Janus visibly slumped with relief as Iln told Heretic that he had been cleansed, then waited for Heretic to answer her question.  He began to wonder... how could Iln be telling the truth?  If she had to heal Fenson, like so many others, with her own body, making them grow scales over their wounds, what would that do to Heretic?  He didn't so much as speak his concern, though.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Lady Alhanda cursed loudly as her pet degenerated into a writhing fit.  She growled, reaching for the gun one of her guards held.  If Mag's control unit had been damaged in the fight somehow, she'd have to kill Chiro a bit more unceremoniously...<br/><br/>Without warning, the lights immediately cut out into pitch darkness.  Alhanda jumped; she hadn't been expecting that.  Then she noticed with dismay that everything was turned off - including the forcefields around the main hatch and the bars in front of her.  After a brief moment, emergency lights kicked in, but that was all.<br/><br/>"Quickly!" she barked.  "To the hatch!"  Her guards began to move in obediance - they knew she didn't want her prize to escape.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>As Arget and the guard with the sword collapsed to the floor, the guard with the dagger reared back, trying to avoid touching them.  He hastily reached for his radio and called for a medic, then sighed slightly.  Well, at least they GOT the bastard.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>The private by the door to the darkened room heard the voice, the pained breathing, the sudden quietness, and didn't know what to do.  Below, the other private was calling all the other troops that had come into the building.<br/><br/>Jenten could see the two human figures in the room, one propped up on his arms, heaving, hovering inches above the other.  He couldn't see the wolf-creature... somehow, it seemed to have vanished.  But the voice had unmistakably come from the partially prone man.<br/><br/>And the bound man... he recognized him to be Colonel Merelli, pierced over and over with needles, each needle razor-thin but protruding from some particularly vulnerable spot.  Merelli was alive, but the particularly thick needle jutting from his chest was not a good sign.  And this other... this new man... was positioned directly over that needle, swaying precariously.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"They're doing a standard search-and-clear!" Mad calls "They've split up and they're searching block-by-block."</span><br/><br/>"Shit, we ain't got much time," Halvorson muttered.  He watched as Baz opened up the cell, allowing light to stream into the cramped space beyond.  The light illuminated Karogen's bruised, squinting face, and for a moment Halvorson didn't know what to feel.  This was the man they'd been tasked to rescue.  How old was he?  He didn't look to me more than 25, and that was being considerate.  A boy.  They were saving a boy.<br/><br/>He saw the ropes holding the kid firmly to the wall.  "Baz, cut him loose and get him on his feet.  I'll see what I can do for--" he stopped short as he laid eyes on the other man, the man that had spent the night with Karogen, screeching madness into the darkness.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"Look... the old man here.. I think he was something long to the resistance, before Alhanda locked him away. I don't think he has much time left, but I think we should bring him with us if it's at all possible."</span><br/><br/>Halvorson's eyes showed clearly that he knew this man and immediately recognized him, despite the sunken cheeks, the black eyes, the scars and blood, the dry scaly skin.  "Mother of the Five Gods," Halvorson breathed.  "You're damn right he's something to us.  Baz!  Hand me those keys.  Let's see if I can get this fella loose."  The old man's eyes were closed.  His breathing came in shallow bursts.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Jania, in her position crouched by the garbage truck, suddenly heard her radio sputter to life after a prolonged silence.  A few words, clearly spoken by Baz in his recognizable brogue, crackled through a thick static cacophony.<br/><br/>"...Jania! We-... -ned............ We-... got Karo-....... -istra-... Bust... -ff tha-...... -til you run........... break stuff! ... repeat, fire... -en go... -zerk!"<br/><br/>The thin lead lining of the Palace walls did not extend below ground, but the thick rock surrounding the dungeon and the other basement facilities was enough to thoroughly distort any outgoing radio transmission.  It was only through luck and proximity that Jania got what she did.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>The medic saw the pepper gas start taking effect on the guards, but instead of driving them back, they surged forward, through the smoke, coughing and waving it away as best they could.  He saw with horror that Feign and Sara were mere feet from being discovered behind the pillar.  Quickly, he rose from cover and fired his pistol at the oncoming guards, trying to drive them back.  One fell, hit in the face.  Another reeled back as bullets ricocheted off his armor.  A third dove for cover... right on the other side of the pillar.<br/><br/>Then the ones behind that first trio opened fire.  The medic felt intense pain in his chest as two bullets smacked into his liquid body armor there, just over his heart.  He stumbled back and fell, smacking his head on the ground.  Sound and vision blurred a moment as he came dangerously close to losing consciousness...<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Maeve pulled the blanket down and looked at Dreamer, her eyes red from her tears.  "I'll... be fine here.  Go... go get what you need."  She watched both of them leave the car, Dreamer especially.  He'd finally said it... "cybernetic."  All those months of wondering and she finally knew.  If only Lakran could have known, too.<br/><br/><br/>And in the mansion, the man called Caleb rose from the overturned couch, suddenly rushing for the stairs up to his former master's bedroom.  He leapt pairs of stairs effortlessly, the tears in his eyes blurring his vision and the blood rushing in his ears dulling all noise; everything moved about him like it was a dreamscape.  He alighted on the top floor, burst across the balcony, through the shattered doors... he slowed to a stop.  Lanner's dead legs protruded from behind the ravaged bed.  He walked silently over to the side closest him, lifted up the blood-soaked comforter and threw it back.  He knelt, peering underneath.<br/><br/>The wail of a father in mourning drifted across the countryside.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Feldana had fallen asleep in Sherra's arms.