Redge's Story

Redge's eyes came into focus, he looked at himself through a mirror which was drilled into his cell, (not made of glass but instead stainless steel) Redge looked slightly disturbed and a little distort, his left hand touched the mirror and he shook his head strangely before taking a step back. Whatever Tacrus was doing to him he was sure it wasn't for the better, granted he didn't have to worry about surviving in the wilds anymore but he felt claustrophobic, trapped, smothered in this tiny cell. For the first few weeks in here he howled and cried, cried for somewhere bigger to be free, eventually he adapted it was that or go insane, he still felt smothered but he neither had the energy nor spirit to continue crying out.

Later Redge thought he'd go insane from boredom, he was seldom collected from his cell for training or experiments which led to life being quite dull after he adjusted. He sat on his bed hours at a time just thinking, that was before he found his gift: he could move objects purely through the power of thought, it was hard at first and in truth it still is hard, but it got easier when Redge began training it. Using all of his spare time to move a single object, it was exhausting but worth it. Redge looked at the plate on the floor, he spun his hand in a anticlockwise motion it took a minute but slowly and surely the plate began to spin.

The plate stopped almost instantaneously when Redge broke his gaze, he felt sad but his thoughts lingered on escaping this place, it would be easy that he knew; looking at a lock while using telekinesis to lift the tumblers wasn't hard in truth he was afraid of the consequences of his actions, he had no chance alone unless he could do it stealthily and even though his new found agility helped he was still no ninja. If only he had a distraction, someone to take the heat off him while he escaped. It was that moment when his prayers were answered.

"Code 4, Code 4, Code 4. Subject Ursine has escaped prison block-4, and is heading towards other cell blocks. Non lethal rounds onl-" what followed on the intercom chilled Redge's blood, the screams and then a bloodcurdling roar filled Redge with a mixture of fear and pity and a sense of dread. The fear told Redge to stay put but the sense of dread screamed at him to get out of here, the two conflicting sides were put at rest when the facility came alive with the sound of bullets; then both the fear and dread told Redge to get out of here, it was imperative.

Redge quickly jogged over to the door and peered out the crack of light beneath the door. The sounds throughout the facility hurt his ears never had he heard anything so loud, it caused him to wince and made it hard to concentrate. As he looked beneath the door he saw nothing, Redge gulped then pushed himself up; here goes nothing Redge thought. The lock was big, Redge keeled down peering into it, he saw five tumblers all of which were down. Focusing on the tumblers proved hard, the noise kept distracting him and fear made his mind rampant, he took a deep breath and tried to exert his will onto the lock. The first tumbler rose reluctantly, Redge's confidence bolstered and two more of the tumblers rose dramatically, two more, c'mon! his mind cheered him on, he felt great strain but the last two finally rose and a clicking mechanism was heard as the tumblers were locked into place. With that Redge pushed will all his might, the door creaked and swung open, Redge fell out into the cold cell block.

Panic overwhelmed him, he thought guards would swarm him and litter him with bullets but all he was greeted with was silence. Redge lay there for a minute breathing deeply and letting the anxiety inside him fade back to a whisper, he pushed himself up and off the ground. Redge hadn't noticed it before but something loomed it the air, it was like a warning if it could be translated it would say danger, danger, death dead ahead it was only then that Redge realized that it was death, he shuddered and fear combined with dread rose up again.

Redge looks around the cell block he was in, it was really a narrow hallway with metal doors sealing the other expris inside. A thought hit Redge, were there other expris inside? Redge couldn't tell although a part of him told him yes and that he should help, he would be no better than Tacrus if he didn't at least try. Just as Redge was approaching the first cell he heard movement... like multiple people moving and whatever was moving smelled dangerous. Redge froze in place for a moment his breathing ragged, it was too late to run; the hallway too long. Hiding... Redge looked back there must be someplace to hide and the realization left him with a sort of unburdened irony: his cell, having just gotten out Redge found it funny but what better hiding place than a cage?

Redge returned with slight reluctance, his fear of what was coming outweighed his fear of his cell, he shut it thankfully knowing the tumblers had been locked in place and that the door wouldn't slam shut and lock him in. It was coming closer and Redge leaned against the door trying to control his breathing, he peered through the lock and through the limited view got a bare sight of the outside. The danger approached.

Or had it? Through the lock Redge saw a group of expris gather, his eyes widened a whole group had managed to escape and band together. The group looked very peculiar to say the least: a bear expri seemed to be leading them he towered over the rest of them and resembled a bear more than a human, stranger still he seemed to be carrying a girl on his broad shoulders, the rest were harder to make out, a faint outline and blurry due to the small vision of the keyhole. Redge wasn't sure what to do, although in most situations he would probably would've sauntered out and said something along the lines of hey can I join your band of merry misfits? I swear I'll fit in! anxiety and fear prevented him from doing so. Redge felt frozen than anything else, he wanted to move but he couldn't, he bit his lip and fell quiet his eyes slammed shut.

Kai gazed in silent wonder as the bear picked up the small girl and placed her on his shoulders. Well the beast had a soft spot. She chuckled and smiled while following the three of them. Maybe she could find more Expri to take to the village. They would be safe there, but they needed to hurry or else the place would be over run with Tacrus soldiers. She frowned as she wondered, not for the first time, who the guys in charge of Tacrus was. Was his name really Tacrus? Did he name his organization after himself? Or was it code for something? With a sigh she realized she would probably never have the answers for these questions.

When the bear stopped and looked to her for instructions she nearly ran into him. Why was something so large waiting on her word? Ah well. She supposed it had been her idea to come and break any surviving Expri out of their cells. She smelled the air and smiled as she noticed there were still survivors. Good.

She walked slowly and carefully over to the first few cells and found the inhabitants dead. One looked liked he was dragged partially out of the cell and shot in the head. The scientists probably didn't want another episode of the lab that held her and Hail. She smiled and she remembered the chaos that it had been. So much shock on the unprepared scientists faces. Sure, Expri have been known to try and break free... but never on a scale as large as that one had been. Unfortunately they seemed to have learned from their mistakes, somewhat. As the majority of the Expris here were dead. With Hail and her, the only deaths had been scientists. Oh well.

She came to a cell that was still closed and locked. In it was a small boy, maybe 15 or 16 if the scent was correct. He smelled afraid, anxious..... panther. Kai blinked and stepped back a bit. She had never met another Panther. Determination filled her, she would definitely get him to safety.

"Hello in there," she called out softly, lowering to appear nonthreatening. "Are you alright? We're here to break you out of there." She turned to the bear and smiled. "Just in case there are any more survivors can you please go along and break all the doors open? I'm not strong enough I'm afraid," she gave a chuckle and rubbed the back of her head before turning back to the boy in the cell. She needed the door open so she could see him. "Hey whats your name? I won't hurt you ya know."

"Hey that's a nifty little gift. Amara looked to the one speaking to her, a panther Expri. She had not seen this one due to the bear's massive size until now. Feeling slightly outnumbered by older and stronger Expri, she began to feel unnerved and in awe at the same time. Especially to be seeing a panther. They were so rare! "Hey that's a nifty little gift. I know a large village about a days walk away from here that would love to have you around. If you want, I can lead you there after I break any surviving Expri out of this lab." Amara almost instantly felt better around the feline. She was good. She wanted to help people. "The guard would like having those two as well but I think we need to get out of here as soon as possible.... Whats your name?"

Amara didn't get an immediate chance to answer, for her small form was grabbed and placed onto the back of the massive bear. Strangely, though, she didn't feel the need to scream. Instead, she dug her fingers into this thick back fur to hold on tightly, so as to not fall off. When the bear started to move, she gripped tighter into his fur to keep herself in place, marveling at how different everything looked from seven feet higher in the air. No wonder they're afraid of you.. she thought to herself as the bear vaulted down the hallway with his two companions. When the group finally came to a stop, Amara remembered the female's question....Her name.... what was her name? The question caught her off guard, and she had to think about it for a moment. "A-Amara.. Amara Stark." she was finally able to say. "My name is Amara Stark."

They were going to free everyone? Blinking, Amara rested her head into the back of the bear's neck. The animal inside her felt like a cub being carried around by it's parent, and it made her feel comfortable-- safe. I mean, really...who could get her at the top of a seven foot bear that, while she's touching him, could be healed almost instantly from any sustained injuries? The idea of it gave her pause. She had never thought her gift could be so useful outside of a hospital, but now paired with this giant, it's uses were limitless. It was just then that she was broken from her thoughts by Kai peeking through a door, and speaking to it. Having never shifted past phase one, Amara had virtually no enhancement to her smell. The panther looked determined and concerned. Wishing she wasn't the size of one of the bear's arms, Amara simply remained quiet, so as to not scare whoever... or whatever... was in the cell block the female panther was talking to.

While the party walked through the seemingly endless corridors to get into the facility's holding cells, the conversation between the party members were some of the first words Koda had heard in years. But despite knowing that they were speaking English, it was as if Koda couldn't understand. As if, unless he focused hard enough, he couldn't understand them. It was only the little girl that he could really hear. Ever since she healed his wounds Koda could feel a connection to her. Perhaps it was because she, like him, was an Ursine Expri.

"...Amara..." He heard the girl state shyly. While she rode in his back he turned his lead lightly to look up at her. As if he had sent a message to her, Amara instantly knew the bears name... Koda.

While Kai spoke to the Expri inside the door, Koda stood as a watchful guardian with his powerful nose, ears, and eyes. But despite his powerful senses, he couldn't smell anything over the overpowering scent of rotting flesh, couldn't hear anything but the words of Kai, and couldn't see anything outside the corridor.

After hearing Kai's words to the other Expri on the other side of the door, Koda knew what was needed of him. Slowly dismounting the girl from his back, and placing her away from him, Koda slowly walked backwards until his foot hit the back of the wall behind him. To get kai's attention, he let out a low deep growl as he got onto one knee and his hands: Looking like a runners starting position. With his eyes fixated at the door, and his whole body ready, Koda was intending to bring the door down.

Time began to pass incredibly slowly for Redge, panic seemed to have that effect as he was clinging to every second madly even though he himself was unaware of it. It felt like hours had passed while in reality it had only been a couple of minutes, it was like hide and seek except if you lost you lose more than a friendly game, that was Redge's approximate feeling of his current situation. Throughout this Redge managed to stay in control, he never made so much as a sound and regulated his breathing despite panic coursing through him.

They were getting closer, he heard each step and with that he felt his heartbeat increase. Then all fell silent, he froze almost paralyzed. "Hello in there," a soft voice called, it was feminine and had a friendly tone, Redge jumped in response not expecting a voice "Are you alright? We're here to break you out of there." the voice announced. And that was that, it made sense now Redge supposed, they were coming here to free the rest of the expris and he realized that his fears earlier were probably irrational, nevertheless he still felt grateful that the weight of fear had been lifted off his chest. Redge pushed himself up off the ground, focusing on the door, it had locked again, unlocking the door with telekinesis would take long and truthfully Redge didn't know if he had enough strength left.

Redge felt a bit inept at this point that as well as a bit helpless, not only had he retrapped himself in his cell but he couldn't form a response, as the saying goes a cat had his tongue. Months of social isolation will do that to you he supposed. Redge heard brief movement followed by the woman saying something about breaking the doors open, it was hard to hear but Redge got the gist of it: look for other expris in the cells. How they were going to break the doors down was beyond Redge. "Hey whats your name? I won't hurt you ya know." the voice spoke seemingly noticing Redge's silence.

Redge took a moment to answer but managed a response, "Uh... I- I'm Redge." he paused which seemed to last a few seconds, although he didn't feel any fear he still felt anxious. "Uh, what about your name?" Redge asked sounding a little more casual but it still had a nervous tone. Redge then heard a growl, it sounded low and deep, it was then Redge realized how they planned on opening his cell.

Kai

Kai chuckled. "Hello Redge." When the large Bear backed up and growled it took her only a second to understand. She smiled and nodded to him before turning to the boy in the cell. "Redge, I need you to back off to the side of your cell door ok? My friend is going to break it down." Hopefully the boy wasn't going to be difficult and would move, because Kai didn't want the poor creature to be hurt. She didn't know how much Amara could heal, then again remembering how injured the bear had been the little girl could probably heal quite a bit. Still, Kai moved off away from the door with a quick jump and waited for the cell to be opened.

Connor

"Please don't eat me." Connor scared her? She looked young; maybe she was scared of everything, but it still stung. Regardless, she seemed to have a special ability to heal people, so Connor let the little girl do her magic on the bear. It didn't take long for her to work, so Connor got a little impressed. Things were getting more interesting by the minute.

Waking up, the bear seemed happy, as well. He lifted Amara overhead and gave her a ride on his back — it must be fun, being tall.

---

As the growing posse walked along, Connor tuned in to everything but said posse. There was plenty of chaos going around, both conductor and Expri. Expri were begging and howling to be broken out; some were afraid that they'd be killed; the remaining conductors were trying to mobilize their security teams. Overall, though, nothing was actually getting done. None of the experiments escaped the facility, but none have been killed, either. Koda almost died, but he's completely fine now.

"Hello in there," Kai began. She found someone. "Are you alright? We're here to break you out of there." Though he growled when he was signaled, Koda's stance made him look more human than bear. He didn't act like other stage threes.

Kai was kind of pissing Connor off, too. Clearly the panther watched her lift over a ton of dead weight, but she still wanted the bear to break down the door. Well, to Hell with that! Connor needed to set an example for the other wolf already in the group, and no bear was going to stop her. At least she made sure Redge knew to move.

Without giving Koda any warning, Connor stepped between him and the door, pulling one of her legs up just a moment before kicking it in much harder than she needed to. Spirit aside, she sure wasn't going to hold back in front of something three times her size and over ten times her weight.

Kai

When the woman kicked the door down Kai raised an eyebrow and turned to peer in while the dust settled. The woman was strong that was for sure. Kai wondered briefly if she could stand against the first Expri made. Probably not, no one could especially now that he was completely under Tacrus' control. She shook her head in sadness at the "loss" of her friend and walked past the woman, nodding a thank you, and over the rubble into the cell. In there she found the boy, he looked young but not as weak as he tried to make his voice sound. His eye were young and scared but also relieved. And hiding something. Kael smelled the air, he didn't smell like en Expri that had been enlisted, he was probably just hiding an ability. Most Expris did that, even around others of their own kind.

"Hey there Redge, you ok? We need to get out of here." She crouched down to where the boy was sitting and held out a hand, hoping her smile looked friendly. She was looking forward to getting home and going to sleep.

Amara

The girl blinked as the bear told her his name somehow. His voice was deep, and gruff in her mind. She allowed him to set her back down on the floor, and she stood against the far wall, awkwardly holding herself. They were going to break someone out. Koda let out a deep, rumbling grunt and Amara slid to the side of Kai to give him space. "Uh... I- I'm Redge." It was just then that Connor, the wolf, stepped up and with one swift kick sent the massive door slamming into the opposite end of the cell. Amara couldn't help but jump a bit, startled by the sudden sound of exploding metal and the rebounding echos of the chaos. Wincing at the sound, and waving away the cloud of dust that was now settling on the scene, Amara peeked around Kai to see if the prisoner had survived the violent removal of it's door.

Amara glanced uneasily to Koda, taking a step closer to him. What if the Expri wasn't friendly? These older, stronger, Expri might not be afraid of anything but Amara was weary. She had seen an Expri tear her mother apart. Not all of them were so nice. Uneasily, she stood close to Koda and watched the scene unfold. Her blue hues were searching over the mess when she noticed Connor's leg was splintered on the inside. The bone looked like it was broken, threatening to pierce her skin and jut out. Amara's stomach twisted. "You're hurt." Her voice was very quiet, and the massiveness of the room almost swallowed up her syllables. "Please.." She slowly, and extremely cautiously, walked over to Connor once the wolf had stepped aside for Kai to enter the cell. Focusing on her life source, and the wolf's, Amara placed a small and gentle hand onto Connor's leg. She winced at the sound of the bone cracking back into place, but within moments the skin had stitched itself back together and healed. As with Koda, only the blood that was drying on the girl's skin remained.

"Redge, I need you to back off to the side of your cell door ok? My friend is going to break it down." Redge's eyes widened and he automatically moved to the door's side well out of the door's way. Getting crushed from what he gathered was a particularly nasty way to go, especially if it was by a door. He made sure to stand on the left side, away from the door's hinges; three possible outcomes could happen in Redge's view, numero uno: nothing, numero two-o: the door slams off its hinges and lastly: the door coming off completely, he doubted it but stranger things had happened, a primary example his ability to lift objects, Redge himself had no idea how it worked... it just did, perhaps it was better not to question these things.

Time slowed once again and an anxious anticipation took over, his eyes were locked on the door waiting for the moment. It happened so fast that it almost seemed surreal, the door burst off its hinges which undoubtedly caused Redge to flinch and jump back into the corner to try and evade danger. It was unnecessary however as it flew cleanly past him and onto the floor. Staring at the broken door in a sort of vague wonder, what could have the strength to preform such a feat? he found himself in wonder, sure he could react to situations in 0.100 milliseconds and do a triple-somersault with relative ease but that was no substitute for actual strength and his was quite limiting.

Redge was shook out of his daze by someone entering his cell, she looked young in her early twenties. That wasn't all, it took awhile for Redge to realize but now that the panic and confusion had waned his sense of smell had kicked back, she like him was panther. Redge didn't know how to handle his nose's feedback, his first reaction was something along the lines of I'm not the only one! He knew the other expri and him had something in common: being experimented on by Tacrus as well as being spliced with animals, sure that was enough to link them together in someway, but they had no other common characteristics, here was someone like him who had panther genes. Redge didn't know why perhaps it was animal instinct but he felt a sort of connection towards her, he justified it due to them being similar.

"Hey there Redge, you ok? We need to get out of here." she spoke in a crouched position, Redge sat there dazed for another second before nodding, "...Yeah, okay." he then noticed that she had held out her hand, Redge took it pulling himself up from the floor. Finally, after a long while he was leaving this place, he couldn't help but feel excited and glad.

Redge looked around before approaching his cell door, he tilted his head out first getting a good look out. Looking out he instantly picked up the smell of blood, he then realized much to his surprise that a female who had wolf inside her was the one that had bashed his cell door down he suspected that the bear had, he was the biggest there after all and Redge assumed the strongest. She seemed to have sustained a wound, a sickening crack was heard, Redge then noticed the girl whom he saw riding the bear's shoulders had one arm wrapped round her leg, the wound was coming from there and then... it wasn't. The girl had somehow managed to heal the wound, Redge felt curiosity bubble up but he answered it with his saying from earlier stranger things had happened.

Kai

Kai smiled as the young panther took her hand and she walked out, noting as he watched in amazement when Amara healed the wolf. "Impressive isn't she?" Kai turned to look at the rest of them, the wolves and the bears, and nodded. She had gather five Expris from this place, she didn't think she would be able to get more - the place seemed pretty destroyed, or at least getting there. "Come on guys, I'll show you a short cut."

Before waiting for someone to follow her she walked down the hall, pulling Redge behind her by his hand. Panthers were rare and she didn't want anything happening to him. At the end of the hall she crouched down and pulled a panel of steel off of the wall, it had a little resistance but her excitement made her not notice it. Underneath the panel were some buttons and she lifted the black sleeve off her arm to look at the diagram on her left wrist. Red button, white switch then blue wire. She shifted into her second form, panther ears replacing hers, tail shooting out and hands changing into blue fur covered paws and claws. The transformation was quick and flawless and she shook her head as her senses were nearly overloaded from the increase in sight, smell and hearing. She could even taste the different scents on the air.

A beep was heard when she pushed the button, no sound for the switch and her claw sliced through the wire like it was hot butter. A sigh of relief was let out and then she stood to turn to the opposite wall. Where there had been white wall before was now a dark tunnel. She nodded to the others and walked down the hall, still pulling Redge along. They had to get out quickly. The transition from brightness to darkness was a little dizzying but her slitted gold green eyes adjusted quickly. This was the passage she had used to enter the lab before all hell broke loose and she smiled as it still smelled old and unused, cobwebs lining the walls and ceiling.

"Not too far now guys," she called out.

At the end of a twisty and dark hallway was a boulder. Kai wasn't strong but fortunately she had had to move this boulder to get IN the lab so she knew she could do it again. Letting go of Redge she shifted slightly, stopping the transformation between stage 2 and 3. The scientists had thought to teach her this trick, seeing how well her control over the blood infusion was. They were very proud over the fact that she could pause in between transformations and switch back and forth quickly and easily. Taking a deep breath Kai put her hands on the boulder and shoved, using almost all her strength. Compared to the bear and the wolf girl Kai was pretty weak but she could handle this boulder at least - she was responsible for getting them to safety, if they wished it.

Less than five seconds and the boulder toppled over, flooding the passage with light and hurting Kais eyes before they adjusted. Grinning she transformed back to look completely human and turned to grab Redges hand again. "Come on, the village is a bit of a walk but after we cross this field we can be there before dark." She walked quickly across the field, crouching behind the bushes and trees that popped up just in case there was reinforcements come to secure the lab. At the edge of the field she waited behind four very large trees that started the forest. She knew a small nearly invisible path through the forest to the village. But she had to see if they wanted to come with her. Gordon knew she would be here and had been prepared since she discovered the lab to have to accept more Expris into the village.

"Ok guys I need to know, do you want to come with me to the village? We can give you housing, food, training, everything. Alternatively you can leave now and go on your own but .... I wouldn't recommend it. What do you guys want to do?" She wore a smile on her face but she was nervous that they wouldn't want to join her.

((OOC: Somehow...I managed to double tag and I don't know how to undo it -.- IS there a way to undo it?))

Kai


Amara had decided to stay with Koda, which was a logical choice. The big bear was easy to feel safe around if you were a small bear. Amara had seemed relieved and somewhat excited as she listed what the village had to offer, until she mentioned training. She blinked and corrected herself, noting that the small girl wouldn't want to be trained for a battle or something.

"Oh I mean training as in control - so you don't transform on emotion and scare people. Or for instance, your healing ability, I bet if you had some training you could learn how to heal greater injuries or more people. Healing those two must have tired you out a bit huh?" She was just guessing but it made sense.

Before anyone else had any chance to respond to her Kai caught a new scent on the wind. She pointed to the spot Redge was standing at, "Stay here." She closed her eyes and shifted quickly into her stage 3 form. Another thing that the scientists found - much to their disappointment - Kai kept the majority of her human emotions and thought process when in stage 3. They had been working out a way to "fix" that when Hail had broken them out of the lab.....

She sniffed the air and ran swiftly back to the hallway they had just exited out of. So much time was being lost... but she couldn't just leave a surviving Expri behind. This scent, smothered in blood and feline, was definitely an Expri, and still alive. The scent took her past the area she had deemed "safe" from the reinforcements and she cautiously slipped through the door, staying low to the floor and ears pricked forward. In front of her were two guards with ..... Guns from the old world! How had Tacrus soldiers managed to make ancient technologies like that work again?? There had been no guns seen since the wars over the world, and none were found when people started rebuilding - the world had just healed over the rubble. She crouched as close to the wall as possible and listened carefully.

"Man this just like lab 3. All of them are either gone or dead...."

"Yeah the commander called and said a bear escaped. He was panicked, not as panicked as Jeff had been but eh. A loose animal is a loose animal."

"Hey what do you think they would give us if we were to recover the ones that escaped?"

One of them snorted. "A mind-wiping probably."

They grew silent and Kai got sick of listening. She crept around the corner and saw a way to get past them, following the scent, without being seen. Keeping one ear on them and one forward she walked silently with her nose to the ground. The scent was getting stronger and she blinked in surprise. How in seven hells did they manage to make TWO panther Expris?! What kind of lab was this? It was definitely better stocked than the one she had been turned at. But then that had been ten years ago.

Finding a door leading what was probably an operating/experimentation room, she nudged it with her nose and was relieved and shocked to find it open. A careful examination of it showed her that the door was locked using the electricity and a computer system. When all hell broke loose and the generator overheated the system probably unlocked all the doors. So why hadn't this Expri break out of his cell? She silently crawled in, keeping close to the floor and looking around the dark room. Then she saw him and the reason he didn't beak out.

He was chained and strapped up to a tilted operating table, most likely just the frame, weakened most likely from the blood pouring out of his back. Cuts littered his body and she growled at the mistreatment. This wasn't just experimentation, this was plain cruelty! She shifted quickly to her stage 2 form, using her claws to cut at the straps and ropes binding him. Once those were gone she shifted again, between stage 2 and 3, to use her strength and break two parts of the chain. After those two were broken the rest just fell off. She couldn't support all his weight for long but she hoped he was conscious. She shifted into human form just as he slumped against her, blood covering her side as she grabbed the frame to stay standing.

"Hey, wake up! Please?!" Kai was frantic, if he didn't wake up she didn't know how she was going to get them out alive.

"Impressive isn't she?" Redge shrugged before nodding happily, having a healer on hand would be useful and it was an impressive sight to behold, the good that could be done with such an ability. It also had Redge wonder about the other Expri's gifts, he suspected that they were all different in their own way; Tacrus would probably want to encourage diversity to see the best possible combinations for a more effective soldier, thinking of it sent a cold shiver down his spine. He was no soldier, especially not to them, soldiers were killers and killing is something Redge thought he was incapable of doing.

"Come on guys, I'll show you a short cut." Finally they were leaving this place, Redge could not help but feel overjoyed, good riddance to this place, he had spent enough time in this hell. With that they were off, the older panther pulled him forward, gripping his hand, in a place as confusing and scary as this he was grateful for the guidance. Redge watched as they came to a stop at the end of the hallway, she crouched down and Redge followed in suit. Next she seemed to rip a steel panel off the wall revealing the contents behind. Redge knew this place was basically a technological haven; working lights, electricity compared to the rest of world which had devolved to a more primal state of living. Redge wasn't sure what she was doing then, she had shifted into her other form and was beginning pressing buttons in a specific order finalizing it by cutting a blue wire.

Nothing seemed to happen for a moment but then when he turned around a secret passage had been revealed, a long narrow tunnel which was hid by a white wall. Redge blinked owlishly, the tunnel smelled old and of decayed; how long had such a passage been here? They began moving forward, Redge's eyes adjusted quickly to the dark, they always had, he could see that cobwebs lined the walls and he shuddered at the thought of spiders. "Not too far now guys," she called out and Redge squinted through the darkness able to see a bolder blocking what appeared to be the only exit. Redge backed up a few steps, knowing that she going to attempt to move the boulder.

A couple of seconds later light flooded the tunnel, Redge hissed his hands automatically covering his eyes, still small particles of light managed to trickle trough and stab his eyes. Gradually removing his hands from his face his eyes readjusted to the sunlight, it didn't feel like the light in the Tarcus facility it felt alive and warm it pulsed with energy, it was a welcome sight to Redge's sore eyes. Redge felt his hand being grabbed again, "Come on, the village is a bit of a walk but after we cross this field we can be there before dark." Redge shrugged anywhere was better than here at the moment.

They walked through the field and crouched through bushes eventually arriving at the field's edge and into the edge of the woods. It was then that Redge realized how much he had missed nature, the wind on his face, the bird's chirping and now that his senses had been enhanced it seemed like a whole new world just waiting to be explored. Snapping back into reality, "Ok guys I need to know, do you want to come with me to the village? We can give you housing, food, training, everything." All that sounded very enticing and Redge didn't really need to think on the matter he had already decided upon his escape from Tarcus, "Alternatively you can leave now and go on your own but... I wouldn't recommend it. What do you guys want to do?"

The girl on the bear's back was first to answer "I want to stay with Koda." It took a moment to realize that was probably the bear's name, she added a moment later "Food and a bed doesn't sound too bad, either.." Redge couldn't disagree with that.

There must have been something Redge missed because the panther's next response was on the training she mentioned "Oh I mean training as in control - so you don't transform on emotion and scare people. Or for instance, your healing ability, I bet if you had some training you could learn how to heal greater injuries or more people. Healing those two must have tired you out a bit huh?" Although Redge was sure he'd go to the village, he didn't like the thought of training if he wanted to learn something he'd learn it himself, but then again it would be better to get a better grip on his new abilities although he wanted to keep his telekinetic nature a secret. He'd practice that in his own time, it was his little secret.

Redge stopped, she pointed to where he stood and said "Stay here." Redge tilted his head curiously as she quickly changed into her panther form, she sniffed the air and then began running back towards the cave they had emerged from only minutes ago. Redge stood there ultimately confused, he turned towards the others and shrugged timidly.

Kai

Kai breathed a sigh of relief as the panther woke and spoke some words. He wasn't terribly strong but when she moved towards the door she found he could walk. Well at least something was going right. She smelled the air and shifted to stage 2 of her transformation. So much shifting today....

With the shift she could smell even clearer and crinkled her nose as the mans blood filled her senses. He needed help badly. Maybe Amara could...... But enough with that. They needed to get out of there alive first. She walked him slowly out the hall and down a corridor. She knew the way back but it would be slow and she needed to get rid of any guards she found on the way. There was no sneaking past them this time. She closed her eyes and cringed at the thought of killing a human. It had to be done, or they would both die here and she had saved those kids for nothing.

They made through another two halls before she caught wind of a Tacrus soldier coming towards them. He was walking slowly, probably examining the scratch marks on the walls or the bodies and blood on the floors. She set the panther down and held a finger up to her lips, making sure his bleary eyes saw it before she shifted into full panther. There was only one so it was easy to rush at him quickly and tear his throat out. He never even had a chance to scream. When she had torn through his throat a few times to make sure he was really dead she shook as much blood off her face as possible and shifted back to Stage 2.

"Sorry, but it had to be done." She whispered before heading back to the panther. Kai pulled his arm over her shoulder and lifted most of his weight off the ground. Thankfully the rest of the way was clear and soon Kai found herself at the tunnel again. She turned to look at the half-conscious man. "Not too far, I know someone who can help with your wounds..." With that they set off through the tunnel, the light at the end gave her motivation to take each step. He was scrawny, probably from the experiments done on him and the torture, but he was still pretty heavy and Kai found herself tiring out quickly.

As soon as she reached the end of the tunnel Kai smiled and let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She moved him as quickly as possible across the field and ignored any looks the group was giving her. Setting him down against the tree next to Redge, she turned to Amara. "Amara can you please heal him? He's not going to last much longer like this..." she was out of breath and just wanted to lie down.

Redge stood by the tree, for a second utterly clueless he had little idea of what was going on besides a small primal instinct in his gut, his senses weren't as finely attuned as he imagined. He had little experience with the outside world; everything felt new to him right now, more so that he was experiencing the outside world in a completely new perspective... not as human but as a panther. So many new smells in the air; so many new sounds even his vision was sharper than before at the cost of color which was not as keenly defined as it was before. All these new things left Redge a little overwhelmed, it was non-surprising that Redge found himself in complete confusion with his new environment but also fascinated with it, something so beautiful and new that to him was ripe to be explored.

Instead though Redge had to wait, the yearning feeling inside him to explore would have to wait a while. Something low sounded, at first Redge mistook it for a hostile growl and was alert, as he searched frantically he found the source and immediately felt embarrassment rising up furiously through his chest. The source was the girl who rode on the the newly dubbed Koda's shoulders, she immediately placed a hand on her chest and it responded with another low growl, her pale face blushed before sheepishly glancing towards the group. Redge himself grinned half-sheepishly still half-alert at getting worked up over nothing. "I hope the village isn't far..." she said her voice soft, Redge trying to ease the atmosphere and silence replied "I think it's through the forest" His voice sounded almost excited at the prospect, nature was something Redge absolutely loved.

Redge squinted making out two figures in the distance, one he automatically knew was Kai, he remembered her smell. The other figure smelled familiar, though the new sensations he was experiencing made it hard to determine how. As they both ran across the field towards them he noticed the one Kai had been carrying was badly injured, he had many cuts covering his body, he was also very tall about half a foot off Koda's height. As they got closer Redge froze, Kai settled him down next to the tree where Redge had been standing. He was seriously injured but not just that the closer proximity caused his to recognize the familiar smell, he was panther like both him and Kai, he stared widely "Amara can you please heal him? He's not going to last much longer like this..." Redge snapped out of his thoughts and the former panic washed out of him as fast as it had came, they had a healer in the group his panic unnecessary; this fellow was going to be okay.

The healer climbed down off of Koda and onto the ground and walked over towards the tree, she looked towards Redge and then the new panther before kneeling besides him, Redge looked over expectantly his curiosity more than piqued. One of her hands moved before settling on the chest of the new arrival. "It's okay.." she said to him, Redge wasn't sure he could hear her he seemed kinda out of it, still the display of kindness was noted. Her head fell, and her golden locks fell down and in a few seconds the man's injuries began sealing themselves: cuts automatically fading; burn marks melting away. The only indication that he had previously been injured had been the blood. Redge could not help himself from gawking, to go from a state so grave to suddenly fine amazed him.

As she stood up she faltered, her knees buckled beneath her and she fell. Redge still deep in thought had only noticed when she was nearly upon him, Redge yelped in surprise as she fell towards him. Redge right now almost felt thankful towards Tarcus for his reflexes and agility; perfect for saving any damsel in distress. Body moving forward, his arms slunk down grabbing her shoulders, he nearly fell back over his legs but they sprang back up nimbly. As she collided with his chest Redge crouched slightly pushing her up, as the momentum of her fall dimmed Redge slowly and carefully lay her down on the grass.

Turning towards the others he looked more so surprised. "I think shes filled her healing quota for today..." He noted looking anxiously at the blood that covered her nose, that definitely was not a good sign and they had no healer to heal this. She still seemed to be breathing, not erratically but rather finely. Redge turned towards the others again anxiously stating "She seems... okay." He then added "Someone just needs to carry her," He figured that wouldn't be a problem, Koda had been doing that the whole way here after all. Though he could be wrong, he wasn't exactly a medical expert. At this point his eyes seemed to be begging for some sort of help, he didn't like being responsible for anything or anyone but himself.

The walk to the village was peaceful, something Koda enjoyed. Being a bear, nature was something comforting and welcoming to him. He had memories of being a child; memories of dancing in the summer rains and skipping through the fields of flowers. But the memories he did hold were blurred, as if they were only shadows of the memories. Koda, for the first time, felt at home.

As the party walked forward, Koda simply carried the other ursine girl on his back, letting her ride him like a horse. This was also something that felt comfortable to Koda, because for the first time in his life someone had showed him kindness, and love. While he still didn't trust the company he was with, he understood that they meant him no harm. But the girl, Amara, was different. Amara, for some reason, felt like a piece of him; as if they were part of the same soul. He felt a connection to her deeper than the skin. Instantly from their first contact Koda seemed to understand the girl, as she understood him, and because of the differences between them they were able to form a symbiotic relationship. Koda without Amara would be as unstable as Amara would be useless without Koda's strength. The perfect harmony of a single being was created when they were near each other.

But as they walked along, and the injured panther came to the party, Koda instantly went on high alert for any nearby threats. Letting Amara off of his back, Koda quickly stood up on both legs to view his surroundings, to make sure no one else was around. For a moment Koda turned away from Amara and the panther, looking behind the party for anything... That is when he felt his heart stop.

With a sudden and violent turn, Koda looked at the wounded panther and Amara leaning on Redge's body. From the girls face Koda saw a single drop of blood fall to the ground, a small inconvenience to most, but in that moment the blood of Amara was all that mattered to Koda.

Turning to face the party again, Koda was starting to change. Even though his body wasn't visibly changing, his mind was completely resetting to his bestial nature. Despite trying to fight it, in his mind he chanted a single thought over and over, unable to stop it: "... Blood... Blood... Blood... Blood! BLOOD!" Suddenly Koda opened his eyes again to reveal black orbs in the place of what were perfectly blue eyes. An earthshaking roar emitted from the base of Koda's body, filled with nothing but pure rage. In a flurry of rage and fur, Koda charged at the panther that had, in his mind, caused Amara's pain.

That was when it was made clear to the party, it was never Koda that broke out of his cage, and ripped through the facility. It was something darker, tormented, insane... Evil. It was the darker side of the Gentle Giant: The Mr. Hyde to Dr. Jekyll. It was the combination of years of pain, suffering, and hate. It was...

The Beast

Kai

Kai was extremely relieved as she watched Amara heal the other panther. She didn't want anyone dieing, especially not after she had just saved them. Her relief was short-lived however, when Amara started bleeding and fell over. She already had people rushing to help her and Kai watched in slight shock and guilt over asking so much of the young girl. How could she have been stupid? She frowned. At least now she knew she was right when she guessed that Amara didn't have a large amount of stamina for her healing ability. But if it was like every other Expri's gifts, it could be expanded and strengthened. With training, patience and time. And of course if the young girl was willin--

A growl startled Kai out of her thoughts and she blinked when she looked up to see a very angry bear looking straight at the panther she had just saved. 'CRAP!!!' she screamed in her head. A second of panic before the bear roared and charged, then Kai acted on pure instinct as she grabbed the panther and rolled him off to the side. She hoped that the bear would stop but if he didn't then he would smash in to the tree...and probably the couple of trees behind that one. She didn't wait to see if he would, she positioned herself in between the panther and the bear, knowing that she most definitely would not survive if the bear crashed into her. She had to risk it. She didn't want any of her new found companions dieing.

"Hey bear! I don't know whats got you so worked up bu--" Wait.... the pieces clicked in her head... The bear protecting little Amara, carrying her, seeming to communicate with her, then Amara bleeding....Did he think that the new panther had caused that? Could the two bears have been friends before the lab experimented on them? Was that why they clicked so easily, because he remembered her? She didn't know but it was her best guess.... "Amara is ok! Stop it alright?! Do you want Tacrus soldiers to find us because you're being loud and destructive?! Do you want them to find us and hurt her?!" The only thing she could hope for was that her words didn't make him more angry, that maybe she could convince him to calm down. She had to figure out a way to calm him down and not destroy everything in sight or Gordon would never trust him in the village. And she was NOT going to let him out in the world on his own. He needed a home, needed friends to help him, and he could get that in the village. She needed to find a way to calm down so she could give them all the home they needed. If he didn't calm.....they were pretty much screwed.

Amara

Amara slowly blinked awake, eyes rolling for a moment as she tried to find balance in the world. Her vision was blurry, but she could make out the sky through the black shapes of the tree leaves above her. As she was coming to, she heard the roar of Koda and felt the ground tremble under his weight as he hit all fours. What was he doing? She slowly rolled her head over to the side and saw him getting ready to charge at Shard. "Koda." Her voice was soft, and she slowly struggled to sit up. "Koda!" Regaining her balance and bearings, Amara's eyes grew wide and she forced her voice louder.

She used the tree behind her to help come to her feet, and reached out a shaky hand. "Koda, it's okay. I'm okay." She leaned most of her weight against the bark of the tree, hoping the bear would not rip the little panther to shreds after she just got done healing him. Her sight was waning in and out, but with each passing minute she could see more clearly. Reaching up she wiped the blood from her upper lip, and smeared it against her scrubs. "It was just a nosebleed. I'm fine. See?"

Kai

Kai sighed in relief. Amara had managed to calm the enraged bear down. With a slight sway she realized how tired she was and how tired the others must be. Time to get to the village.

"Now I think we should head for the village, I can give you food and rest and you can all get cleaned up and then tomorrow when we're refreshed we can figure out what you want to do, whether you want to stay or leave is up to you." She would need to speak with Gordon immediately but that was the easy part.

Without waiting for a response she motioned for them to follow her and headed out into the forest, finding the nearly hidden path easily. It was a short trip if they followed this path and would only take them about two hours to walk. Good thing too because the sun was starting to set by the time they arrived.

Two guards were lounging around when she arrived and they stood to blink in surprise at her and the group she had found. The taller one spoke first.

"Miss Kai... I admit we thought you would surely end up dead or worse... seeing you alive is... a relief. I imagine you wish for the leader to be informed right away?"

"Yes Peter. But I need these guys to be taken to my residence now. Gordon will want to meet them but that will have to wait until tomorrow. We are all very tired."

She shorter one was eying them cautiously before speaking. "Hey. Why hasn't that bear turned back to human yet Kai?"

She bit her lip. "He doesn't seem to be able to. But he's still....he still thinks and understands perfectly. Anyway guys I'm going to have my friend Peter escort you to the place you'll be staying. The woman there will provide you with as much food and clothes as you'll need. Is everyone all right with that?"

Redge watched in dismay as Koda began to charge at the group's new arrival, danger entered the air and Redge noticed a dramatic change in the bear's demeanor: it became more bestial and rage poured out of his eyes, it was then Redge realized that this was the danger he had sensed at the hospital, the danger that had murdered so many. It was a mixture of fear and a dumbfound realization that caused him to freeze in place, both mentally and physically.

The moment was short lived however, the girl rose and told the bear that she was okay and he immediately stopped in his tracks a second passed and he scooped her up into his massive arms. Redge was stuck there blinking owlishly wondering if the event had only occurred in his mind, the surrealism of it all; total panic going to complete tranquility in an instant was quite strange, stranger more was that the bear had snapped so unexpectedly. Redge had gathered that Koda had a bond with the girl but to snap like that without a warning seemed very troubling. It was over Redge supposed and that was all that mattered, now they could get a move on to this so called village.

Redge cast a anxious eye towards the new arrival, he didn't seem troubled that a seven foot bear had tried to turn him into panther paste a few seconds ago. All is forgiven Redge supposed, Koda was calm now and that was all that mattered, although Redge could not help but feel a little anxious that he could snap at any moment.

"Now I think we should head for the village, I can give you food and rest and you can all get cleaned up and then tomorrow when we're refreshed we can figure out what you want to do, whether you want to stay or leave is up to you." Kai announced. Redge thought carefully, food and rest did seem nice as well as a chance to figure things out, it seemed like his best option at the moment. Without waiting for any responses Kai began to walk motioning them to follow. Redge took one last look at his surroundings before hanging his head low and trudging after the group.

The trip took roughly around two hours and when they had finally arrived the sun was starting to dip, it would be dark soon. At the town's gate sat two guards, as the group approached a surprised look covered their faces, the one who was noticeably taller spoke first "Miss Kai... I admit we thought you would surely end up dead or worse... seeing you alive is... a relief. I imagine you wish for the leader to be informed right away?" Redge looked around the town gingerly, it reminded him of the previous town he resided, most memories there though were shrouded in mystery and whenever Redge thought of it his head hurt. It was then Redge realized he couldn't remember most of his past only a few pieces of idle scraps that were fragmented that clamored together his identity.

"Yes Peter. But I need these guys to be taken to my residence now. Gordon will want to meet them but that will have to wait until tomorrow. We are all very tired." The future meeting of this Gordon and all that had happened today had left Redge drained, a weariness had settled over him; it was subtle but in his eyes it sat. All the while he felt a familiarity settle over him, a vague sense that reminded him of something, something that he couldn't put his finger on no matter how long he thought on it.

The shorter one then spoke up, his eyes laced with suspicion "Hey. Why hasn't that bear turned back to human yet Kai?" Redge had pondered that but what he more so thought on was the ludicrousness of bringing a bear that could snap at any moment and slaughter everyone en masse. Surely Kai had to be aware of this and the potential danger she was putting the village in; in forgiving though he had just as much right to be here as the others. As a plus the girl who rode on his back could sway him a great a deal, so Redge didn't voice his objections instead remaining silent but still slightly anxious.

"He doesn't seem to be able to. But he's still....he still thinks and understands perfectly." That answered Redge's previous question and made him more certain in his decision. "Anyway guys I'm going to have my friend Peter escort you to the place you'll be staying. The woman there will provide you with as much food and clothes as you'll need. Is everyone all right with that?" Redge having no objections remained silent his eyes pointed at the ground.

Following behind Peter it took several minutes for them to arrive at a well kept house, the brisk walk through the town unnerved him, he kept his eyes on the ground fearing other people's responses. He wasn't like them... before and after, after only furthering the distance between him and the common folk. The only difference was now that it was noticeable, this left him feeling saddened at the realization, isolated from people and although the gap had been there when he was human he now saw it clearly. Redge could talk, joke, befriend many but he'd never be one of them, they would never truly understand each other. I suppose it's for the best... Redge's mind echoed before a more sarcastic side appeared, Then again what would we talk about? The daily experiments in the labs?

The woman met them outside the door's archway, she beckoned them to follow through to the doors. As they walked towards the door, the girl on the bear's back spoke "I'm not leaving him." Her words directed at the housekeeper. The housekeeper smiled and amusement played across her face, she informed the girl that not only could she stay with her massive friend but that there were bathing accommodations for both of the pair. Redge thought that comment was mostly directed at Koda due to his blood soaked pelt.

As the rest of the group went inside Redge remained outside, taking a quick uneasy glance at the small house. The housekeeper waited before gently asking "Is there something wrong, sir?" The house seemed infinitely smaller when comparing it to the outside, the fact of exchanging that for a small house made him uneasy.

Even though he didn't want to go in he laughed nervously before muttering all to quickly "No, nothing... everything's fine." Redge quickly forced himself in to the house, he heard the slow creak of the door shutting and instantly felt trapped. Redge's heart began beating faster, and he bit his lip trying not to panic and although he knew this place wasn't the same as Tacrus he couldn't help but feel trapped.

The housekeeper led him to his room, it didn't help that it was pretty small either. The room had a small singular wooden-framed bed in the corner with one neat pillow, a dresser was in the corner and lastly a oval shaped window; apart from that it was empty. Redge immediately walked over to the window, he opened it quickly and was gratified by the fresh air. "Just like Tacrus..." Redge jokingly said except now there was an option to leave and that made him feel a lot better. Redge walked over to the bed and with a feline stretch laid down; Redge's eyes shut before he knew what hit him.