text: You stand, walking along after Kyros. You're at a point where your psychic growth has overtaken your physical growth to such a degree that it'd be easier to float along the ground rather than actually having to walk. Unfortunately, the collar prevents you from even firing out some sparks without Kyros' permission. You arrive in a metal door, which opens, revealing the booth from which Kyros and the others watch down at the fight. You walk along, looking down at the arena, which is empty.
  
  "I thought you were bringing me to see Fay," you say nervously, despite knowing what this is.
  
  "I brought you to see her fight!" Kyros says with a smile.
  
  You stare down, as one of the gates opens. You watch as an abomination stumbles out. Stumbling on four insect-like legs, with it's eft arm replaced by a long tentacle of coiled pink muscle, the very end of it studded with bone outgrowths to make it a more formidable weapon. In it's right hand is a short, rusted axe stained with blood and gore. It's head is monstrous, with an oversized mouth filled to the brim with teeth, overflowing with acid that drips onto it's chest with a sizzle, and a single, blood-shot eye. The creature looks up at you, it's eye flinching, before it lets out a miserable howl.
  
  "Shit... that looks miserable beyond belief," you say.
  
  "Yes, she does," Kyros says, grinning from ear to ear as half a dozen more beasts just like the first walk, stumble or crawl into the center of the arena. 
  
  "She?" you ask.
  
  Now that you're not fighting them, you can have a long look and see what these mutant abominations really are: disgusting, pitiful creatures that should receive a quick death.
  
  "You don't recognize her?" Kyros says, clearly suppressing laughter. "This is what remains of the Uwais Tribe, and the first one to come out, the pack leader, is Fay."
  
  You look at monsters underneath, trying to see any resemblance to your friends as pure horror overtakes your mind. You collapse to your knees, puking over the banister and onto the monsters underneath as Kyros bursts into laughter.
  
  "He's done this to provoke you. He wants to get you angry, to see how powerful you are even with the collar. He's under-exaggerating how powerful you are, so you might be able to harm him, but..." Meliodas advises, but you don't pay any attention, too filled with anger.
  
  You stand, holding onto the banister to pull yourself up. Your knees shake, but you take a moment to regain your strength. Then, you launch yourself at Kyros. You grab at his eyes, your fingers going straight for his eyes. Kyros stumbles backwards, unprepared, before you feel your collar quickly tightening as you start to choke. You continue to scratch and gouge, even as the air is choked from you. Finally, you're dragged upwards by invisible hands, floating a few feet away from Kyros. Your weak body has done practically no damage to Kyros, who seems surprised and a bit amused rather than angry.
  
  "Hmmm... I under-exaggerated how angry you'd get, or how stupid you are if you think trying to fight me is an option."
  
  "I'm going to kill you. I'm going to break you. I don't care how long it takes, I will destroy your very soul," you say, staring at him.
  
  Kyros chuckles softly, before forcing you around to stare down at the arena.
  
  "Watch the match," he says.
  
  "We will have our revenge, Karth. Not today, not tomorrow, but we will have our revenge, " Meliodas says.
  
  You watch for about a minute as the abominations sit there, wandering around in confusion, falling to brief bursts of violence and self-harm and a lot of screaming and howling. Finally, the second gate opens. You watch as hooded figures enter, holding swords and small, circular shields. The trio charges forward, diving into the air. The beasts charge forward, attacking with fierce brutality. You watch as the lead one, the thing that used to be Fay, is almost beheaded by one of the trio. The trio fight with ease, diving, ducking and weaving out of the way of tentacles, axes, biting and stomping. Within a minute, the last of the abominations stumble forward and hits the ground as its front two legs are hacked off, and one of the trio leaps on top of the monster and impales it through the head.
  
  "What a display!" Kyros says with a smile. "Shall we see the victors?"
  
  Before you can say a word, Kyros releases you and you fall through the air, smacking into the dirt with a pained yelp. You moan in pain, looking up at the fighters. They walk forward, staring at you.
  
  "Karth?" one of them asks.
  
  You look up to see Fay standing there, her hooded robes covered in blood, alongside two other Uwais tribals you vaguely remember from your trips accompanying hunting parties, the Jakar Twins.
  
  "Fay," you reply, staring back at her, not knowing what else to say.
  
  Fay tosses her sword aside, grabbing you and embracing you tightly. Even though you feel yourself being turned into a fine powder from the strength of her hug, you're just so happy that you've found her that you don't care, hugging back. Kyros drops down, staring at you from over Fay's shoulder, as Magos Cern joins you.
  
  "Ah, what a happy reunion!" Kyros says.
  
  "You said she was dead!" you shout angrily, pushing Fay aside to point an accusatory finger at him.
  
  "I did. I lied," Kyros says, smiling.
  
  "Never trust a psyker, Karth. Not even yourself," Meliodas says.
  
  You shrug it off, trying not to bow to his attempts at emotional manipulation. You grab Fay, looking at her properly as she takes off her hooded cloak. She's tall, standing over six foot tall, and she's a lot more muscular than you remember. Whatever Kyros has done to her, it's had a serious affect. Her arms and legs are quite muscled, and you doubt you could find an ounce of fat anywhere on her. Still, she has the same coy smile, the wild, adventurous look in her eyes, She's pretty much the same Fay.
  
  "So... what's with the hood?" you ask, struggling to find anything else to say.
  
  "Um... it's so the mutants can't grab my hair and drag me down, Karth. Was that the most important question? How are you? What are they doing to you?"
  
  "Come on, out of the arena. I have a captured Squig the boys want to have some fun fighting," Kyros says. "Jakar twins, back to the dorm. Karth, Fay, follow me."
  
  You look at Fay, before grabbing her hand and walking after Kyros and Magos Cern.
  
  "Hmm, walking alongside me with my hand held? Where's the old Karth that I would piggyback around the village?" Fay asks.
  
  "Pffh, if I didn't have this collar I'd be floating around the place," you say.
  
  The stress of being kidnapped, having your tribe enslaved and murdered, your village burned down, your mind and soul forced through the very depths of hell falls away as you talk to your old friend. You recount your story as she tells hers. Apparently, she spent much of the time in a coma, having her body hacked apart and remade. Her blood now contains vast amounts of chems and combat drugs, she has several new organs and stronger bones, faster blood clotting and much more. She's trained extensively both with swords, guns, explosives and infinitely more, as well as team tactics. She's been chosen out as Team Leader for the Uwais super-soldiers.
  
  "So basically, you've become a super-soldier?"
  
  "Super-soldier?" Magos Cern says, her voice flooded with the most emotion you've heard from her the entire time you knew her. "She's a failure. A disgrace. I had access to geneseed, space marine test subjects and untold resources. What did I create? A mockery. These "super-soldiers" couldn't take on multiple space marines each like I had hoped. They couldn't take on a single fucking space marine like I had planned! They're barely worth half a space marine! I've failed!"
  
  "They'll do fine, Magos," Kyros says, arriving at another set of metal doors, which open to reveal a large table, where various figures are sitting.
  
  There's Kyros, Magos Cern and Taj Suenage, as well as Kyros' daughter, who sits in the corner. There's also many more who you don't know. One is a tall, gaunt looking woman with pale skin and black hair pulled back in a pony tail, wearing a long coat that disturbingly, appears to be made from human skin. Another is a girl with a shaved head wearing heavy combat armor who is sharpening a long machete, another is a... person whose gender you can't tell, wearing black leather armor and lingerie in an odd attempt to look sexy at a war meeting, with long, curly black hair and excessive make-up. The person smiles at you, licking his... or her... or its lips. Then there's a young girl, younger than even you, wearing hooded robes and reading an ancient, dusty tome. Finally, there's a barely human monster. An obese man covered with rotting pores, boils, sores and pus-filled, infected wounds, with its arms replaced by long, rusted spikes. Kyros and Magos Cern take a seat.
  
  "These are the leaders of the fleet, Fay and Karth. Some introductions are in order. First is me, the supreme leader of the entire fleet. Magos Cern leads the Dark Mechanicus on the ship and maintains the vessel itself. Chapter Master Taj Suenage leads the space marine chapter on board, the Undying Reapers. Then we have Calpurnia the Ravager, leader of the 22nd Istanford Regiment. "
  
  The one with the human skin coat stands up, extending a hand to shake.
  
  "Pleasure to meet you," she says, shaking both your hand and Fay's. I hope you're... efficient during your stay here."
  
  "Then there's the Staine siblings. There's Rebecca Staine, the leader of the Bloody Claws, a war-band that worships Khorne the war god."
  
  "Fuck you, psyker. You're weak and pathetic. Your parents should've left you to die," Rebecca growls, pointing her blade at you.
  
  "Fuck you," Fay snarls, shoving her blade point away from your throat.
  
  Rebecca stands, brandishing her sword, before the plague-ridden man stands, blocking Rebecca's path forward with one of his spike arms. 
  
  "Hey, hey! There's no need for violence! We're all brothers and sisters here!"
  
  Rebecca sits back down with another growl.
  
  "Alright, next we have Elios, leading of the Shrieking Harpies, a war-band that worships Slaanesh, the god of excess," Kyros says, pointing at the person clad in leather and lingerie.
  
  "Pleasure to meet you, darlings. For slaves aboard a Chaos vessel, might I say you're looking... delectable," Elios says in a deep, masculine voice, licking his lips as he stares at both you and Fay.
  
  "Keep it in your pants, Elios," Kyros says. "Next we have Elizabeth."
  
  Elizabeth, the hooded girl reading the book, doesn't look up.
  
  "She's risen to the position of leader of the One-Eyed Crows, a war-band that worships Tzeentch, the sorceror god. She easily reached the position through her amazing social abilities. Tell us about yourself, Elizabeth."
  
  "Move along," Elizabeth says, making a circular motion with her hand without looking up.
  
  "OK, Elizabeth. Finally, we have Durge, leader of the Black Rats war-band that worships Nurgle the plague god."
  
  "Hello!" the diseased man says, waving his spike-arms. "It's a pleasure to meet you! I hope you're being treated well. I hope you're being fed enough. If not, it's probably because I've eaten all the food aboard this vessel!"
  
  The man, Durge, breaks into laughter as several maggots burst from his skin. You try not to get sick.
  
  "You're here to meet the leaders of this fleet so that you know who you'll be answering. We want you both to lead the slave army."
  
  "Slave army?" Fay asks.
  
  "The Uwais tribe soldiers, the previous batch of failed test subjects, the gladiator slaves and whatever else we can muster up. We'll hold the detonators to your explosive collars, but you'll hold a copy of the detonators for all the men under your command."
  
  "There was a previous batch of failed test subjects?" Fay asks.
  
  "Yes, there was. They were quite strong, but their minds were easily broken. Most weren't sentient, the sentient ones were insane. There was only one who you could even have a conversation with, the one I appointed leader. I'll show you to them some time after this. I assume you'll take the position?"
  
  "It's not like I have much choice," you say.
  
  "We'll take it," Fay says, answering for the both of you.
  
  "This slave army, ot whatever you want to call it, will give us the strength advantage to become a serious military power in this tiny little sector. We could conquer ourselves a little kingdom from the weak and undefended worlds. We could become a raiding fleet that could have us living a life of luxury. But one little slave army wouldn't even give us a chance against even the defenses on Pluto!" Calpurnia says.
  
  "I'll tear out your soul and devour it if you show anymore signs of cowardice!" Kyros yells. "Magos Cern, take Fay and Karth to see the previous batch of super-soldiers."
  
  "I'll have to let the galaxy witness the shame of my failed creation when we release them on the galaxy. I might as well let the two adolescents have a preview of my sickening failure," Magos Cern says.
  
  "We're not finished here!" Calpurnia splutters angrily. "I'm not launching my army on a suicide mission!"
  
  "My army! As long as you serve me, it's my army!" Kyros screams.
  
  "We take a vote, then," Calpurnia suggests.
  
  "Fine, raise your hands if you don't want to go through with the assault, if you're a coward, if you're not loyal."
  
  Calpurnia defiantly holds up her hands. Elios holds up his next.
  
  "Sorry, Kyros. I'm not dying.. I'm too young and beautiful to die fighting an unwinnable war," he says.
  
  Durge holds up a spike, looking ashamed.
  
  "I'm loyal, Kyros, but I'm just as loyal to my men as you, and I won't see them die for nothing."
  
  Elizabeth slowly raises a hand, looking up from her book for the first time. 
  
  "This plans suicide, Kyros. We both know that."
  
  Kyros snarls in anger, looking around.
  
  "That's me, Cern, Taj and Rebecca for attacking, and Elizabeth, Durge, Elios and Calpurnia for not doing so," Kyros says in a low growl.
  
  "The slave leaders are the tie-breakers, then," Calpurnia says. 
  
  Kyros looks at you with a stare, holding onto the controller for your collars. Well, this seems like an obvious answer, even if it is a suicide mission.
  > don't support the assault on Terra
  You raise your hand, and Fay follows suit.
  
  "You have balls of steel," Meliodas says. "Unfortunately, now Kyros will tear them off, melt them down, turn them into a sword and fuck you up the arse."
  
  "You fucking cunts! I lifted you up from the dirt! I gave you power! I gave you a future! I gave you all a future, and now you want to betray me?!" Kyros screams, standing up. "I won't let scum like you kill our chance at greatness! Loyal brothers, wipe them from the face of the earth!"
  
  In an instant, everything goes to hell. Kyros puts your collars on full, and your collar tightens incredibly. You feel your throat be crushed and the air run out as you helplessly grab at it, watching the carnage. Calpurnia stands, raising her bolt pistol, but Rebecca leaps up, driving her sword through Calpurnia's chest, killing her instantly. Elios moves with incredible speed, drawing a hidden blade and slicing open Taj's throat as the space marine attempts to raise his bolter. Then, Magos Cern sprays boiling gasoline from a pipe in the side of her head into Elios' face, burning him severely before she stands, driving a drill into his burned face as he falls backwards. Durge struggles to stand with his immense wait, but immediately moves forward, standing in front of Elizabeth in an attempt to shield her from Kyros' wrath.
  
  "Elizabeth, get out of here!" Durge says, as a panicked Elizabeth gets out of her seat. 
  
  "Durge, you miserable, plague-infested prick. You're going to die. You think you can save your sister? I'm going to cut off your spike-arms and drive them into both her eyes and then give her to the troops for a bit of fun."
  
  Durge roars, charging forward. The scene goes fuzzy as the lack of oxygen hits your brain and you feel your throat being crushed. All you see is the massive, blurry blob that is Durge explode, collapsing backwards, just as Elizabeth disappears, no doubt having teleported with some psychic ability she has. Kyros screams, but by now you're on the line between conscious. You reach a hand out, finding Fay's as she dies on the ground next to you. You hold her hand tightly as she squeezes back and the last bit of life leaves you.