Garin woke up in a cold sweat, the room in pitch darkness. He had a dream of a glowing door. Garin rushed at the door with the lights, pursuing something important, something he needed. He rushed through the door, but it was made of glass, shattering. He ran after the light, but it ducked out of sight leaving him with the darkness. He ran as fast as he could, but the light was faster, it sped up as he inched towards it just out of his reach. He reached out with his tendril, and with a grip on the light he pulled back. The light submitted, caught in the clutches of his tendril’s fist. Garin noticed the center of the light, and a picture was inside.

It was a girl with red hair, and a beautiful smile. Her eyes were warm copper, her lips painted red. She smiled so bright, that Garin was sure the smile was where the light came from. Then she frowned, her face saddened. Garin saw the light slip away as the ball dripped through his fingers, she was going away somewhere and he wasn’t allowed to go, but he didn’t know why. He gripped the ball as hard as he could, but the light was gone, replaced with a metal ball with red water on the surface of it. He looked at the ball, and noticed the marks. It was Sate, a small but accurate globe of the planet.

The light came back, but it was a little darker. It was purple and black, and the girl’s face looked fierce as she peered at him through the orb. That’s when the girl burst open, and the light burrowed through the orb towards Garin.

Garin woke up, gasping for air as the dream had left him. Unconvinced that he was still awake, he punched himself in the face. He was awake. The pain was dull but knowing that he felt something besides terror was better than without it. “Tehran,” the Cheruv awoke inside his mind, his presence scanning the area for threats. He noticed that Ella was still asleep, the somber harpy snoozing and snoring just as loud as she did when they arrived.

“All is clear.” Garin stretched out his metal-bound body as he made his way to the door. He opened it to reveal Priscilla covered in fatigues head to tail. “Morning, get any sleep?”

“Not the kind I wanted, but it’s not up to me apparently. So where is this training you talked about?”

“Over here in the oratory, it’s a little difficult but I figured a Shandorian can handle a little difficult.” She smiled a sly way, daring him at a challenge. Ella seemed to spring to life at the mention of challenge, which caught Garin by surprise.

“I can beat any challenge.” Ella said, with a look of determination showering over her as she slowly drifted back to her pillow. Melchior came down the hallway carrying a clipboard along with a few other scientists. Garin smirked back.

“If you want a challenge, I’ll give one to you.” Priscilla stopped for a moment and turned to the scientists and Melchior, “If any of you interrupts his training I will personally rip those boards out of your hands and have Ella beat you with them.” Garin smiled at the remark, but Ella looked determined, and Garin remembered that these two were pretty versatile when it came to fighting.

Tehran made a strange noise, but from what Garin could interpret it was laughter. “You think you’re going to give a trained warrior a challenge?” Garin silently told him to be quiet. They made their way to the oratory as Priscilla had called it, which was a wide room that had an open roof. Tehran scanned the interior of the training grounds, showing details about obstacles, tactical ways around the courses and likeliness of success. To Garin’s annoyance, each one was registered as being too difficult for their current experience. “Tehran you need to show some faith, I got this.”

Tehran argued that facts are hard to ignore with faith, but Garin drowned out the words as they made it to the first obstacle. It was a simple wall climb, with a rope to hold onto and an overlay at the top to climb over to the other side. Priscilla had already started climbing the rope, her feet pawing the wall in a quick striated motion. Garin grabbed the rope, and with a pull broke it off from the wall. Ella simply flew to the top in one motion, her agility being astoundingly quick as Tehran notated. “There is the fact that we are too strong for this obstacle and many others as well.” Furrowing his brow till all he saw was the wall, Garin latched onto the surface with his tendril. The three-pronged arm crashed through the rock, but didn’t destroy the structure. He lifted himself off the floor with the tendril, and proceeded to climb back and forth with his two shoulder tendrils. He wrenched the top, and with a spring he grasped the railing overhanging the wall. Priscilla was already at the top waiting for him. “So you broke the rope, but found another way up, impressive. Now we get to try something for speed.” She went over to the other side of the wall as Garin pulled himself onto the platform. He walked over to the side revealing the walls other side to be a sloped edge. Each side was pointing to the center of the runway, so any direction other than forward would make it difficult to continue going. Ella had made her way up to meet them as she prepared herself for the course. Using her arms, she pushed herself off of the edge and let her claws slide down the slope at first, gaining speed as she descended. After a few seconds, she began to actually run, which looked rather awkward to Garin as her legs didn’t seem like they were meant for running. To his surprise, she handled the slope very well, even gain speed to the point where Garin thought she might lose control and start rolling. When she reached the incline Ella shot up, with a jump, and opened her wings, changing from running downhill to gliding over the rest of the course.

Priscilla just laughed, “I supposed that is training, even if it is only partly running the course as opposed to gliding it. You’re up Garin. “Garin took another look down the sloped course. The slope did not truly bother him so much as it went down twenty feet before it began to curve out into the rest of the grounds. A literal drop was the only way Garin could describe it. Priscilla took one look at Garin, and said, “Race you to the bottom?” Garin gave her a look of confusion, as she jumped off the side, running in place with the curve of the wall. Garin jumped off after her, but the ground wouldn’t come near his feet. Instead he began to roll down, flinging his arms outward as he tumbled down the sloped wall. As he bounced, his metal armor spiked the ground, sending sparks flying across the half-pipe. Garin desperately tried to grab onto the surface, but his hands and feet slid on the smooth surface. He crashed into the end of the course, his body smashing into the wall. Priscilla ran across the course in seconds as she made it to Garin’s wreck. “Garin, seven hells are you alright?”

Garin’s mind felt strangely light as he tried to push himself out of the self-made crater. “I got heavier, I think.”

“That’s not funny, Garin you could have died!”

Tehran laughed as hard as he could, “It was a little funny, honestly.”

“To be honest Priscilla, I feel fine.” Priscilla gazed at him, clearly upset by the accident.

“Get up.” Garin gazed up at her, and saw the underlining anger. It was a dangerous look, not a dare or a friendly chat anymore. She wanted to test him now. So he got up, light headed and all. “Run!” Garin looked at her as he dashed for the half pipe, but he noticed something else on the pipe. It was something terrible, an awful creature with disjointed limbs, and a torso that didn’t fit with the rest of the gangly body. Garin stared at the monstrosity, and in the face he recognized who it was.

Dr. Raufer, his face hung on the creature’s features. It was the eyes that dislodged Garin though, the eyes were wrong for his face. Instead of the brown he had seen, it was bright yellow with a hint of white. Whoever that thing was, it wasn’t the doctor anymore. It was the look of hunger Garin had seen before, something on the Skiritix

“Thank you, boy.” The creature dislodged its lower jaw, revealing a row of gaping teeth and jaw bones. “This one tells us of what you are, and we are grateful…” Its mouth tried to fit words together, but all Garin could make from the strange cacophony was an insect-like ticking. “He has served us well, rask tik al ek coro. We know of you, we desire you. Come to us metal one, come and embrace us; for we shall grant you unity, purpose! JOIN USSSSS.” The creature with Dr. Raufer’s face charged at Garin screaming in fury. Garin ducked out of the way as it ran pass, grabbing part of the metal floor sheeting.

“The hell am I supposed to do against that?” Tehran buzzed, his scans routing all the information about the creature.

“This creature is the convert organism that you had encountered before. This creature is based off of the parasite, so it stands to chance that severing the parasite will kill this monster. Scanning now.”

Tehran continued his scans of the monster as Garin rolled out of the creature’s path a second time. “Garin, we got to get the hell out of here!” Melchior was screaming overhead as the scientists made their way to the exit. “There is a pad upon the roof that has two Hellcats. We need to get the scientists there quickly!” Priscilla had run passed Garin, grabbing onto one of Garin’s metal tendrils as they ran for the exit of the training room. Dr. Raufer charged at them in a rage, his dislocated joints and legs cracking as he shuffled to the door to stop them. His mouth opened wide, revealing a large worm creature in the middle of his throat. Garin reacted, using one of his loose arms he reached out at the convert.

The convert tried to snap its jaw down on his arm tendril, but the metal broke its teeth, causing it to scream louder with its mouth open. Garin reached out and tugged at the worm, wrenching it from the creature. It split off, falling from the body as the writhing worm wiggled in Garin’s hands. Dr. Raufer muttered a groan as he fell to the ground in a blood-filled heap. When the body of Dr. Raufer collapsed, the worm went into a frenzy. Its body shooting out long lithe tentacles as it tried to grasp onto Garin. The moment it touched Garin’s metal body, it electrified. Sparks flew from Garin’s arms and the worm was fried alive as Garin held it to the ground. “One of the various new additions we received from the doctor,” Tehran had said, his glee over his new discovery being apparent.

He pushed it away, and the worm writhed in its death throes.

“Garin, we need to go.” Priscilla tugged on his arm, but Garin stared at the worm. Tehran was scanning the life form intensively, studying the biological make-up as well as the vitals it had before it had been electro-shocked.

“Complete, we should leave the premises.” Tehran muttered in his mind; the wisecracker completely gone his voice.” “Okay, Priscilla.” Garin turned around and together they ran out of the facility.

Hell was loose inside the science facility. Red lights and alarms blazed as panicked Touak ran for the doors and exit shafts that led to the emergency escape vehicles. Garin and Priscilla had caught up with Dr. Pepper and a team of her scientists as they ran for the exit tunnels. “Melchior what the hell just happened to the base?”

“The damn Tunneler burrowed into the warehouse, there wasn’t any reinforced steel under the floor there so they just burst right under the damn Citadel!” It seemed impossible, but as he was running Dr. Pepper came into view catching up with them. Her voice was frantic and terrified, “How is our situation doctor?” Pepper looked at the scared scientists that were shadowing her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We need to leave, the base is compromised Anna.” The Touak doctor stared at her in distress, “no we can’t, and we have no other bases within our area that aren’t already infested. Doctor if we leave… we can never come back here, this is my home damn it!”

“You don’t think I already know that, Anna? I’m not doing this because I want to, but because I know if we stay, we are done for. This place is already gone Anna, we’ve got to get out!” Anna burst into tears as Pepper held her. Melchior moved to the front of the group so that the rest of the scientists could see him. “People, we have two Hellcats on this roof, we need to move up the stairs that access the command center in order to reach those vehicles, they are our only way to escape. I know you are all hurt, some of you won’t see your loved ones again, but we can’t give up. The Touak need to press on, I promise you we will make it.”

The scientist team seemed to be too stunned to move after the situation. With a bit of effort Garin pushed them towards the ladders.

“Garin I need you here,” Priscilla motioned Garin up the stairs towards the command center, the building he was just in last night. The door flashed red with the alert, but they ignored it, as she and Garin entered the blast doors. As the door opened, one of the scientists screamed. A convert blocked the door. It was a Sheok variant, a gigantic maw with pincers growing out of its back, its face deformed to accommodate the massive jawbones. It lurched to the scientists, slowed only by its massive size. Priscilla pulled out her sidearm, blasting at the creature’s opened face. One of the scientists, a male rabbit Touak ran up to the creature, waving its arms at the monstrosity. The convert turned towards the scientist, reaching out slowly with its dislocated limbs. “I got this bastard, run for it!”

“Chuck NO!” Anna tried to reach out to Chuck as he ran down the hall, the convert in slow pursuit. Garin grabbed onto her before she got in the creature’s path, “Let go, damn you, let go! Please… don’t leave him!” her sobs shook Garin as he held her back.

“We can’t help him, not now.” Priscilla grabbed the scientis’s hand as she struggled against the grip. Deep down he felt the urge to help, a spark in himself that told him it was wrong to leave that scientist behind. Tehran felt his indecision, surging into his mind to assist.

“We could stop it, save the scientist, and try to make it to the aircraft. We are capable, but who will protect these scientists should we leave? He made this sacrifice to save these people he cares about Garin, we should not squander this gift. It would be wrong to his memory.”

“You talk about it like he’s already dead, I should have stopped him.”

“We have our own mission, and we cannot die so recklessly to preserve a sense of morality. This is a war. Saving these people for him Garin, is the best way to fight back.”

Garin turned away from the hallway, pushing the people out into the atrium for the command center. It was a long climb for the scientists, but Garin and Priscilla stayed behind to make sure each one got to the roof in one piece. Garin was helping the last one get up when Priscilla grabbed a hold of his shoulder.

“Garin I need you to go with them, keep them safe. I’m going back.” She began to turn around, and something overcame Garin, a force that rivaled pure rage. It felt like the blackened tonic he had ingested from Pepper’s tests. He grabbed Priscilla and flung her to the roof.

“Like hell you are, you are not playing the hero after that man just killed himself to save our sorry asses! You get in that damn Hellcat while I make sure we don’t get followed.” Priscilla snarled back at him, but Garin saw a glimpse of something else before she raced to start the Hellcat. Garin went back towards the command center atrium. He remembered the look the Touak had when they were at work with the computers in the center room. So, he rushed inside, and into a swarm of people fighting against the converts. Garin heard screams, guttural noises that suggested other horrors, and the crunching noise of someone being mutated. Two people, one a male owl, the other a female, ran past him as he rushed in after the remaining people. Garin saw five converts at once trying to reach one of the analysts, a poor Sheok who was holding a broken arm. They charged at once, but Garin made it in time. Slamming his tendrils in the first three, he spread out his arms in a swinging frenzy, knocking over the other two with a clunk. One of the monsters recovered quick and jumped onto him, its mouth gone and replaced with a slimy green tongue. It tried to insert the tongue in his mouth, grasping at his face to hold him still. Garin pressed both his fists into the creature’s sides, which gave way like a pop can. The convert didn’t even screech, it just fell over dead. The woman Touak got behind him quick, her beak jabbering incoherent noise.

“Get to the door! There are two Hellcats on the roof waiting to take you out, run now!” Garin wasn’t looking, but she let go and ran, wailing at the top of her lungs. The converts that weren’t dead all began to stare at him. One poor rabbit female had tried to escape but the convert nearest grabbed her by the arm and held her there. One convert, newly mutated judging from her appearance, came up to Garin slowly and spoke, “You are the one, the metal one who killed our servant. He served us well being trapped in this metal cage for so long. Tell us who you are metal one; allow us into your mind.”

“Not going to happen freak. Let her go.”

The speaker turned to the rabbit, and with a hand raised, the heavy convert that held her inched forward. “This one is weak, she cries in her mind and wails in fury, she is in pain. Pain is something we all know, and we would relieve her of such a burden, would you deny that metal one, for us to spare her pain?”

The captive looked up at Garin, her face was horror-struck. “Let her go, or I’ll remind you of pain, and I won’t stop it until your screaming to die.” Garin never felt so much hatred before, the fire in his mind and body were in tune to each other. The convert showed no such regard for the threat and instead she spun the rabbit around.

“I can show you the Mother, she would love to welcome you.”

The rabbit girl shook her head, “Hannah, they turned you into a damn monster.”

The convert smiled, “your sense of humor is still felt in this one’s mind, she screams for you to join us, and I will not deny her.”

The convert’s mouth opened wider than any mouth should be able to do, and inside Garin saw the worm, the same worm that was inside Dr. Raufer. Only this one wasn’t trying to get out, it was pushing out a large sac. The rabbit girl screamed as it tried to make its way to her face. Garin reached out with his tendril, smacking the convert and the sac to the far corner. With his other tendril, he grabbed the Touak. The sac was on her clothes, trying to worm its way into her mouth. She screamed in terror, shocked and unable to move. Garin grabbed the large sac with his hand, holding it in place. It squirmed, trying to break free of his iron grip, but the metal hand held it still.

The rabbit girl backed away making her way to the door. “Please, come with me. Don’t leave me alone please!”

The girl’s pleading was deaf to Garin and his rage, and as he crushed the life from the worm, he heard the other Skiritix groan. The convert leader stood up, her face mangled and disjointed from the blow Garin gave her, but she still began to speak. “You would deny her a place in our heaven, you are not worthy of our gift metal one. I will melt your insides until you scream for mercy!”

She smiled a horrid twisted smile, “Or, maybe we will just convert you as well.”

“Whoever you are, whatever you are, I will destroy you for what you did to these people. My name is Garin, and I am Shandori. My kind is the rightful protectors of this planet. I will make you pay homage to Sate for your crimes.”

Garin had no idea where the lines were coming from, until he heard Tehran’s voice speaking in unison with his own. The convert paused, recognition showing in her distorted dead eyes. “Shandori, your kind returns to plague us?” She turned to her followers, “Our old enemies return to us, we will have our vengeance on you metal ones and once this world bows to us, we will feast on your beloved Sate!” She screamed a high-pitched melody as the converts ran at Garin in full gallop. Garin’s rage spiked inside his mind, and with a roar he unleashed the torrent of fire that he had built inside. The Skiritix stumbled over each other as the flames engulfed them in a flood. Screams and chatters from other-worldly noises sliced through Garin’s ears as he melted their faces off.

…

It seemed like hours before the horde had stopped trying to come at him, but Garin knew only a few minutes had gone by. Each convert was either in their death throes or was a charred black husk. The rabbit Touak came up to him after he had stopped shooting fire. “Thank you, thank you so much, you saved me.” Garin turned to the girl, and he saw a glimmer of happiness in those tear-streaked eyes.

“I couldn’t leave you to die.”

She stared at the corpses, “They didn’t deserve this fate, and Hannah… she was going to be a mother and have all kinds of kids. Now she’s… gone,” she turned to Garin, “I’m Sori, Sori Leas. You’re that Shandori everyone spoke about. Garin was it?” He nodded. “I wish I could fight like you, Garin. I will always be in your debt for this.”

Garin looked at the hope in her eyes, and smiled. “Come, there’s a Hellcat waiting for us on the roof, we have to go before they decide to leave.”

“Will they leave without us really?” Garin looked back as they ran, “Not likely they would leave me behind.” He smiled at her, she smiled back, and they ran for the roof ladder together.

The sounds of thrusters screamed over the roof tops as Garin helped Sori enter the first Hellcat. She was crying softly as the other passengers buckled her into her seat. She gazed at him with those tear-soaked eyes, her lips blubbering.

“Garin, please stay here.” Garin stared back at her, stunned for a moment. “I can’t Sori, I need to make sure we get the other passengers on the Hellcats. We’ll be right behind you. I…,”

he paused a moment, “I promise.”

She smiled a little at that, and with that Garin shut the door to the Hellcat. The Hellcat made its way slowly off the ground as Priscilla came up to him, “The hell were you thinking risking yourself like a damn hero after you told me to stick behind. You bastard!” She swung half-heartedly at him, which he took in the face. It didn’t hurt as she didn’t seem like she was trying to hurt him.

“I couldn’t leave those people, not after what you told me. They risked their lives too. Live another day, so you can fight, that’s what you told me remember?”

Priscilla looked away for a moment, still clearly upset.

“How could I just let them die after that?”

Priscilla smiled a little at that, “I might be teaching something to you after all, but being a hero is not one of them.” She grabbed his arm as they walked to the Hellcat. “Next time, tell me when you’re off to kill yourself so I can beat you for your own good, okay?”

Garin couldn’t help but laugh, and as he entered the Hellcat he pulled Priscilla in with one good tug. Pepper and her team were in the Hellcat as well as a few children and families. Garin admired them all, not one cried or stuttered or even looked afraid. They just stood silent with sad faces and grim demeanors. After he belted in he closed his eyes and laid back, etching into his mind to find his compatriot. Tehran buzzed in his mind, the Cheruv’s constant calculation and intellect reflecting his presence. “So ignoring me is alright when it comes to saving those we have not even established as friends. I’m surprised Garin, and I feel uncertain.”

“I had to Tehran, what was I supposed to do, let that monster eat them and turn them into walking corpses? I was destroying two enemies by denying them the girl.”

“We both know that is not the reason why you disregarded me! You wanted to help her! Why do you jeopardize our mission with you foolish heroics?”

“I don’t, I don’t know why. I felt like if I let her go… that part of myself, that human part, would be dead with her.”

“And Priscilla? She was willing to go back and fight too, yet you denied her.

Why?”

“Because, she’s about the only friend besides you and Ella that I have on my side, and I need friends Tehran. More importantly, we need friends if we hope to help save this planet, and to find the others.”

“You are correct.”

“What? Just a second ago you were biting my head off?”

“You are using your mind. That girl was not important to us, but even then, you would not let her die when you knew you could save her. It was something we taught our own young when they were your age, to honor the defenseless, and protect the weak, so that we may all be strong together. You have honor now my brother, be proud.”

Garin smiled to himself, resting his head back as the Hellcat slowly took off from the helipad. As it jumped up into the air, Garin began to doze off, the sound of the thrusters lulling him to a deep sleep.

…

Melchior looked out into the wreckage from the Hellcat’s seat, watching the home he knew being destroyed. The Touak were fending off the attack from the looks of it, but so much was already being taken. The Archeological institute was a crater, whilst the outlining compounds were being overrun but Tunnelers and the Skiritix. Melchior felt like was running away when he should be staying. But the thought of Garin’s news and the power he could wield. He sighed, wondering if Rosaline was still alive, wondering if his brother was down their fighting.

He wondered about his people and if this was to be their last chapter in their lives.

“Why must this be?” He mouthed to himself, knowing he could not be heard, knowing that the answer he wanted was somewhere inside Garin’s identity. The Shandori were indeed their last hope it would seem.

“Sir, the Vault has been notified of our approach, we should be reaching it within the next couple of hours.” The pilot notified him and he thanked him for it. Looking out to the side again, Melchior noticed a strange sight, as a purple creature flew in tandem with the Hellcat. Panicking, he looked back at the passengers, noting everyone but one person. He pushed aside the other passenger to open the back door hatch, causing a shift in the pressure. It woke most of the people up who were napping and some the children began to cry, but Melchior wasn’t concerned. As he opened the hatch, Ella rolled inside, clearly weary from the high elevation of flight. She looked up at Melchior with sad eyes.

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“Melchior, I thought I smelled you.” She smiled at that as she drifted to sleep. Melchior sighed in relief, closing the hatch as the pressure filled the Hellcat once more. In his mind, he kicked himself, for in his panicked state he did not look for Ella in the madness. He picked her up to place her with the other passengers, checking up on them for wounds and the like. Most of them had lacerations and scars forming, typical of the blades and venom in the Skiritix’s arsenal, but all of them were treatable.

He noticed that Erica Pepper was doing the same. God, that woman knew just which buttons to press on him, but even now with the patients surrounding her Melchior remembered why he took a liking to her. Like himself, she did not care for the chain of command. Her actions in her own mind always justified the work they did so long as they helped those in need. Reckless, irresponsible, and all heart. Yet, she was brilliant, and that intrigued him more than their similarities.

He moved to her as she helped out a young girl with her broken wing. The girl sniffled silently as Erica put the bone back into place. Pepper regarded his presence but did not let it interrupt her work. Just like she was when they researched on the Cheruv in Talrodeon, she never let things distract her from the work.

“Still saving lives Erica?”

She smiled at that comment, as she began wrapping up the wound in bandages and setting it in a splint.

He turned back to his seat, and took another look at the landscape. The work was important, yes, but the world needed them at their best if their people were to survive the Skiritix. Melchior made a silent vow to the world as he looked down at it. This was his home, and he would protect it and his people, at any cost.

…

Garin woke to the sounds of a woman crying, a child in her arms as she cried along with the child. She was a Touak, a face with a long snout and a three fingered claw as she clutched tight to the rag. Garin stood up, and the woman turned to him. Her face was distraught as she held the child, her bottom lip sniveling.

“Please, help her Shandori,” she held up her child, the cloth hiding the child’s face. Garin took it in his arms, pulling away the veil of the baby’s face. It was a girl, but she had a strange look. Her head had ears that resembled a cat, but her face was human-looking.

She opened her eyes, and Garin peered into red glittering jewel-like eyes. She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

He turned to the mother, “What would you have me do?” She looked up at him as she smiled, “Save her Shandori, please save her.”

Garin turned to the child, but the babe was gone, only the cloth remained. He turned to the mother, but she was dead on the ground, a spike through her chest. Garin screamed at the sight, backing up until he fell into a hole. It was dark and black, and as he kept falling backward, time and space unaware of time and space as he screamed at oblivion.

He awoke, this time inside of the Hellcat as it flew through the sky. Priscilla sat across from him as she gazed out the window. “I’m starting to hate sleep,” he blurted out.

She turned to him with a smirk, “After what you fought today, I’m not surprised in the least. Sleep is something you need though; I found that out after drinking fire wine to keep me awake.”

He smiled at that, peering out the window with him. It was the first time he had really looked at Sate. It wasn’t a green paradise like earth used to be, but the gem encrusted landscape and the huge trees woven of minerals gave off an outside beauty, as if the land was not to be touched, but admired. Garin played another memory that came back to him, one where his sister was trying to climb an old oak tree.

She was seven at the time, and she wanted to be the tallest in the world, so she told him to dare her to climb the tree. It was scary, how fearless she had been. He held onto his own hand the whole time she climbed, the thought of her falling making him nauseous. But she had reached the top, a look of triumph on her face as she declared herself queen of the trees. Garin had told their parents about it when he turned five, their mother and father clearly disapproved.

Afterwards though, they called her the elf, because she seemed so at home in the woods. Garin smiled at the thought, imagining his sister tackling the giant monoliths this world offered. “What are you thinking about Garin?” Priscilla looked at him sideways as he stared at the massive alien trees. “A memory, something that came back to me just now.”

Priscilla purred a little, “Something reminding you of home?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. My sister to be specific.”

“You have a sister that is Shandori?” Garin thought about Heather being a metal warrior. It scared the hell out of him, he never knew Heather to be kind to people she didn’t like. “Not to my knowledge no, but I shudder at the thought, I don’t remember her being forgiving, at least I think.” Priscilla smiled devilishly, “Your sister was tough?”

“Yeah, she used to climb trees. We called her the elf, after she climbed this huge tree near our house, fearless comes to mind.”

“What happened to her?” Garin paused, staring at the floor of the Hellcat. “I don’t know, my memories are sketchy at best. The ones I remember now were of my childhood, but nothing tells me where she might be. She may have left a long time ago for all I know.” Priscilla nodded slowly, “I may not know where she is, but I understand losing someone you loved, I had sisters too. Now, I don’t know if there even alive, or well… dead doesn’t stay dead here when the Skiritix are involved. I just hope they made it alright. What was your sister’s name?”

“Heather, my parents named her after their favorite flower.”

“Sapphire and Ruby, my mother and father loved the look of gemstones.” They stared at each other a while until Garin eventually spoke again, “Your sisters, what were they like?”

“Each of them had something to prove, Ruby was very provocative, always wanted people to be staring at her. Sapphire was shy, not so shy that she wouldn’t talk to people, but shy enough that spending time around Ruby made her nervous. She was a smart little cub.” Garin noticed Priscilla’s mood shift from gloomy to happy as she spoke. “Sapphire should be about fifteen now, Ruby about sixteen. I hope they’re alright.” Garin rested his hand on hers, “You’ll find them, Priscilla. We just need to stick together until then.” She held tightly to his hand, “Together, we can do this.”

“Alright people, fifteen minutes to our drop, we’ll be arriving here shortly. I’ll ask that each of you hang onto something or someone as we make our descent. it’s been pretty windy up in the Vault last time I contacted command, and after all the flying and the escaping I won’t be losing one of you clowns when we’re almost there got me?” The pilot barked out to the passengers as they fastened themselves in. Garin already had latched himself to the Hellcat with his metal tendril.

The pilot complained that his weight was throwing the Hellcat off kilter, to which Garin replied, “Then why let me in the damn ship in the first place?” To which the rest of the passengers proceeded to laugh their butts off at the pilot’s bickering. The passenger’s came to silence after a while, until the youngest of them, a Touak owling came up and touched Garin’s spiked tendril.

“Rolan, no!” The owling’s mother came up to the child, but the child held onto Garin’s tendril. “Let my son go!” Garin hardly paid attention to the Mother, but instead stared at the small child who held onto his body.

“What are you doing?” he asked the small Touak child. He looked up at him in awe, “feeling the beat, I could hear it in the back, can’t you?” Garin was confused at the meaning at first, but the child motioned him closer. “Hear.” So Garin closed his eyes and put his head against his tendril. It was thumping, a pound that mimicked his heartbeat, only it was louder than he ever knew. “Wow.” He said, turning to the child, “I didn’t even notice the beat before.” Playing with the child, he teased, “What do you think it is Roland?” the child Roland put his head against it again. “Sounds like… heart beats, is the metal alive?”

“The metal is alive, that’s what you’re hearing, and it’s the beat of my heart.” The kid’s eyes were wide with wonder. “Mommy, the metal is alive. It even has a heart, isn’t that amazing?”

The Mother looked at Garin with a mixture of awe and wonder. “I assumed… you are made of flesh underneath that, aren’t you?” Garin nodded slowly at first, but shook his head no. “My name is Sharae, you’ve met Roland already. I apologize if he gave offense for what he did; he is such a spirited child.” Garin laughed a little, “He reminds me of someone, curious with a tendency to explore.” She let a smile touch her lips as she turned to her seat again.

Pepper was walking down the aisle of the Hellcat to check the passenger’s restraints. With a tug she secured the remaining civilians to the inside of the Hellcat. The pilot was screaming out last minute preparations to land through his intercom. “Alright we got a head wind of forty heading this way, the landing pad is covered in ice from the mountain shadowing it all damn day, were going to have a crew meet us outside to secure us to the pad. In the meantime, Metal guy!” Garin turned over to the pilot, “I need you to use that arm thingy of yours to latch us to the pad. How long is the reach on that thing anyway?”

Garin wondered himself, he never tried to see how far he could go with the tendril on his back. “Guess we’ll find out.” The pilot made a grimace, but turned back to the controls. “Looks like we’re there, everyone get ready to dock. Metal dude, I need you near the door, grab onto something so you don’t bloody well fall off the face of the mountain.” Garin obeyed, staring outside and looking out at the largest mountain he had ever seen. Garin focused on the edge of the Hellcat, his left tendril still attached to the Hellcat’s hull.

At first all he could see was a blanket of snow coming from all directions as they slowly made its way up. It stretched for miles for what Garin could gather, except for a platform that seemed to jut out of the mountain, level to the pad. It was pretty easy to assume that was where they were landing, but one of the passengers felt the need to ask. “Are we landing on that? There’s practically no support on that platform. How are we going to land on that thing?” Garin reached out with his tendril, grabbing onto the person making the noise. “Oh, right,” the person laughed a little nervously, but Garin was cracking up on the inside.

“Tehran, I may need some help on how to do this.” Tehran whirred to life at the mention of his name, spreading his conscience power through Garin’s body. “It would seem that structure is not made for the transport we are about to land with, but it should be simple enough.” Tehran scanned the platform, showing the blueprints of the structure and the strengths assigned to it. “The door itself is connected to the mountain, fascinating. We should take hold there, once we have hold of the solid surface of the mountain we should be able to pull in the Hellcat without crashing it or compromising the weight distribution from the landing.”

“So what does that mean, exactly?”

Tehran laughed inside his mind, “It means grab the part of the mountain that makes up the door, we can use it to anchor us, and reel the Hellcat in.”

“See, why can’t you talk like that more often?”

“My enjoyment of repeating myself so that you understand is just too great to pass up.”

“Sarcasm is not your forte my friend, stick to making me feel stupid you got that down already.” More amusement from Garin’s mind chimed through as he began to lower himself from the Hellcat, latching onto the pole strip from the Hellcat’s sled. He reached out over to the side, the tendril in his arm stretching longer than he thought possible. Priscilla was trying to shout something to him over the howl of the mountain winds, but with Tehran calculating and scanning along with the mountain wind his hearing was already disrupted.

Garin grasped tight to the part of the mountain that made up the lower half of the door. It wasn’t rock from what he could tell, but the scan revealed it to be titanium laced with a strange residue that Tehran’s scans could not identify. Though Garin could have sworn he heard Tehran was prepping to tell him exactly what it could be, in great detail.

He pushed his tendril through the titanium, grabbing hold of the armor underneath. Once he felt safe enough, he started reeling in the Hellcat, which whipped back and forth with the force of the strong winds. Priscilla was standing with the door opened; still trying to tell Garin’s something through the winds and storm. Garin made it out to be something related to the Hellcat, with her pointing inside of the Hellcat and waving her hands back and forth.

As the Hellcat began to touch down, Garin noticed what she was yelling about. One of the passengers was trying to push someone out of the Hellcat, a survivor, from the looks of him. He looked deranged, but the wind and snow blurred out what he was saying. It was when they landed that the door finally opened to the base, Garin’s tendril yanked right out. Two officials came out barking at each other as they raced to the Hellcat.

With one of his tendril’s free, Garin shot back to the Hellcat to hold it down, sitting on the ground to help keep the flyer stationary. It was a silly thought, but Garin felt the added weight he acquired from the metal-bonding might help keep the aircraft from flying off. The officials began helping people out of the Hellcat, but Priscilla was still nowhere to be found amongst the passengers as they disembarked. He saw her come out last, dragging a male Touak with some type of lump on his chest. Priscilla chucked the Touak straight over the side of the platform, as it tumbled down the mountain side. Garin worried for a moment, until he saw the same bunny limp up the side of the platform, clutching to it with something that wasn’t a hand. Priscilla had made it to the door as the creature began to climb up the side nearest the door.

“Priscilla, Skiritix! He’s on the side!” Priscilla turned to Garin as he tried to motion over to the edge, his arms still holding the Hellcat to the pad. She rushed out, pulling her light pistol from her holster as the creature screamed over the mountain.

Garin held onto the Hellcat for dear life, the pilot still inside the machine. Priscilla started blasting the convert, gunshots making their way over the mountain in a haunting echo. The creature screamed but kept on racing towards the passengers near the door. His face was already mutating, Garin could make out the jawbones splitting from his face as he rushed near him. Garin grabbed the creature with his arms. the monstrosity snapping at him with gnawing teeth, turning very sharp in seconds as he tried to reach Garin’s face. With his tendril’s locked onto the Hellcat, Garin could do nothing more than hold the creature away from him, though the site of his mutations began to make him queasy. Priscilla ran to him, holding the pistol against his head, “Farewell,” as she blasted the convert at point-blank range. It blew up in a nasty mess.

Garin didn’t dare let go of the body though, he knew there was something else inside the jumbled corpse. As if on cue the worm burst from the chest of the body, latching onto Garin’s metal frame in seconds. It screeched at him in failure as it tried to burrow into his body. The body of the worm however, did not speed towards another person. It instead began to slowdown, the movements becoming last frantic and more subdued.

It stopped completely after a few seconds.

Priscilla looked down at him, and she smiled as he still held the corpse of the convert with a frozen parasite wrapped around him. Clumsily, Garin turned over to face the door only to fall face first into the snow and ice that carpeted the platform. Laughing at him Priscilla grabbed part of his tendril, and began tugging him inside the base, scraping him across the floor’s ice. “Close the hatch, we got no one else that’s joining us here.”

“What about the other Hellcat,” Garin asked as they group made their way inside. Melchior answered as they began screening people for infection. “The second group is going to return here when the winds have died down. This facility is meant to be very inaccessible at times so as to prevent things like what just happened from happening again. Oh, and Garin, please get off the floor so I don’t bloody well have to drag you to the lab.”

At the mention of a lab, Garin sprung to his feet. The tendrils in his back sprung out latching onto the hard marble of the floor with ease. “I am not going near a doctor, you can forget it.” Melchior turned to him, “It is not up to me Garin, we had an infected on board, we need to check all of the passengers to see if he indoctrinated anyone else, its protocol.”

“You know I’m not, and I won’t let them touch me with any tonics. Damnit Melchior you know!”

“That is just it Garin, I don’t know. That was one of my scientists that Naomi just shot. I thought he was safe, but he acted so strangely, like he didn’t know anyone on the damn Hellcat. I confronted him as he tried to get out and he lunged at me. So prove me wrong and take the bloody test so I don’t have to worry about you killing us all tonight, alright?” Garin froze in place, and it had nothing to do with the cold. He unlatched himself from the floor and followed him to the loading bay of the mountain base.

…

The laboratory that housed the passengers felt more like a prison than an actual waiting room to be tested. It reminded Garin of a memory where he was receiving some type of syringe inoculation. Garin was convinced the Doctor was a monster, sent to kill him by his parents. The doctor was a bit cold from what he remembered, showing almost no emotion as she took the syringe into his shoulder.

He yelped from the pain, but it was the wiggling of the syringe that she did after that gnawed at him. It hurt so much he didn’t stop crying… and the memory faded as soon as he had it. The pain was the sharpest part of the memory, even so it soon faded as the line moved up.

A nurse came out, a Touak with a rather revealing outfit, “We’re ready for you Shandori.” Garin lifted himself up with his tendrils, pushing his chair against the wall. He stomped into the room, noticing the strange devices that surrounded the table. Each one looked dangerous, some almost looked like they were meant for gutting, not surgery. He focused on the table, which did not comfort him in the least.

It was bloody, and a little deep. Priscilla, Ella and Pepper sneaked up behind him, each showing certain bruises in the same areas. Pepper noticed him looking at the marks as she explained, “We found three other cases, the Skiritix don’t take kindly to getting caught, so they kill the host and try to subvert the discoverer. We don’t let them get that far, hence the blood.”

She turned to him with a grim expression, “your turn Garin, better get on the table.” Garin got onto the table next to the blood pond, his tendrils retreated back into his back, but his mind raced making him restless.

The hell are they going to do to me if I turn out to be infected?

The thoughts were paralyzing, but he forced them shut, closing off his mind to his body. He focused on breathing, on the lines the ceiling had. Anything that kept his mind off of the unusual large devices that were meant to rip open a host and dissect the parasite within. His need to find a distraction ultimately made him home in on the doctor’s conversation. “Will the scan even work for him? He’s made of metal for crying out loud.”

“I see no reason why not, the system is honed in on organic signatures; the metal wouldn’t be a factor even.”

“Are you stupid? The system uses a focused Infra-red ray to scan the hosts, his metals going to interfere with the readings.”

“Then we do something about the interference, we need to be sure of the situation here.”

Garin felt Tehran scanning the surrounding room, giving off minor details and intricate bios on the doctors in the room. Garin paid half attention to it, up until the part when Pepper’s name was amongst the ones in the room. Garin felt a strange panic well underneath his calm.

“The hell, what is she here for?” More tonics, more experiments and he was tied to the table with bars meant to restrain a converted Skiritix host. “Priscilla, Priscilla!” Garin screamed across the room. But no one came up to him. “Priscilla is in the loft Shandori, she’s watching you from up there alright?” the smallest doctor, an avian Touak stood eye level to Garin as he lay against the table. “Who are you?”

“The name is Anna, remember? Though most people just call me Smalls. So you’re the Shandori that’s causing such uproar eh? I hear you saved a little girl after you killed the leader of the Skiritix at the old science facility center. She seems pretty interested in you now, or at least she’s told me.” The Touak gave a wicked grin, “Pepper however, has the ground floor for your examination, being the only expert on your kind left, after… Raufer, that traitorous wretch. So relax Shandori, no one’s going to poke and prod you yet.”

She smiled big as she walked down the aisle with the other doctors. Garin’s thoughts raced even faster now, knowing he was going to be alone with the doctor with a very pouty code of ethics. Tehran scanned exclusively in the sections Pepper was located, her bird frame picking her out of the group of scientists. She began to approach the table as she put on her make-shift gloves. “Hello again Garin, just need to check up on your vitals today and you’ll be all set to go.” Garin went into a frenzy inside his mind, “

“What check-ups, am I going to burst into flames this time, what if she makes me melt off my armor? Oh God help me!”

“Garin, calm down,” Garin turned over to the side, Pepper had a syringe in her hand made to go through a steel pipe. “Look, I know I was mean before. You don’t know what it is like being the only person who cares about the past like I do. It isn’t fun, and the worst part about it is that you’re my proof, and I treated you so… horribly when I gave you those tonics.” She came over to him, sticking the needle into his arm quick as a flash. Garin yelped in pain for a split second. “It’s alright though, I promise I will not do anything more unless I have your permission to do so my word as a doctor. And now we’ll go prove what we already know, seeing as I do not think any convert would show stark fear like you just did a few minutes ago. See you soon Garin.” In moments with talking to the doctor, Garin felt fear, anger, pain, rage, and regret in a manner of minutes. “I need to calm down.”

Tehran laughed inside his mind, and as he lay attached to the table, which was all Garin could do not to scream at the sniveling bastard in his mind.

…

Hours later, Garin woke up inside the infirmary. It was a mess from what he could see. The converts had destroyed the science facility in its entirety before leaving the Citadel, which was a burden to many of the poor folks Garin saw lying around on the cots in the room. It was part of a bunker converted inside to allow so many people to house themselves. It was all Garin could do not to start crying for the crowds.

Each one of the Touak he had met inside the room was lost, a blank stare on their faces, as if they didn’t realize they were still alive. Priscilla had told him that it was the shock of the transformations that they were forced to see when they were held captive from the Skiritix. For a race of parasites, they knew what it took to break the wills of their would-be hosts. These people lost families, and whatever innocence lingered in their hearts during the destruction of the science labs. It broke Garin’s heart seeing the children with that same lost look on their faces. He began walking up to the children and asking them questions, recalling their lives, anything that would break that look.

One little girl, a Sheok, did come forward, her fur a streaked black and white. “Are you the Shandori?” Garin nodded at the child, which she came up to and hugged. She held on tight as a bind, and Garin couldn’t help but return the hug. “What’s your name little one?” “Arry, my names Arry.” Garin placed her down, sitting on the cold floor of the bunker. “Is your mother here?”

The girl's head moved down and she shook it, “Mommy got this look, and she started to chase me. I was so scared; it was like she became a monster. Monsters aren’t real she said, but she was a monster though.”

“I know, I believe monsters do exist little Arry, but even a monster is no match for you, you wanna know why?” She opened her eyes wide, “Monsters try to frighten you because they are scared as well, so you be brave too, little Arry. Be brave, and the monsters will see that and hide, because you are stronger than they are.” The cat girl smiled a huge smile, her teeth showing through, “Will I be as brave as you Shandori? I want to be now, I know it!”

Garin placed his metal hand on her shoulder, “Braver than me, and stronger. But you have to start small; something you can do to help these people would be a good start.” Arry, the Sheok nodded quickly, rushing over to the other children as she stood proud in front of them all. Garin laughed to himself as he walked to the edges of the Infirmary. One of the victims came up to him as he made his way to the door, a ruffled old Sheok from his look. “Sir, what you did for that girl was, short of a miracle. My name’s Archie, people come to me when they got problems.”

The old Sheok took a seat on one of the cots, the weariness in his form taking hold, “I couldn’t get to her for weeks, then out of the blue you come and turn her stare into a smile. What’s your name son?” Garin turned to the old Sheok, staring him in his watery eyes. “Garin.”

“Garin, must be a young little pup. Most men I know don’t look an elder in the eye, it’s seen as a challenge.”

“Well, I’m not too familiar with customs here to begin with. So pardon my offense.”

“None taken, as long as none is received, I get the feeling that metal arm on your shoulder isn’t for looks. Anyways, thank you. That child was lost the moment she ran from her mother, goddess bless her. She’s strong though, she’ll make a great warrior someday… that is if we survive this cursed war.”

The Sheok began a coughing fit, holding onto Garin with a fierce expression of pain on his face. “Shandori, *cough* sounds like a damn hero’s dream it does. Now I feel myself hoping that you are what we need to win this war. I know pressure son, being an elder, its thrust upon you as soon as it can. Just remember that those people count on you, even if you don’t give a lick for them, and that will make you something more in their eyes; just like that little girl you helped today.”

Garin bowed his head at the elder, thanking him for his words, to which he said, “Bah that’s what we old coots are for, so you damn youngsters know what the hell to do. Take care Shandori, may the goddess watch you.” The Sheok elder bowed his own head as he went to his kin, who surrounded him with questions. Garin shook his head and smiled as he ventured to the exit. He almost made it until another person intercepted him. Garin was about ready to shoot, burn or just plain rip off the head of whoever it was, until he realized it was Sori.

“Garin? What are you doing down here in the hospital wing?” She had a thin red line across her face from the parasite attacking her, her eyes pure blue. Garin stared at them for a while, almost forgetting she had asked him a question. “Tests, I was here for tests. After what had happened with our landing-“

“I heard one of the passengers was a convert. It must have been terrible… how did he get on board?” Garin wondered himself after his tests, Priscilla had explained that with the hurry of the evacuation, she didn’t notice or really check to see if any of the passengers were acting strange. And with it being so sudden she wasn’t expecting it. So Garin conveyed it to Sori, her mood changing into a look of shock. “What if there was more than one?”

Garin shook his head, “That’s what the test I took was for, we verified that only two other passengers had minor infections from the parasites. It’s alright Sori,” He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, which she grabbed onto and held. “I don’t know if I ever thanked you for what you did, some of that still feels like a nightmare.”

“I know, still I’m glad I was there.” It was so natural Garin didn’t realize he actually meant it. Sori looked up at him, a smile peeking through the sadness in her eyes. “Glad? Well so am I, sort of. I wish I could say it was happy meeting you, but after what happened to Hannah… I don’t know if I could forget it, I’ll say that.” She turned as red as a rose after stumbling over her words. Garin let himself smile at the notion, while Tehran scanned the girl in his mind.

“She appears to be interested in you more than these others, if my scans read accurately I would almost say she in infatuated with you.”

Garin paused, forgetting what he was about to say. “What do you mean infatuated?”

‘Simple, she likes you, enjoys your company, wants to be around you, is subject to your opinion, and wishes to be with you always, etcetera etcetera…’

“Garin are you alright?” He turned to Sori, her look growing more concerned by the second.

“What the hell do I do?” Tehran laughed inside his mind,

“In regards to this, the typical thing is to display your own infatuation. You like her too don’t you?”

Part of him did, he realized. The other part was terrified at the idea of having an alien creature, even one as familiar as a rabbit, like him back.

“I’m alright Sori, I think. Got a lot on my mind, you know?”

Sori looked at him quizzically, “No I’m not, what’s on your mind?” Garin’s brains began to go nuts, he tried to think of anything to appease this sudden interest. “Being the Shandori, you know, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I mean I share my mind with something that hasn’t been around for centuries, pretty crazy right?” he laughed, a bad mixture of yelling and nervousness.

Sori laughed as well, although when Garin heard her laugh, it sounded like a melody, and as it played Garin lost focus in his own nervousness. She smiled afterwards, “I’m glad you’re here Garin, thanks for talking to me. If you’re ever near this area, you can call me up. The consoles near the door, let someone know if their arriving or had left already so all you need to do is ring the bell. See you later.” She walked away, and as she did Garin felt his eyes trail to the door. He realized what he did, but he couldn’t pull himself away. He turned just as he noticed her turn to her side.

“What is wrong with me?” Garin walked towards the door, making it through just in time to have Dr. Pepper run into him. She clonked on him as she ran straight at his metal form, shaking her head fast from the bonk she received.

“Ugh, did I hit a truck? Wait, oh Garin hello!” She sprung right back as she looked up at him. The doctor seemed to have a slight bump from the collision but if she felt it, it never showed on her face as she stared at him. “So how are you feeling?”

Garin felt the tests could have been a little less evasive, but he knew little about the new body he had acquired. So he let her run the tests knowing she was looking for facts, at the same time she was making sure that he was uninfected. “Better, after the tests yesterday I felt a lot better with a good night’s rest.” Garin felt Tehran smirk at him for that comment. Last night was not a great night after the tests. He felt a strange fear for the thought that his tests were wrong and that he was infected. He thought he was hearing voices. He heard it from various people, believing it to be superstitions at first as they slowly started to sound legible.

Pepper told him the drugs that had been given to him to determine that he was indeed not a host were known to cause hallucinations in the participants. She said it was most potent for first time users but he dismissed them when they were applied.

“Oh really?” she said with a smile. “The drugs I gave you Garin, they are not the most... painless drugs alright? There made to destroy any potential for parasites to thrive in. Thus, I do not believe you had a good night at all. It’s alright though; the effects should be taken care of by now, so you shouldn’t have to worry about any sort of feelings like those ever.”

She began to walk around him, checking his size and armor. “Yep, you seem to be functioning properly. Guess I was worried for nothing, anyway there is something that I would like your help with if you got some time today Garin, feel up to it?” Garin’s first reaction was to run for the nearest door and melt it shut, his second however came from Tehran.

“We would enjoy it immensely if it were possible. When can we arrive?”

Pepper’s confusion was general at first, but her eye squinted in curiosity.

“Right now if possible, I have an opening and it would be wonderful if you could join me for it… Tehran.”

Garin gasped inwardly, but Tehran shrugged it off as he continued, “Than we shall be there today. Thank you Touak doctor,” Tehran retreated back into Garin’s mind, relinquishing control.

Garin stood there wide eyed staring off into the hall as Pepper circled him.

“Interesting development, The Cheruv themselves can control the host as the Skiritix do, even if temporarily. This will be perfect for the potions I was working on! Come on Garin, time to test out the next batch.” Garin glared evilly at her, but she sighed. “Just kidding Garin, a little anyways; these new tonics I was working on are more of an enhancement tool than a blind test anyway. At least, I hope so… but anyway let’s get going, shall we?”

Garin wanted to run right then, but his legs kept moving in Pepper’s direction. He never knew Tehran to force him into anything, not with the few days he knew the Cheruv. Yet, he felt a prisoner now more than he did when he arrived at the Citadel. Tehran wasn’t without cause though, or so he told them as he walked, “This, is for your good my brother.”

“Forcibly taking me to a lab to conduct experiments on myself is helping me? Maybe I’m going nuts and its affecting you too. “

“Not possible, if you were mentally unsound I would have noticed, and taken care of it.” Tehran’s sureness unhinged Garin, and as his body moved on his own to who knows what kind of experiments, Garin wasn’t so sure if he wouldn’t go crazy before long.