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Fight the power!!!(Razgriz and I)

Lily didn't think what she did was that brave. Especially when she was essentially running away instead of standing up for what she believed in. Though if she did the later, she knew that she'd just be dead in a ditch somewhere. Better to live another day, she supposed. She wanted to take Princess Nia's compliment, but she just didn't feel right about it. So she just focused on devouring the sustenance they had given her.

Once the meat was gone, she actually did pick up her fork to finish the rest. Seemed like she could eat properly when she wanted to. "I suppose that would be best, I haven't been on this ship since...well, since it was in much better shape. I'm sure you've made some changes here and there over the years." Lily had worked under Thymilph back when he was still alive, just like Viral, so she was very familiar with the place.

***

It was true, she didn't like him initially, but over the years she had come to understand him. She knew he would respond better to her telling it like it was, rather than Nia. Nia was a little too naive, even after all these years. She still hoped that one day humans and beastmen could coexist one day, and that maybe she could talk sense into her father if given another chance. But Yoko knew the truth. Lord Genome could only be stopped by being destroyed.

She smiled at him and then offered her hand to him. "Come on, I'll help you there." She knew he was in bad shape, but he'd probably try to pretend like he wasn't. "I'm not taking no for an answer either." She said firmly. She just wanted to make sure he was actually okay. He had really worked himself up today over that girl.
 
Once the crew was done eating, Simon and Nia went from the dining room to the other areas of the ship. The mess hall was something that had been changed to be roomier, less crowded than the barrel Thymilph had onboard. Most of the infrastructure went unchanged, since during their time going to Teppelin they were able to move and hold their own quite well. Even when Guame was able to board it and nearly force their surrender. Her having knowledge of the ship would be valuable too, since it meant she might be able to explain some of the things to Ron that he hadn't been able to understand.

"The changes, as you can see, haven't been too extensive; any scrap we found during our travels as gone into armor repair and servo stabilization. Kind of a necessity since we can't have this thing falling apart on us before we get to our final destination." he said to her as he continued the tour. Truth be told it wasn't really their final, but they would be staying there for some time to get their supplies in order; however, they didn't want to jeopardize Littner's location either. So as defensible as it was, they couldn't risk exposing the village's location.


Irula knew that Yoko wasn't one to leave a suffering friend alone; besides, he didn't know if he would collapse. "Sorry, I'll try to not lean on you too much." he breathed, pausing to look down at his hands. Already his nails were growing into sharp points, and he could feel his canines poking against his lips. The mutations were happening sooner and sooner, more so even without his becoming enraged.

"Thanks again" he muttered, letting her lead him down to the medical office, where a bovine female awaited; looking much like Mota except with a more accentuated waistline, chest and set of hips, she smiled as the Prince and Yoko walked in. "Have a seat, alright? I'll let Ron know you're here". the woman stated clearly, already knowing what Irula was here for. She helped Ron with running analysis, having been a medical officer aboard the Dai-Gurren for some time since the failed usurping of Genome. "Thank you, Yoko...You don't have to stick around here if you don't want" he then offered as a formality; she was always welcome to stay, but with this newest upset...Maybe it was better if she didn't see him like this.

Moments later, Ron walked and saw Irula's face: Ragged lips, enlarged canines and dilated pupils. "Dear, dear...Well, since you came down to see me, it must be bad." Ron said, the patient nodding "Yeah...Whole body's feeling like it's covered in fire ants. Tingling all over."[/color] Ron let out a heartfelt sigh, retrieving a sealed vial and a syringe before drawing some blood for analysis "Lola, could you be so kind as to run the normal tests? And do a protein count, let me know. Thanks darling."[color] he then said to the cow-woman, who gave but a happy 'Of course' and went into the next room.

"Ron...I don't want you to be around the bush. What are the prospects looking like?" the Prince asked, Ron replying solemnly "Not good I'm afraid. The new medicinal formula isn't as effective as I'd hoped...And I'm sure you noticed." Irula sighed, "Stasis isn't working well either; these old scars are opening up more easily...What options are there?"


Finally, they reached the room where rows of stasis pods could be seen, lined up in neat rows and looking pristine as the day they were made. It was about thirty minutes after they had started, touring and this was the next to last stop. "Right down here is where we keep the pods for those that need to use them; I'll have Lola designate a private one for you. Speaking of Lola, we should probably show you the clinic. That way, in case you get banged up or hurt yourself, you know where to go."

Unaware of who was there, the trio soon arrived at the front of the clinic...And heard the last thing Simon wanted to hear being discussed.

"So that's it then...Ron, just tell me. How long do I have?"

That was Irula's voice...And Nia was standing right next to him, never having heard a lot about the severity of her brother's condition. A request by Irula, to make sure that no matter what, he wouldn't help bring down her spirit. She was a beacon of light here, doing her best to make sure everyone had something to look forward to. And the next statement

"Assuming you don't fly off the handle and fully activate...Less than two months, and that's best case scenario. If I could just crack the code about how you were altered, I could certainly devise a.."

"Ron...Just don't. I burned my facility to the ground; how many times have I gone out, hoping for more information only to come back empty-handed? I appreciate the sentiment and everything you've done to get me this far, but I don't want to get my hopes up for something that's virutally impossible to happen."

"Yes, but you said there was more than one facility...And last I checked, we were close to one right? Maybe that one has what we need?"

Simon was frozen in shock; this was the last thing he wanted to Nia to hear. Especially *tonight* of all nights!
 
Nia was horrified with what she had just learned about her brother. She hadn't realized the seriousness of his condition, nor did she understand what it meant if he were to fully activate. She stood there for a second, dazed as she tried to process the information, but when she heard Ron say that there might be hope in a nearby facility, she marched right into that room so she could speak up.

"We have to go," Nia urged with a determined expression. "We have to do everything in our power to make sure that brother doesn't succumb to his conditions. There's no time anymore.."

Yoko hadn't realized that Nia was listening, and that probably meant Simon was around too. She could understand Nia's fear, but it wasn't that simple. There could very well still be beastmen around that facility, there could be traps. It would be easy to exhaust the last of their resources making this side trip, but...Irula's condition, especially when he was around a stressor like Lily, was rapidly deteriorating.

Lily knew exactly where the facility was that Leeron was talking about, but she wasn't sure if she should get involved. Still, the Princess seemed very adamant that she needed to go there for her brother. "Umm, Simon? I know what facility they're talking about...but I don't think it's safe enough to bring the entire ship there. If anyone is willing to trust me, I can guide a few gunman over there to get whatever the Prince needs." She made sure to whisper that last part.
 
Ron and Irula were both shocked that Nia was standing right outside; he'd figured that the two of them would be readying up for whatever Simon had in mind for their anniversary. The Prince cursed as he heard Lily's voice too, stating, "I can hear you, Beastman. I thought I was clear on thatw word..And you're not going anywhere, Period." He then stood up immediately after this, rubbing his shoulder from stiffness as he appeared in the doorway, his bandages freshened; Simon interjected, "Well, you're not going out alone again, I won't allow it." to which Irula smiled, "It's cute to think you can actually stop me." His gaze then hardened at Lily, his voice gravely as his hands clenched, "This is my endeavor; I don't need the likes of her sabotaging it now that she knows I have a problem."

Ron then stepped between the two of them, saying firmly "Alright, let's not do this now shall we? I'll admit, having someone we don't know learn about a vulnerability isn't ideal...But it can't be helped. So, we let the two lovebirds enjoy their anniversary...And if Lily wants to show her loyalty, she can escort Irula to this base." Irula's attention, and Simon's as well, turned to the genius with confusion on their faces. "What? I've seen Lily's Zanagi; she can sense any hostile threats that might be nearby and would be an excellent scout. And if things look too hairy, she can state a retreat is in order and pull back"

Letting out a snarl, Irula shouted, "I REFUSE!" He then took a deep breath and added, "It's bad enough we let one of her kind aboard our home; I have no doubt she'll take this chance to run back to her precious General. Lead his forces right to our doorstep!" The former Prince then marched right up to Lily and stared her in the face, growling "She wants to prove her loyalty? She can stay right where she is, and make sure nothing happens while I'm gone."
 
Even after their talk, Irula was still being unreasonable about Lily. Yoko just placed her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "Irula..." She began, however she was cut off by Lily's exasperated sigh.

"You're a fool." Lily simply said as she folded her arms. There didn't seem a trace of anger on her face, but she was definitely irritated. She couldn't help herself, she could only take so much before she started dishing it out herself. He was just being stubborn at this point, something Lily could also be. "You're going to get yourself killed if you go alone. It would also be very easy for you to draw attention to yourself if you don't know what you're doing. Then you'd be leading Viral straight to you. If you're so concerned about me sabotaging you, just bring someone else to help you baby sit me."

"Please, brother! Just let her go with you. She's right, you can always take someone else if you don't trust her. How about Kittan?" Nia suggested quickly, her eyes pleading to him. Lily seemed to be his best bet for this mission, and Nia just wanted everything to go as smoothly as possible so his condition didn't get worse.
 
"Funny how you pretend to care about whether something kills me or not, when our leader is watching" Irula growled as she shot what he said back at him, adding fiercely "And Kittan hates her just as much as anyone else; it would cause too much room for error."

"True enough, but that doesn't mean I like being side-lined" then came a voice, Kittan appearing from the hallway. Simon was about to ask how Kittan knew where they were, only to be stopped as the Bachika Sibling raised his hand. "Look, as much as I hate to have to bring her along: You only saw one aspect of the facility; there's no doubt the others knew more about them. Where to look, what each facility was meant to do; you said yourself that a number weren't invested in creating more Supers. Weapons research, Gunmen upgrades, those were other stations right?"

Simon was pleased but surprised that Kittan would say anything that even remotely sounded like defending Lily. "Besides, we already had plans to both go to that installation, but I can see how her being here would make you forget that." Turning to face Yoko, he then gave her a smile - more of a lip-curl, but it was the most facial movement she might have seen in a while. "And don't worry, ladies; I'll make sure Irula makes it back in one piece."

The digger could only mentally sigh as a potential crisis was averted; if this kept up, he might have a heart attack! Things were bound to reach a boiling point, but he just hoped that it could wait until tomorrow. He wanted Nia to be able to enjoy their anniversary, after all. Irula, after staring at the ground in hard contemplation, let out a hard sigh, "Fine. But don't pretend this changes anything between us, *Beastman* Just remember what I said earlier.." It was here that he pushed past them, stating "We better get prepared then! Kittan, Beastman, let's go! Night will be upon us soon, and we should move towards the facility while there is some measure of daylight left!"
 
"Thank you, Kittan." Nia said with a smile. He sounded more like his old self, maybe because of how critical the situation was. Irula needed help, but he was so stubborn. If it wasn't for Kittan, she wasn't sure if they'd be able to convince him to take Lily.

"Take care of him, make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble. He's not thinking clearly with Lily around." Yoko told Kittan as she watched Irula leave. She couldn't help but have a bad feeling about all of this. Not only did she not fully trust Lily, but Irula wasn't in the greatest condition, mentally or physically. She wished he didn't have to go at all, but he would recognize exactly what they needed to find.

"Hopefully this doesn't take long..." Lily muttered under her breath before she followed Irula. They needed to get back before sundown, otherwise she wouldn't be able to pilot Zanagi.

***

It wasn't hard to find the coordinates of the facility that they were searching for, and it was relatively close. Lily took the lead, saving Kittan and Irula the trouble of telling her to walk in front of them. They probably wanted to make sure she wasn't in the position to run, or to get a surprise attack on them. Not that she was stupid enough to do either of those things when there were two of them. They could stop her easily.

Was this really the right decision that she made? She liked Simon, and Princess Nia...but everyone else, she just wasn't sure. Even though her pack didn't like her much, she never feared for her life around them. Now she felt like she was walking on eggshells constantly, even looking at the Prince made him hate her more. Maybe after this, he'd trust her more. She'd have to work hard to make sure this mission was a success.
 
The journey towards the facility was going along smoothly; though Irula was still seething inside, having to rely on a Beastman to watch out for them. Kittan wasn't happy about it either, not by a longshot. But he also didn't need Irula or himself making things worse right now; Lily seemed to understand her place and that alone seemed to satisfy him for the moment. He'd still be watching her, that much was certain.

"Hey big man...You holding up alright?" Kittan's face appeared on the screen in front of Irula, who simply responded "What do you think?" The blonde man sighed, adding "Look, I know it's not ideal, and I'm on your side about her...But it won't last. Maybe it'll work out, yeah?" The Prince snorted in suppressed laughter, "You sound like you're trying to convince yourself more than me." It was here that Kittan smiled again, "Yeah, well, maybe there's some truth to that."

The sun was getting lower, but they still had some time left before it would set. Suddenly, Irula took off in his Gunman for no apparent reason, catching the other two off-guard. "Hey! Irula, wait up!" Kittan shouted, putting his own mech into high gear; eventually, Irula just stopped, Kittan stopping soon behind him. They had arrived at one of the factories, its entire structure seated in a deep gulch and hidden from view. Adiane was smart like that, using the Beastman to clear the areas and build these damned projects of hers. The structure looked like it was blown to hell: Holes the size of the King Kittan pocked its exterior, the metal bent outward from an internal explosion. Pipes that fed coolant to the reactors, long since dry, lay deconstructed and destroyed.

"This is...a Super production center...I remember it, from the insignia." the former Prince muttered as he pointed to the now-faded symbol - a set of skulls underlayed by four wings - his mind flashing back to the events. It was so long ago, but he could hear every sound from it, every turn he made to get to the one running this place. His destroying the camera above the security door, himself gutting the Director. He seemed to space out a little, his eyes emptily gazing upon the destroyed building. "Uh...Irula? You're not dead in there, are you?" Kittan then asked, snapping the Prince out of his stupor and making him shake his head.

"Y-yeah, yeah, I'm good...There's a Gunman entrance on the north side. But we'll need to disembark once inside; we'll find a research terminal in the sub-levels of this place." he finally replied, already beginning to make his way to that entrance.
 
Lily was surprised when Irula suddenly dashed forward, and she was right behind him with Zanagi. She was surprised he would turn his back on her, but perhaps it was simply because he had recognized something at the site. She listened to him and Kittan chat over the radio channel and tilted her head. So, he was familiar with this place just like she was. "Hold on, let me take the lead." She told them as she moved forward. "I can scan for any traps, we don't want to tip Viral off on our location."

She adjusted her radar to scan for any unusual electromagnetic activity. There didn't seem to be any active machines on, so she pressed forward. Besides, she needed to be in front anyway, but she supposed the Princes' instincts had gotten the better of him. He was lucky there weren't any traps around the building, because he would have walked right into it. "Seems like we're good, if you trust me anyway." She smirked at that, but she wasn't sure why. Maybe she was just sick of them treating her like a disease, enough to the point where it was getting amusing.
 
Irula kind of felt like an idiot, realizing that this Lily was right on the money; a low growl left him as she took the lead, declaring that the building was safe for entry. And as they would press inward, Irula felt a bout of revulsion wash over him; places like this made him sick to his stomach, remembering everything that was done to him and the others.

Once they got to the Gunmen bay, Irula just said "Out...We'll need to go on foot from here. Don't need to crash our machines through the entrance." And with that, the three would disembark, Kittan carrying a small carbine rifle and Irula wielding a compact scattergun.

"So, what are we looking for, exactly?" the last Black Sibling asked, Irula replying "We'll need to head further down, the main technician's area is in the sublevels. Where they brewed the serums that made...well, me and the other Supers."
 
Lily exited from Zanagi and looked around, feel the hairs on her tail stand on end. This place was giving her the creeps, but she had her own daggers strapped to her thighs underneath her dress. "Let's just hurry up and find it so we can get out of here." She muttered as she walked next to Kittan. He didn't seem to mind her as much as the Prince did, so she didn't feel as uncomfortable next to him. Maybe he would warm up to her eventually, maybe not. All she could do was prove that she wasn't their enemy, and she'd do whatever it took. Even if....even if she missed Viral, honestly. She knew if he ever saw her again, he'd probably have her head on a spike, but she still missed him.
 
"Don't have to tell me twice" Kittan replied, Irula remaining silent; the former felt a sense of dread on entering this place, like this place was condemned. And based on the state of it, it looked like it should have been. What remained of the skeletons were scattered about, likely the scavengers that crawled through various holes in the foundation and exterior.

It had been so long that the former Prince barely even remembered this place. And with how degraded this place had become, it was a treacherous journey...Made evident when as they had descended down a staircase, and Irula nearly put his foot through the step, Kittan rushing forward to pull him back as the step fell away.

"Sonofa..." the Prince muttered, Kittan smirking "Guess it's not the Beastmen just trying to kill us. How close are we?" Irula shrugged, "I don't remember this place exactly, but it's not that much further down." And one floor later, they would arrive in a room full of decrepit operating equipment...And stasis pods much like the ones they had on the Dai-Gurren.

"This is it...But it looks like there's no power." Irula sighed, rubbing a hand through his messy hair; at this Kittan looked towards Lily, "I won't pretend to know how any of this works. Is there anything I should know? Like you, I wanna get out of here as quick as possible too."
 
Lily was quiet for a moment before looking around. Everything was in bad shape from lack of maintenance for years. Still, there had to be some source of power somewhere. A generator. She started checking every machine until she found one. "Looks like the back up generator still has some juice." She replied to Kittan as she started fiddling with the wires. "I think I can get it to work, one second." She continued on as she crossed them. They had been chewed through by vermin, but it wasn't anything she couldn't fix. The generator whirred to life as she smirked, pleased with herself. The machines began to light up, and she looked at the Prince.

"We better move quick. Viral might pick up on the facility if it remains active for too long." She told him as she moved to join them both once more. She wouldn't be looking forward to when he did catch up to them, if he did. He would, knowing his tenacity.
 
Kittan gave a low whistle as the lights and computers began turning back on, "Not bad....Maybe now we can make some headway." Irula just pursed his lips, stating "She is right; the longer this stays on, the more exposed we'll be...And daylight's getting thin. Try to find some information on the cold storage; that's where they usually keep the serums."

As they would poke around, Kittan would then say, "Hey...Think I got something with this." Irula came over and saw a display; that was it alright. "Good job...Now we just nee..."

He then just fell to his knees, a hand hitting up to his lips as red seeped from between his fingers. "Hey, hey, Irul..." Kittan started to say, but the Prince just waved his hand "I'm fine...We need to get those doors open."
 
Lily was concerned for Irula, because it looked like he didn't have much time left before his body shut down. They all needed to get out of here safely, with their Gunman. They couldn't waste anymore time, they needed to get what he needed and get the hell out of here. "Alright, I'll take care of it." She said as she moved ahead, finding the panel that would open the door. She was better for this anyway, the door more than likely would only open for a Beastmen's DNA. She placed her hand on it, and the door hummed before slowly opening, creaking from it's old age. "Come on, we're almost there, Pri-...err, Irula. Just a little further." It was going to take a while to get used to not using formalities with him.
 
Irula watched as Lily opened the door, staring up from his kneeling position at her. His eyes seemed to get more dull for a second, feeling light-headed before they lit up again. Hearing her use his name, he jammed the barrel of his scattergun into the ground and forced him up, feeling a bit unsteady as he then stood up fully, "Good work, I guess."

The trio went through the door, the systems starting to reactivate as they entered a lab facility; old stasis tubes - almost all of which were broken in, the glass shattered and some of the tubes - lined the walls, but in the center seemed to be a column. A few lights seemed to turn on automatically too, allowing them to see the classic 'fog' from the cold cryo-fluid rolling off its surface. It seemed almost pristine, strange considering how the breakout.

"I remember this room...This is where I killed the Director of this installation. Right in that corner there...Crushed his throat in my hands." Irula said, pointing to a corner by the main control panel. "So...What are we looking for exactly?" Kittan asked, Irula then replying, "We need to get that cold storage unit open. With any luck, they would likely have kept the successful batches in here...The serum that made the Supers and the Ultras."

Irula then walked over to a terminal, seeing that it was still drawing power, enough to where the display was. "Cryo storage malfunction; operation at 45%. Serum batch A-11-2121-U through A-11-2126-U likely compromised." it read, making Irula notably upset. "Son of a bitch..." Irula snarled; he should have expected as much. How long had it been since he was here? "You two, cover the door; I'm going to find which batch is mine, if it's even here."
 
"Uhh..." Lily began as she looked him up and down, nostrils flaring slightly. "Honestly, is that a good idea? You're starting to smell like death, can't one of us get it for you?" There was no point in him wasting energy and effort if the batch wasn't even good. It was honestly a wonder that this place was even semi operational, being that it hadn't seen activity for years. If it wasn't any good anymore, then they had came all the way out here for nothing. They had risked their lives and being tracked by Viral, for nothing...
 
"Just because I'm bleeding a little, doesn't mean I'm useless..." Irula snarled, already scanning the directories. Kittan placed a hand on her shoulder, "Just let him do it...We can argue about who smells like what later".

Irula continued to search, scrolling through the terminal; he'd done this before, but looking for other ways. He'd hoped to not come back here, but he knew he had to at some point. It was perhaps his last chance to get what he needed to survive. "Found it...." Irula said, using the terminal to open the central console; out popped a small hermetically sealed container. In it, the mother serum that made the first gen Supers and Ultras, the one that gave birth to the abomination he was. Strong yes, but fragile in his own ways.

He had no idea what it was supposed to look like; that was more his former partner's wheelhouse. "Let's get going" he would say after stowing the container in a small bag; it seemed Viral hadn't found them yet. "Lily, kill the power if you can; we don't need this place to be operational anymore that it has to be". Kittan said, getting out of Irula's way as he stormed out; he knew they were against the clock. He couldn't operate his Gunman in darkness as long as he used to; if the sun was too far down, he wouldn't make it back.

===========================================================================================================================

Needless to say, Viral was getting closer; he had pushed his forces in the daylight as hard as he could. And he was livid: Lily had run, the little tramp! "Lily, I swear you're dead if I find you!" Viral growled, pushing them onward as the Enkidudu led the front of the pack.

"Do not worry, General! We will find her!" said one Beastman; whoops, seems he left the comm channel open. "Yeah, we'll rip her apart for betraying us!" "I always knew she was a human sympathizer! Always asking those damn questions!" "In the Spiral King's name she dies!" Enthusiastic shouts rang out, before long Viral shouting "SHUT IT!" and making his troop go silent.
 
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