later in private. Exodus and I agreed to meet in my room; it's plenty spacious and well-insulated. I told Simon already." He paused for a second, then continued "I don't know what he wants to talk about, but I think we might get the answers we're looking for. He didn't say it outright, but his tone implied this was big. So, stop by my room when you're off of guard duty. I'll see you later." He then went out of the guard tower, heading back to his room to wait for the others.

Meanwhile, Exodus had found a secluded space for some exercise. The whole Kamina was talking to Yoko, Exodus had trying to work the frustration he felt out of his system. "Yoko, I'm sorry for lying, but this is bigger than you could possibly imagine" he said after he collapsed to the ground panting. Sweat dripped from his body like rain, creating an impressive dark splotch on the sun-scorched earth. However, Yoko's sadness only empowered him more; he would reveal his entire story to her. No matter what apprehensions he had, despite having told no one else, he hoped his tale would explain as much as possible.
 
Yoko listened to Kamina. Even though she knew a lot of what he said was true, she still let it bother her. Still, he was doing his best to help her, and Exodus was only doing what he thought was best. She hated herself for being so petty, but it just hurt to know that after all they'd been through, he still wanted to keep her in the dark about himself.

She smiled softly at Kamina and then nodded. "All right. I'll stop by." And then she went back to staring out into the field.

After a few hours, her duty was over and she came to Kamina's room, only to meet up with Simon at the door. "Hey, Simon. I haven't seen you for awhile. Been keeping busy?"

He smiled brightly at her and nodded. "Yeah. I've been training with bro and working with Ron a lot. What do you suppose Exodus wants?"

Clearly the digger was out of the loop. She shrugged and put a hand on his head, gently ruffling his hair. "I dunno, but we won't find out out here," she said, turning to knock on Kamina's door. Simon just watched her, blushing a little as they waited.
 
Kamina got up after resting to go answer the knock; sure enough Simon and Yoko were there. "Hey guys. So, ready to hear whatever it is Exodus wants to tell us?"

After some more intense training, Exodus washed the stink off of him; one thing he learned early on was that enclosed space plus bad smell equals unhappy person. He then made his way to Kamina's room after asking someone where it was. "Don't bitch out, Exodus. You have to do this." It was clear that whatever he was going to tell them bothered him greatly. As much as he told himself that he could do it, a knot gathered in his stomach and made him feel slightly sick.

Kamina heard footsteps and looked past Yoko and Simon to see Exodus approaching them; his expression seemed rather grim. "Hey there, big guy! Was wondering when you would show up! Now we can get this started!" He then stood aside to let the three of them in. Once they had taken seats, Exodus being the exception having said he'd prefer to stand, Kamina asked in a serious tone, "So, Exodus, why the secrecy? What haven't you told us?"

Exodus sighed and responded solemnly, "More than you want to know. I kept this to myself because I wasn't sure how you handle it. What I'm about to tell you might take a while, and it would speed things up if you kept your questions until the end. It also reveal why I've been so distrusting, and why.." he paused as he looked at Yoko dead in the eyes, "I haven't been as forthcoming and honest as I might have liked." An awkward pause followed; Exodus was trying to gather his wits to tell his tale, and hope that they wouldn't react as badly as he imagined.
 
Yoko nodded at Kamina's question and turned to see Exodus coming. She stepped into the room with Simon as Kamina stepped aside. Simon stood next to Kamina and looked up at Exodus--man he was tall! Yoko stood a little to the side, but still close to them. Her golden eyes locked onto his as he started to speak. She was getting nervous with all of the dramatic build up.

"Well, Okay, Exodus, but you're making me nervous with all this. It's best to just...tell us, right?" Simon offered in his optimistic, yet shy way.

Yoko nodded and took a seat, having a feeling that she wouldn't want to be standing when she heard what he had to say.
 
Exodus nodded as Simon asked him to start. "Alright then. It all started about two and a half years ago......."

*begin flashback*

Exodus...at least, that's what he remembered his name was... felt himself being dragged along; his head felt cloudy, and he couldn't focus. Then he remembered; they had just finished injecting him with a variety of fluids, then coursed what felt like massive amounts of electricity through his body. He'd actually passed out from the pain, only to awaken him being dragged along. He tried to lift his head, but couldn't. "Why am I called Exodus? Is that really my name?" he asked himself; however, he wouldn't get much chance to think about it as he was soon thrown roughly into a dark area. He laid there for a few moments, trying to recollect his hazy thoughts as heard a door slam. His hearing was still intact, and he heard a baritone voice say "Ha! Look at him wriggle! How pathetic! Is he really anything special?"

Another voice then said, "Preliminary results show much Subject Exodus possessing higher than average Spiral Energy, indicating the genetic modification was successful. Though, it's abnormally higher than our other test subjects. Hmm, could be a genetic anomaly, but we'll deal with that later. Happily, based on questions posed to him, he has no recollection of who he was. That means no family, no lovers, nothing. Tomorrow we'll begin implanting combat suggestions, let the mind-wipe sink in." "We should do that one blonde woman next. She seems like something fun to mess with, hehe." "Agreed. She will be code-named Harbinger. Now, let's get a move on shall we?"

Exodus heard the two people leave, but it left him with a plethora of questions. Spiral Energy? Genetic modification? What the hell was going on here? And who was this woman, the one they said will be called Harbinger?

Soon enough, the pair of humanoid creatures reached the cell containing an ash-blonde human female. The larger creature banged heavily on the bars. "Hey, stupid ape bitch! Wake up, time for your 'appointment'. Hehehe"
 
In the cell across the hall, a woman was startled out of her sleep by the banging on the bars. Her heart racing, she couldn't recall where she was or how she'd gotten there. Frightened, she tried to move, but her body was still a little numb. She managed to stand and focus on the source of the harsh voices. The laughter. "W-where am I? What's going on?" Her voice was shaky, obviously afraid, though she was trying to be brave. "Who the hell are you--What are you!?"

The woman in question was a beautiful blonde with a bombshell body. Anyone with an ounce of testosterone would have been attracted to her. But her navy blue eyes were full of fear and confusion. Her surroundings didn't help her at all. Clearly, this was not a place she'd come to by choice.
 
The creature just laughed, "We are Beastmen, you stupid filthy ape! And where you are is none of your concern! Now..." he said as he unlocked the bar door and stepped inside, grabbing her roughly, "it's time for your modification!" The Beastman then dragged her to a large area, in the center was an examination table. On the board were several restraints, a couple for each arm and leg, and one for the neck.

"Help me prepare the subject! I can tell she's a wriggly little shit!" The Beastman holding the woman roared as he dragged her closer to the board. Another Beastman came forward to help the other; they forced her onto the table and began working to strap her down.
 
The woman screamed as they came near her, grabbing her and dragging her toward an examination table. No way was she going without a fight. She did, in fact, wriggle for all she was worth, fighting every step of the way. "Let go of me!" She screamed and kicked, fighting desperately to free herself, but the beastman that had her was too powerful. "Someone please, help!"

Of course she knew there was no one here to help her. Her cries were all in vain. But she couldn't help it. She had to at least try. Her body was still quite numb, but she was using it as best as she could to try and get away. It was clear she was scared out of her mind. She continued to scream as they dragged her to the table and started to strap her down. Just what were they going to do to her?

"What are you doing to me?!"
 
The Beastmen finally managed to get her strapped down, her head braced and her eyes held open so that she couldn't move so much as an inch; she indeed struggled valiantly, but it was fruitless. When that was done, one eventually ordered, "Get a gag in her to shut her up!" Another Beastman came over and roughly jammed a piece of cloth into her mouth. "I suggest you hold still worm!

"Alright, insert the occipital capillary reversal and sensory enhancement package." A green fluid was carefully injected into her retinas; this was a blend of DNA of the animals with the best sensory and visual attributes along with an activator and stabilizer compound. "Next, muscular enhancement, dendrite fibrification, and reflex boost." A red fluid was now injected into the main muscle groups in the woman's body, this contained DNA of the strongest, quickest and smartest animals on the planet. It was also injected into the area just below the base of her skull; this would ensure that the mixture affected all dendrites through her central nervous system. "Finally, carbide ceramic ossification and thyroid implant." This wasn't so much a genetic modification as it was physiological; first a black fluid was delivered via high-gauge needle into her bone marrow, which would serve in theory, to dramatically increase the hardness and durability of her skeletal structure. Then a metal pellet was inserted via injection into the thyroid; this contained a blend of hormones that would induce muscle density increase.

They then implanted several electrodes throughout her body; the thing about the procedure was that it used the subject's own Spiral being recycled throughout so as to create a unique "enhancement pattern" for the subject itself. They turned on the device; this was definitely going to hurt, worse than even the injections themselves.
 
Horrible screams of tremendous pain escaped her, even through the cloth in her mouth. She squirmed desperately in her restraints, but it was no use. She could not escape. The pain in her eyes was just the beginning. Blinding, searing pain coursed through her body and piercing, heart-rending sobs and cries filled the room. And after all of the injections were complete, she could barely breathe, let alone control her heartbeat. Then came the implants, which were equally horrific and terrifying. And then the flipped a switch and the world became nothing but pure agony. Her body writhed in excruciating, indescribably horrific pain. Screams that didn't even sound human anymore escaped her past the cloth, which was pretty much useless at this point.

She couldn't breathe, she couldn't see, smell, hear or taste. The only thing left to her was the pain. And then, mercifully, her body shut down, her mind accepting the darkness gratefully. This whole time, the woman had wished for death. How disappointing that she was still alive, and her body, though unconscious was still responding and still in pain.
 
"Good, good, she's still alive. The pain will help to solidify the mind-wipe. Soon, she should have no memory of who she once was." one of the obviously more intelligent Beastmen noted, obviously unaffected by the screams of agony and pain that somehow managed to escape even when her mouth was plugged. "Can I at least beat her?" My ears are still ringing!" another said, but was interjected with a "No! Subject Harbinger is a valuable test subject! If you do anything, I'll have Adiane down here so fast your head will spin! Now take her back to her cell! In a few days we'll begin the testing of Subjects Exodus, Sovereign and Harbinger! But now, they need to rest." Undoing the straps, one of the Beastmen lifted Harbinger's unconscious form and carried her back to her cell, throwing her roughly inside once he had reached it.

Exodus was sitting in his cell, writhing on the floor; the injections they hit him with were starting to kick in. Every vein felt like there was fire coursing through, his bones felt like they were made of glass and shattering into a thousand pieces. His entire central nervous system was on fire as well; he couldn't stop twitching and squirming. His skull felt like it was going to explode as agonizing migraines racked him over and over again. He couldn't even scream in pain, it was so intense. The pain choked him, made him utterly incapable of speech. Eventually, it overloaded him and he passed out once more.

Three days later, as Exodus still lay unconscious on the floor, his ears twitched as the ever so slight sound of footprints. He then clenched his head in pain as his augmented hearing received the sharp clang of metal on metal. "Exodus! Wake up! Time for some tests! Three days is enough time to recuperate! I know you can hear me!" As Exodus stirred, a tray was slid under the door. Exodus then rose; he felt different, even though he had nothing to compare it. He looked over his taut, well-defined, muscular form. He then looked up toward the Beastman, "Who are you, people?! What the hell did you do?" "Shut up and eat! You have ten minutes! The food's in front of you!"

Exodus looked down and saw what looked like green goo. Exodus leaned down and tasted it; oh god it was horrible. But he felt his energy spike and it filled him; his hunger made him push poast the awful taste as he dug ravenously into the strange slop. Thirty seconds in and he was done. He then felt his legs buckle; the Beastman laughed, "Hah, didn't see that coming, did you? We slipped a mild sedative into that, to keep you docile. Now let's go!" They then opened the cage and dragged him down some dark hallways, reaching what looked to be an arena of sorts. "Put Exodus into Arena C, Sovereign into Arena A, and get Harbinger out of her cell and into Arena B! You idiots!"
 
Three Hellish days later and Harbringer's body was still in intense pain. It seemed like no matter what she did, her body hurt. She was horrified of the creatures that stalked her cage, sliding in food and insulting her as they encouraged her to eat. Most disturbing of all, she could not remember her name, nor anything about herself before she came to this awful prison--for that's what it was to her. She was tortured day in and out in numerous ways for their pleasure. And though she wasn't sure what they'd done to her, or why, she was certain that her life had not always been like this--that she had not always been this way--afraid and meek.

But she was trying to keep her head down. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself and invite more punishment, so she ate the disgusting green goop they fed her, aware that each time she ate she felt more drowsy. But it seemed that today, no amount of caution would save her from what they had planned.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked, panic rising up in her again. "What's going on?!" She didn't mean to yell, really, but Harbringer, or so she was called now, couldn't quite control herself when she was this afraid. She swore that if she ever got out, she'd kill them all.
 
The Beastman back-handed Harbinger before yelling "Quiet, bitch! Today, you're going to put on a little performance!" The Beastman talked and acted like this because he knew the sedative would render her unable to retaliate

The three arena-like areas were circles sixty yards in diameter, separated from each other by 30-foot high walls around the circumference, with eight cage doors spaced evenly on the perimeter of the inside; it would appear each one was for a single combatant. The Beastman dragging Subject Exodus threw him roughly into the center of; the same went for Subject Harbinger. Subject Sovereign, on the other hand, had been tranquilized and dragged by three Beastmen with chains; though the other two subjects couldn't see him, he was a behemoth: nearly nine feet in height and rippling with muscle. The shaved hair was blood-red and his eyes shone green like emeralds, staring anyone with a murderous fire. About thirty seconds in; Sovereign awoke and stood up, his legs still wobbling slightly. He then looked around and roared, "YOU FUCKING COWARDS! COME ON, FACE ME LIKE MEN!" His voice was deep, even deeper than baritone.

"Release the opponents! Hold on Harbinger's opponents for now!" another Beastman yelled; in an instant, the cage doors opened, and a single Beastman came out from each one. Sovereign spoke up again, his voice reverberating throughout the arena room, "WHO BROUGHT THESE BABIES TO FIGHT!? GIVE ME REAL OPPONENTS!" "Let's how our Exodus and Sovereign handle themselves in combat! Begin!" Exodus instinctively dropped into a combat stance; the Beastmen for each of the two Subjects then charged in. Sovereign roared once more, "COME GET SOME! YOU UGLY, WEAK MOTHERFUCKERS!" Exodus just kept his mouth shut, but thought to himself "Guess I just have to win. Here it goes!"

Sovereign's arena quickly turned into a blood bath; though his movements were cumbersome and slow, his sheer size, durability and strength were winning out. Beastmen in his arena lay dead and bleeding, some of the smaller ones had been literally ripped in half, their innards coating the floor. Exodus, on the other hand, was handling things a bit differently. For some reason, he could read their movements; it was almost like he knew what they were going to do before it happened. He felt stronger, faster, and most importantly, deadlier.

The researchers in the observation booth above watched Subjects Exodus and Sovereign go to work; Sovereign's Energy was sporadic, but extremely high in magnitude and it seemed to be rising. "Send in more opponents for Subject Sovereign." the Beastman said calmly; within seconds, twenty four new combatants entered Sovereign's. Sovereign's eyes then changed, the researcher saw; they had turned a deep shade of gold. Sovereign gave a blood-curdling roar as his Spiral Energy rocketed upwards; he then started to go berserk, his speed seemingly doubled in an instant. He smashed through his opponents, coating the floor of his arena and himself in blood and guts. He finished the new wave in only seconds, pausing to grunt like a rabid. "MORE!!! GIVE ME MORE WEAK LITTLE BABIES TO FIGHT!"

They then turned their attention to back to Exodus; he was taking more time, but his movements were fluid, precise and accurate. He seemed to have a natural aptitude for close-quarters. "More combatants for Exodus." he said again. In the arena, Exodus had just finished his opponents, only to see a second wave enter; there was easily double the number in this wave. "Fuck me" Exodus said as he tried to fend off the attackers; however, he could quickly feel himself getting overwhelmed. His rage built up, and finally he growled, "No way in hell....am I losing to you freak fucks!" He suddenly felt his heart-rate spike, adrenaline and endorphins flooded his system. Unbeknownst to him, his eyes shifted to the same shade of gold Sovereign's did. His reflexes seemed to grow three times faster; he moved like lightning now, striking all the critical kill points with pinpoint accuracy.

The researcher's saw this and were amazed as they noted the increased precision and lethality of Subject Exodus, along with the eye color change and the tremendous spike in Spiral Energy; so far, it would seem that Exodus was the close-quarters combat master. Sovereign prevailed only due to his bulk and apparent blood-lust. "OK, initiate CQC trial for Subject Harbinger. Double the number of opponents on first wave, and begin!" For Harbinger's arena, she was soon surrounded by 16 Beastmen on the first wave before they rushed in to attack.
 
Harbringer was scared out of her mind. The instant she was backhanded, something inside of her snapped. The fear coursing through her veins turned into pure rage and she harnessed it's power, keeping calm and contained--for the moment. She stopped her struggling, though she was still anxious as all hell. She watched as Exodus and Sovereign made minced meat out of their opponents, sickened a little by Sovereign's display.

The blonde was taken off-guard however when double the opponents her counterparts had were released. Her body took on a new posture and she dug into that rage, her body taught and yet fluid. They all came at her at once, but it was like time slowed down for her. There were many of them, but she could see little flaws that she could use against them. One of them came at her with a punch. She ducked and slammed her elbow into his gut as hard as she could--to her surprise it sent him flying. She swept with her leg and knocked a few that were running toward her or planning to kick her to the ground. She stood fluidly and delivered swift kicks to their heads as she defended herself.

It seemed as though she were better at dodging, though, and only got in a few good hits now and then. She was using considerable amounts of energy to keep them at bay, but it didn't take long for the beastmen who outnumbered her to break through her defenses. The first blow was delivered to her stomach. She managed to dodge another but her jaw was clipped with a punch. At this rate, she'd be at their mercy in no time, but she wouldn't give up. She wouldn't let them just do as they pleased. She would make them all pay.
 
The researchers couldn't believe how fast Harbinger was reacting; her sensory capability was top-notch it would seem, and her reflexes were astounding. However, her success seemed to be short-lived, for soon she was overwhelmed, but still putting up a hell of a fight.

Exodus could see that Harbinger was starting to run into some trouble; he didn't know why, but he felt a need to protect. Maybe it was due to their being in the same situation, but regardless he began the quick ascent, vaulting from wall to wall until he reached the top of his own arena and vaulted over to Harbinger's own. Luckily the walls were right next to each other. "Hey! Try picking on someone your own size!" he yelled as he fell thirty feet, driving a fist into the back of the Beastman's skull. He still used his fury from before to help knock back some of the Beastman combatants. He could feel his energy starting to drain; he wouldn't be able to hold off this many combatants, not like this.

He then got an idea; Sovereign, even though Exodus didn't know him at all, seemed like the hot-headed type. So, during the break in the action, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "SOVEREIGN IS WEAK!" This was met with a much louder, "WHAT?!?! WHO SAID SOVEREIGN IS WEAK!?" It wasn't three seconds later that the eight foot, ten inch, heavily-muscled titan crashed through the arena wall. "WHO SAID SOVEREIGN IS WEAK? I'LL GRIND THEM TO DUST!!!!!! Sovereign's eyes were still their fiery shade of gold, as were Exodus' and Harbinger's. Exodus pointed to the Beastmen in the arena who were trembling slightly at the sight of this giant. Exodus just calmly said, "They did" before taking Harbinger and pulling her out of the way of the shit-storm that was to come

Sovereign let out a powerful bellowing cry of war as he began to tear into the Beastmen; it only took him thirty seconds to finish them. Now Harbinger's arena was stained beyond belief, blood spattered the floor and walls, bits and pieces of guts were strewn everywhere. And, it would seem that Sovereign was now satisfied as he roared again, "AHAHAHA! THAT WAS FUN!!! I LOVE CRUSHING THESE WEAK BABIES!!". Exodus began to calm down, his eyes shifting from gold to their normal brown color. "You alright?" he asked Harbinger.

The researchers were astounded; not only had Exodus shown incredible athletic skill, but he figured out how to use someone to save another in a near-impossible situation. "Well, I think we have some data to present to Adiane."
 
Harbringer was fast, but she wasn't fast enough to escape all of her assailants. She didn't know why, but she sort of hoped that it would all end here, with her taking them out if she could, or dying to be spared this awful existence. Her reaction time, her strength, her speed was amazing--she knew nothing like this had ever been a part of her before. But now that it was, she wasn't shy about using it.

She was still getting her ass handed to her, however. This was a problem. "Damn it..." And then someone was yelling. She thrust the heel of her hand into someone's face and then turned to look up, seeing the subject Exodus falling into her arena, his fist connecting with someone's skull as he landed. She didn't have time to stay in awe of his achievements, however. Though she was impressed that he stuck a landing from a 30 foot drop. She delivered a spinning kick to the bastard sneaking up behind her and sent him flying into one of his buddies just as Exodus came to cover her. It was a good thing too, because she was just about out of steam.

Panting heavily she prepared to continue fighting with Exodus' help. She was surprised however when the maniac called the beast next door weak. He burst through the wall, drawing a gasp and look of amazement out of Harbringer. It was then that she felt Exodus taking her by the wrist and pulling her out of the heat of battle. She blushed a little and found herself looking away from the battlefield and burying her face in his sweaty shoulder so she didn't have to look until it was over.

Heart still beating fast, she caught her breath just as he asked her if she was all right. "I....I'm okay." And her shy side was back. "Th-thank you for your help." Her knees were weak. In fact, now that she wasn't fighting, the weaker side of herself came out and she felt pain from each blow she'd received, plus her transformation aches. She was on her knees in seconds, holding herself up. "Damn it...What the hell did they do to me?!"
 
Exodus grunted heavily, sweat trickling down his toned, muscular form. "Don't mention it" he said shortly. He felt the adrenaline high wear off, which meant his exhaustion more than doubled. He went down to a knee, barely managing to hold himself upright. "I'd like to know that, too" he said in response to her question. Just what the hell happened? He couldn't ever remember being this strong, or fast. "Get up you weaklings! I took out more than the both of you combined, and I'm not even tired!" Sovereign said with a maniacal grin.

The researcher just watched as his assistant compiled the report; the assistant then asked, "Sir, do you think Adiane will be satisfied?" The researcher only gave a knowing grin, "Well, she's coming here tomorrow. For an inspection, but I'm sure she'll be more than happy with the results. By the way, have our guests knocked out for the next phase of testing Use the gas." The assistant then flicked a switch, causing a large volume of clear gas to begin pumping into the room. Within seconds, Sovereign and Exodus began to feel faint; they both collapsed to the ground before Beastmen came to take them to the next testing area.
 
That monster had to be kidding. Of course, he wasn't tired. He was a juggernaut. "I'm sure the sedatives are kicking in, too," she said, panting on the ground. She looked at Exodus gratefully and cautiously did the same to Sovereign. "Th-thank you both," she said. And then her eyelids got heavier. "Something is happening..." She fell on her knees and felt a rush of air. "Gas..."
 
When all three of them were knocked out, Beastmen transported them to another area. "Take them to their different areas. Let's get this next test underway." the researcher said; the Beastman obeyed, taking them far apart from each other so that they wouldn't be able to communicate. They were then strapped into vests; these were filled to the brim with explosives. They were also specially designed so that they couldn't be removed. Sovereign was too large for a vest, so when they finally put him into his area, they implanted electrodes into his thick skin that would deliver a lethal shock should he prove too unruly.

This time they would test their adapt to using weapons. They would be given a selection of seized human weapons. Their choices would indicate what kind of style of fighter they were. The vests were insurance to make sure they didn't try anything funny.

Exodus awoke, and felt something heavy; he saw that they had put a vest on him. "What the..." he started to say. He looked around; he noticed Sovereign and Harbinger weren't around. "Sovereign? Harbinger?" he called out; he heard no response. "Damn it. Now what?" The iron wall then opened to reveal row upon row of weapons; his jaw dropped at the arsenal. Rifles, launchers, machine guns, pistols, and other weapons of all types.

A voice came alive over the speakers in each of their rooms, "Hello, subjects. This little test is to help us determine what kind of combatant you are. In front of you you can see a large selection of weaponry. Pick whatever weapons you think you would be the best with on a mission." "Mission? What mission? What the hell is going on here?" Exodus shouted back.

However, the voice didn't respond back, but kept going in the same tone, "Now, I'm sure you've noticed that you're all wearing vests of some kind. They are filled to capacity with high-explosive material; try anything and they will be detonated. We are watching you. Please don't make us do that. Next to the wall of weapons, you will see a red button. Push it when you have made your selection. Place your selections on the floor behind you."

Exodus decided it would be best to play their game for now; he needed time to formulate a strategy to get out of here. Whoever these Beastmen were, when he got out, he would hunt them down and exterminate them like the roaches they were. However, it was comforting to know that a large stockpile was at hand. He just needed to figure where they were kept, so that they could get to it. So, for now he went about selecting his 'preferences'.

Exodus didn't know why, but suddenly his mind went into battle mode; his mind started perusing strategies and what he would do if he were stranded, just like the researcher had said. He grabbed a pair of high-caliber pistols, a broadsword, several kunai and two different scatterguns. Satisfied with his selection, he pushed the red button as per the instructions.

Sovereign, who was in his own area, heard the instructions and began picking weapons that he saw would do the most damage. Needless to say, no strategy was in his selection; every launcher, machine gun and anything 'big and powerful' was on the floor behind him in seconds. He then punched, not pressed, the button breaking it.
 
The voice cracked through her aching head and she glared at the speaker that seemed to be the source. They were saying something about weapons. Were they seriously giving weapons to the people they'd tortured? And then she noticed the vest and heard it was full of explosives. It would almost be worth it, but there was still a chance she wouldn't die. She glared at the speaker and stood up after a moment. She was alone, but the wall opened with an arsenal of weapons. Instinctively she went for a long range rifle, and almost every projectile weapon she could find. And then a dagger for close range combat. She hit the button with resolve and took her place in front of the weapons, her back turned to them.
 
The researcher looked at the subject's weapon choices; it seemed to further distinguish their individual personalities. Exodus was a close-range combatant, Harbinger was long-range. Still, he wanted to see what the extent of her sensory capability. And Sovereign.....well, he seemed to like big guns........so he was in theory the medium range, but long-range if equipped properly.

The researcher just grinned, making sure the microphone was off. "Interesting. Very interesting. We'll have to do some field testing, help them get trained. In the mean-time, knock them out with the gas. It's time to implant the combat suggestions, but take Subject Harbinger to the Dark Room first. I want to see what she can do." The gas flowed into each of the chambers again, slowly knocking out the three of them. Sovereign and Exodus were led away; Harbinger was then dumped into another large area with what looked like obstacles all-around it.

The researcher let the mind-breakers get prepared to torture Sovereign and Exodus; he was focused on Harbinger at the moment. "Let's see what she can do" he said as the lights were shut off; he wanted to test the extent of her sensory ability.
 
Harbringer was getting tired of all of this sedation and knock out gas. She found it ironic that the two adjectives she could think of to describe her feelings (sick and tired) mirrored her physical feelings about the effects of the sedatives and gas. Of course, she wasn't going to laugh about anything now. She woke up in a very dark, very silent room. The brief respite was a blessing at first. But she knew she was being watched, and probably closely. She couldn't fake unconsciousness forever. They might just decide to blow her up anyway. Slowly, and carefully she opened her eyes, sitting up just a little. Almost instantly, her eyes adjusted to the dark. Her hearing sharpened, and her sense of touch grew more sensitive as well. She didn't sense any immediate danger so she got up on her knees and started to look around. Nothing around her had much definition yet, but she could see the outlines of most everything.

What was going on?
 
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