Tanya
When her team finally found the place that Mouse had directed them to, they had opted to wait for the cover of darkness. It was now just after midnight.
"Okay, let's move in," Tanya said.
The three, Tanya, Fred and Lauren, slipped towards the building. Tanya sort out any sentries and telepathically knocked them out. Should keep them under for two days. Upon entering, Fred froze the cameras.
*Bastards,* Tanya muttered. *I don't understand why YIRAAS don't let me kill these... these... these xenophobic butchers! They obviously have no freaking idea what goes inside their demented minds.*
She sighed.
*I can sense a lot of victims here. A lot of them. You may have your work cut out for you tonight, Lauren.*
An alarm went off.
"I guess we've been discovered," Fred grinned.
"It would appear so," Tanya replied wryly. "Keep going."
Blakesley
Ricardo jumped as the alarms went off, and pressed himself to the side of the corridor as some soldiers went past. Madre de Dios. What was going on? He started to head for Taylor's cell, knowing he couldn't really do anything but game enough to try.
~*~*~*~
Blakesley rolled over in bed and groped for his ringing phone. "Hello?" He snarled into the reciever. "I'm sure you can handle it." Blakesley slammed the phone down and went back to sleep.
Taylor
Taylor's head shot up as the alarms went off.
He gulped a little, hoping that whatever was happening, Blakesley wouldn't take it out on him.
Ricardo
One of the guards looked over at the other. "You know...Blakesley let him off the doctor's only list."
"Did he now?" The man's eyes gleamed speculatively. "So. Let's play." The other laughed and went over to Taylor.
"Wake up, pretty boy. Let's play."
~*~*~*~
Ricardo picked up the pace, having a bad feeling in his gut.
Tanya
"Soliders..." Tanya said, warning her team.
Tanya knocked out a few, and Fred froze the rest as they moved into view.
"Split up. Lauren, you're with me," Tanya instructed.
They nodded and went down different corridors. After a few minutes, Tanya winced.
"What?" asked Lauren.
"I can feel Taylor's mind. Damn it, there more damage now than what a missed treatment should have done..." she paused. "I'm not even willing to touch the surface stuff any more than I have to find out why, at this distance. Damn it all. This way."
Then she started running. Lauren didn't waste time asking about the rush, just ran too. Tanya stopped at a door.
"Darn it..." she cursed, realising it was locked.
She sent her mind in a grabed hold of the minds of the guards inside. One she knocked out. The other she had unlock the door, and then knocked him out too.
"Taylor?" Tanya asked in concern.
"Oh my gosh!" Lauren gasped, seeing the state of him.
Taylor
Taylor's eyes widened as he looked up, and fell backwards onto his hands, his legs pushing him backwards a little.
The guards had just taken him from the chair and hand cuffed his hands behind his back.
"Tan-Tanya?" he stuttered, not believing what - or who - he was seeing.
Mouse
Mouse stepped forward from behind the two YIRAAS operatives, looking tired. Keeping the babies from reaching out and trying to kill Tanya was taking its toll. They *really* didn't like her. She was betting when they were full grown that the older alien would be given a run for her money. Or the safety of her hide. She was thinking these three would hold grudges. Natalia had stayed behind, refusing to come inside the labs again.
^^^WEWANTTOEATHER!^^^
"Bonjour, amour. Don't mind the children, they're fractious. So. Blakesley anywhere around?"
^^^FATHER!^^^ The three sang happily. ^WILLYOULETUSEATHER? MOTHERSAIDNO.^ ^WEWANTHER.HERBLOODWILLMAKEUSSTRONG.^ ^HEARTBEATBEATBEAT.^ ^LOVEMOTHERLOVEFATHER.^
~*~*~*~
Ricardo ducked inside an empty cell, then ran out again. Dios! There were different operatives inside! Ricardo ran faster, dropping his cleaning equipment. He slipped past a group of the base's soldiers and wound up in the corridor with Taylor's cell.
Tanya
"Yes, Tay, it's me," Tanya replied. "And your loving girlfriend too."
She knelt down beside him, gently probing his mind to check the damage.
"Taylor... you... you... you," Tanya stammered, shocked. "You damaged your own mind?"
"What?" Lauren asked.
"Defense mechanisim, I suppose... but it's almost undone the good of the last few treatments," she shook her head, tears starting to fill her eyes. "Damn... the physical damage is bad enough but I... I... for this to happen..."
"And speaking of the physical, I'd better do something about that," Lauren said authoritively. "Why don't you go see who else is here? You can't do anything for him at the moment."
Tanya nodded, obviously upset, and left the room. Lauren moved her hand towards Taylor.
Taylor
Taylor looked confused as he watched Tanya leave the room, looked up at Mouse silently, then saw Lauren reaching for him.
"No!" he cried, shuffling back a little, his hands still cuffed behind him making it difficult.
He hit the wall and closed his eyes.
"He's drugged me, I'm hallucinating," he shook his head, "but I'm free, I'm... oh man. I'm gonna get it for this."
Mouse
"Taylor...c'est vraiment. C'est moi." Mouse let her control slip a little bit and tears sprang to her eyes. "Please, let Lauren help you. Ne pouvez-vous pas sentir le lien ? C'est moi, vraiment. Nous sommes ici pour vous obtenir hors de cet endroit." She slowly walked over to his side, skirting one of the larger pools of blood.
Taylor
Taylor's eyes darted between Lauren and Mouse, before he tried to concentrate.
He heard the babies.
His eyes widened as his mouth hung open slightly.
"Jane?" he whispered, his eyes tearing up, "no, no. You were dead. He said you were dead."
Mouse
"News to me, amour, because I feel very much alive." Mouse knelt by his side and reached out to move some of his hair out of his face. A red welt stretched across his cheek and she hissed. "I am so killing Blakesley. His throat is mine."
Taylor
"Oh, oh my God," Taylor closed his eyes, hunching his shoulders as if he was afraid of being hit.
"He, he... he lied. He lied. I knew he lied..." he shook his head, "cos, then I would have... I would have felt if Jane died. I knew I would. But, no..."
He looked up at her again, still hunched over.
"Why? Why'd you come back? I tried to get you out, I-I-I don't want you here," he stuttered scaredly.
Mouse
"I'm here to get you out. What, you don't think I'd really leave you here to die? Never ever. I don't have a life without you. You *are* my life. Mon cour. Mon ame." Mouse touched his face gently, lifting the hair from his face. "Natalia is safe as well. She doesn't seem to be getting the hang of wearing clothes though. Gambit was quite shocked when he woke up to find her naked on the floor. Please, let Lauren help you. I can't stand to see you like this, Tay."
Taylor
Taylor shivered, both from her touch and the cold.
"Gambit?" he frowned a little, not remembering.
Then he looked towards Lauren who was waiting worriedly.
"She... I didn't want... I wanted you to leave me," his voice shook, not looking Mouse in the eyes, "I was going to follow. When I got my strength back. But he... he blindfolded me and I couldn't... I couldn't do anything."
Mouse
"But we're here now. I know you wanted me to leave, but you think I was going to stay away? I'm not good at following orders." Mouse looked up at Lauren and beckoned her to come forward. "Let's fix you up and get the hell out of here."
Taylor
Taylor looked into her eyes, frightened, then gulped as he looked at Lauren. She inched closer.
"I won't hurt you Taylor," she said softly.
He opened his mouth to say something, and shook his head.
"These scars are old, you can still heal them?" he asked quietly.
Tanya
"They're not too old just yet," Lauren smiled.
She put her hand on one of his gently and concentrated. This was going to take a bit of work. She hadn't healed a torture victim in a while (well, other than Natalia) and the damage was extensive.
At last she pulled away, panting a little.
"All better now..."
Meanwhile, Tanya had located some more prisoners and was setting them free. Some badly needed medical attention, and Tanya realised that there would be no way Lauren could heal them all on her own.
"They certainly have an assortment of creature here," Tanya said to herself.
Then she saw something that gave her the shock of her life.
Taylor
Taylor moaned a little and leant back against the wall. He felt so weird... in extreme pain one moment, the next... gone.
Once Lauren had dusted the hand cuffs, his hands had hardly moved. But he brought his right palm up to look at again, seeing the scars gone.
He smiled a little, and closed his eyes.
"We need to get out of here," he said tiredly.
Mouse and Varian
"Yes, let's indeed do that thing. Natalia was freaking bad enough. Let's go before she does something stupid. I told her to stay put but..." Mouse shrugged. "If she gets scared enough she'll head for the familar. Which is here. Which is not good. So, you're fixed, let's leave."
~*~*~*~
Varian uncurled slightly from where s/he was snoozing and stared at the woman in the doorway. S/he hissed sibililantly between pointed daggerlike teeth, shaking out her/his ruff, sinous body writhing as s/he threatened the woman beyond the glass of his/her cage. Step inside and feel my bite, s/he thought. Just come that bit closer, and I can have you. Varian shifted to naga form from his/her T'ien Lung shape, purple eyes widening and teeth still bared in a grimace. Menacing hisses echoed from her/his open mouth, and his/her tail stirred restlessly as s/he came up to the glass wall and out his/her hands flat against it, staring out with hate at the woman who stood there. A crackle of lightning snaked down from above his/her head, and then arced outwards towards the woman. Come closer and feel my bite.
Taylor
"I'm tired," Taylor whispered, but opened his eyes and sat up all the same.
"Where'd Tanya go? How... how are we getting out?"
Mouse
"Tanya went to see if she could find anyone else down here. And we're leavig through the front door, leaving this place in a shattered mess behind us," Mouse said cooly, before leaning down and hugging Taylor hard. "Oh, I was so worried."
Tanya
"Come on, you two," Lauren said. "I'll take you back to the van."
Lauren then thought, knowing Tanya would hear: *Tanya! Taking Mouse and Taylor back to the van.*
*Okay.*
*Something wrong?*
*No... and yes... don't worry... just... just get out... There are lots of other prisoners on their way out too. Many of them need medical attention, but I can't expect you to be able to take care of them all. Have someone call for back up.*
*Okay.*
Tanya looked at the creature. She could hear his/her thoughts. They distrubed her. What kind of experiments were these madmen doing? Still... she believe the creature was only young. A baby.
*Hello,* she said tentatively.
Varian and Mouse
Varian recoiled and hissed at the woman. Hurt you! Who, what, how? Don't, leave me alone! His/her features shifted, hair turning a glossy honeyblonde and eyes shining a light violet as s/he became female before scaling and becoming a red western dragon. S/he roared defiantly, sparks of flame jetting from her/his open mouth. Claws scratched down the glass, scoring the smooth surface. Touch me and I'll hurt you! Varian tilted his/her head before padding restlessly across the confines of his/her cage. Hungry. S/he lapped at a container of water before taking up her/his restless stalk again.
~*~*~*~
Mouse helped Taylor up and followed Lauren out. Suddenly, a young man of Mexican appearance ran into the mouth of the corridor, looking back over his shoulder. He stumbled for a second. Mouse could feel the fear running off him but he didn't appear to see them, not yet anyway. He scittered into the corridor, and saw them with Taylor. His dark brown eyes widened.
"¡Déjelo ir!" (Let him go!)
Lauren turned to face him and put her hand on her gun. Undetered, Ricardo took a step forward. "Step back, please."
"Eef you let him go, si." Ricardo's eyes narrowed and he took another step forward, hand starting to go to his coat. Lauren lifted the gun.
"Step back. Don't come any closer."
"Si." Ricardo's hand went inside his shirt. Lauren fired before he could bring it out. The young Mexican spun around and fell in a crumpled heap. Blood started to creep from his still body. Mouse cried out as she felt the bolt of pain run through him, and then the terrible struggle to breathe begin.
Taylor
"NO!" Taylor cried, his eyes widening before throwing Mouse off him and rushing to Ricardo.
He collapsed at his side.
He took the man's hand, as tears sprang to his eyes.
"They're here to help, they're here to help," he cried in both English and Spanish, "please, please... Talk to me..."
Mouse
"Dios, ese daños..." Ricardo struggled for breath, then hacked, blood bubbling to his lips from the wound through his lung. "¿Madre... lastima, le hace la parada, por favor?" He was sinking fast, eyes black with pain and impending death. His breath rasped with a sickening wet sound to it as his lungs filled with blood.
Mouse went quickly to Taylor's side. Lauren stood there in shock.
"Who is it? Tay?" She knelt beside them. Lauren looked at the scene in front of her with horror. She'd shot someone. Who Taylor was comforting. She'd shot an innocent man!
Taylor
Taylor started crying again, the tears running down his face.
"No se preocupe, no se preocupe. encima pronto. Y el señor le dará la bienvenida con los brazos abiertos, porque usted es un hombre honesto. Le agradezco con todo mi corazón," he said desperately.
He squeezed the hand he held, and held Ricardo's head.
Mouse
"Taylor?" Mouse whispered, feeling the waves of grief radiating off him as this man he held struggled to breathe.
"¿No puede usted verla? La madre Maria... tan hermosa," Ricardo said, before coughing and blood spilling down his lips. "Escuche mí. La muerte no es el extremo. Voy. Usted debe vivir. Funcionamiento ahora. Ella me está llamando. Lo veo amperio hora, él lastimo. Pero están estando parados allí brillantes con la luz..." His breath rattled through his lungs and he stiffened for a moment, sitting up and reaching out for something, or someone. He fell back into Taylor.
Mouse reached out and closed his eyes. "He is gone." Lauren let out a small cry of horror.
Taylor
Taylor cried out, and leant his forehead against Ricardo's swaying slightly.
"We must go," Lauren insisted, shaking her head.
Taylor ignored her, letting his tears fall on Ricardo's head.
"Usted era un buen hombre. El señor sonreirá sobre usted."
He kissed Ricardo's forehead, before slipping out from underneath him. He bit his lip and looked up at Mouse.
"I can't take this much longer. We have to get out of here."
Tanya
*Okay, okay,* Tanya replied. *I won't go. And I won't hurt you. My name is Tanya. Do you have a name?*
She noted one of the scientists she had knocked out and went into his mind to find out what he knew of this strange creature.
"Lauren!" Fred called.
Fred had made his rounds around the base, and was freeing the last of them. Seems he had made a full circle, or close to.
"What's going on? No, no time for that. I have Julian downloading the computers but... well it would seem that some of the prisoners feel the need to destroy this place - not that I blame them - but even though I asked them to wait until we got everyone out... I don't know how long they're going to be willing to wait. We have to go."
Mouse and Varian
Mouse was still swaying from the influx of emotions Ricardo's death had loaded her with. "Let's go. You know, he was almost...happy." She blinked with confusion. "I'll have to figure it out when we're safe. Let's go." She took Taylor's arm and followed Lauren up and out of the labratories.
~*~*~*~
Varian hissed at her before stalking over to a pile of bedding in one corner of the large glass tank. S/he shifted into a male human form and crawled into the soft stuff, red hair curling around a round face. He sat up slightly and gazed at Tanya with his purple eyes. "They call me Varian," he lisped, hissing slightly through sharp snake-like teeth. "Who are you?" With a flicker of thought he became a she, golden blonde hair falling in soft tendrils around a heart shaped face.
Tanya
*My name is Tanya,* Tanya answered. *I am a Dathrian. An alien, if you will. I came here to rescue the prisoners from the... the bad men who have been experimenting and otherwise torturing them.*
She paused, remembering what Fred had told her.
*Some of them want to destroy the base. They might not wait until we're all out.*
Varian and Mouse
Varian blinked, mind already skipping ahead. "What is 'out'? This is all there is." She frowned at Tanya. "There is here, and the Walls, and sometimes the Whitecoats. When they come. I bite them if I can." Wanting to move, she shifted her legs into a snake's tail and slithered to the front where Tanya was standing. She pressed her small palms against the glass. "What is 'alien'? What is 'Dathrian'? I am..." she thought for a moment then rattled off, "naga, T'ien Lung, Western Dragon and mutant hybrid. I was created 17 November 2002. What is you? When were you created? Tell I, please." Her face shifted into a small boy's, black haired now and slightly Asiatic in appearance but still with those eerie purple eyes.
~*~*~*~
Mouse helped Taylor out of the door she had entered with Lauren on the way down. "C'mon. Natalia will be scared out of her mind by now." She looked at Taylor, and gnawed her lip. "She's kinda...imprinting on me or something. She keeps pushing her face into my hand and stuff. Acting very beta to my alpha. Just a warning cos she might try it with you too. And clothes. She doesn't seem to like wearing clothes."
Taylor
Taylor frowned slightly, spotting the van ahead.
"We'll need to show her... you'll need to show her... Teach her how to handle society again. She must be beginning to see you as a Master. Try not to give her orders, or anything she can percieve as an order."
He stopped and rubbed his face before looking back.
"We need Tanya. Come on... Where are you?"
Tanya
*I was created thirty-five years ago,* Tanya replied, kneeling down to the same level. *You... you are made up of different kinds of... of creatures - of species. A Dathrian is another species. An alien is a name for someone who lives somewhere different from where they came from. Well... that's a simple way of putting it anyway. I was born on Earth, so I suppose I'm not really an alien, but Dathrians come from another planet.*
Tanya shook her head. Varian wasn't even a year old and she was talking to him/her as if he/she was an adult. Well, Tanya supposed she didn't know anything about nagas and dragons, so it may have something to do with that.
*And you have every right to hurt the whitecoats, but they can't hurt you any more. There is much beyond these walls. Would you like to see?*
Tanya was getting a little anxious. She knew she had to get them out of there. Fast.
Varian
Varian considered. "I could fly, if I was out of the Walls. Yes. I will come." S/he changed into the form of a T'ien Lung dragon, scales glowing a soft shade of purple and looked at Tanya expectantly. Out, yes?
Tanya
Tanya looked around, zipped quickly into the mind of one of the 'whitecoats' she had knocked out and figured out how to open the door. At last it was open.
*Come,* she said, then she paused and added: *You are very beautiful, little one.*
Varian
Thank you, Varian thought regally as s/he dropped to
the floor in a graceful coil. With a little effort,
s/he rose into the air and hovered there. Yes. Good.
S/he twisted agilely, slipping around her/his self in
a twist of knots and then straightening out again.
S/he eyed the Whitecoats in the corner and a crackle
of lightning arced from her/his horns to the
scientists. They jolted and s/he laughed in a silvery
cascade of sound that resembled the falling of rain to
the earth. You always wanted me to spark for
you...Varian ducked his/her head to cover the gleaming
pearl at the base of her/his throat. Let us leave. I
have always wanted to see what they call Sky. It is
what I think I need. Sky. Space. Openness.
Tanya
Tanya smiled and walked with Varian out and down the hall. On their way Tanya could smell fire, and she could see familiar people ahead.
"What are you all still doing here?" Tanya demanded. "There's a fire started. Out. Now."
"That was the plan," Fred replied dryly, eyeing Varian warily. "What is that?"
"That," Tanya replied pointedly, "is Varian. She/he is only a child, born last year. By Natalia. Come on. We have to leave."
Varian
I am not a that! Varian hissed angrily at the man. I
am unique. Special. I am the first. The crackle of
lightning arced over his/her back, and a small
raincloud formed above Fred's head. Which then
bucketed down rain. Varian landed on the floor and
shifted into Naga form. "I am Varian." Purple eyes
glared at the dripping wet man, tongue flickering
aroung sharp teeth, golden hair spilling down her
back.
Tanya
"See?" Tanya say wrly. "That's what you get for calling sentient beings 'that'. Now. Let's go."
Fred followed Tanya down the hall.
Varian
Varian laughed, then shifted into a Western dragon
form and pattered after them. Human has its drawbacks.
Dragons and Nagas can move soon after birth. His/her
claws ticked over the floor as s/he looked around with
amazement. Everything is so big. Really, really big. A
quiver of fear shook his/her wings as s/he followed
the agents down the corridor.
Tanya
Tanya finally got the the entrance and stepped out. She got clear and then looked back. It was up in flames. They had got out in time.
"How is everyone?" Tanya asked.
Varian and Mouse
Varian padded over to the entrance and looked in.
Oooh, pretty. The flames leapt out towards the hybrid
and s/he giggled. Tickles! S/he snapped her/his jaws
through the tendrils of fire. Pretty!
Mouse looked at the odd being, feeling the cool
calculating mind of a reptile overlaid with some
humanity. But it was just a baby still. "We're ok, I
think. Lauren healed Taylor. Did anyone see Blakesley?
He was the head of operations, I think."
Taylor
"He's not here," Taylor shook his head, his eyes half shut, "he went
home for the night, as per usual.
He yawned.
"Please, I just want to get out of here. I want to go home."
Then he looked to Tanya, putting a hand on Mouse's shoulder.
"Can I ask you a favour?" he asked quietly.
Tanya
Tanya nodded.
"Of course," she replied. "And by the way, I should give you your treatment on the way back. Unfortuntely, I'm not awake enough to do it now, it'll have to wait until morning. But yes, the favour?"
Taylor
Taylor turned back to the entrance, gulped, and turned back.
"I don't want to remember any of this," he said quietly.
"I don't want to have to relate this to anybody. I don't want to have
nightmares about it. And most of all... I don't need Avery catching
onto it at any time. And the sooner the better, if you could."
Mouse and Varian
"Yeah. You've got a point." Mouse nibbled her bottom
lip. "But I think I better hang onto my memories. We
need someone who remembers what Blakesley looks like."
Varian bounded over to them, mouth half open in a
grin. Outside is good.
Is it now?
Oh, yes! Varian curled around Mouse's feet and
looked up. Big, big. I can fly out here.
Who are you, exactly?
I am Varian.
Tanya
Tanya nodded gravely.
"I'll do my best," she promised. "There's a lot of damage in your mind. I'll do what I can to block the memories, but until the treatments are over, you might have a couple of leaks occasionally. ANyway, we should get going - ahh, I see back up has arrived."
Tanya looked towards a couple of vehicles that were pulling up.
Taylor
Taylor put his arm around Mouse and squeezed her shoulder, before
leaning over to kiss her forehead.
"I hope you've been keeping them safe," he smiled a little, his other
hand softly covering her uterus.
Mouse and Varian
"Of course, cher. They seem to have taken a dislike to
Tanya though. C'mon, let's go. Little dragon, are you
coming with us?"
Varian considered. Yes. I do not know what is out
there. You seem...nice.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." The three got
into the original van. Natalia looked up from her
seat, where she had been whispering to herself and
crying almost silently.
"You're back."
"Yeah." Mouse sat down. "Didn't get Blakesley though."
Natalia's face went white. "He'll come for you and
me."
"Not if he knows what's good for him, he won't."
Tanya
Tanya and Fred got talking to the other agents while the healers went around treating the other prisioners. Soon everyone (once convinced it was safe), were leaving to appropriate safehouses and/or their homes.