The cyborg screamed in pain. It felt as if his internal organs were burning and his head exploding. He threw himself against the bulletproof glass of his cage but couldn't break it despite his strength.
The two doctors stood outside and watched him with mild interest.
"You really surprise me sometimes, Dr. Robotnik", the white Echidna said, "First you make all people believe you are only concentrating on big machines and loads of destructions and then you come up with something that venomous."
"Well, the basic idea was thanks to your Chaos Energy tower", Robotnik answered, "and I removed the one big flaw it had. A source from the outside can collapse and release the people it once had under its control. This poison will take control of the brain, destroy the memory and will stay effective until the affected being is dying."
Finitevus smiled wryly. "Oh what a wonderful thing to imagine - the berserk regaining consciousness in the last seconds of his life and suddenly realizing what he had done and that it had been one of his former friends who had gone for the kill."
"Only the noise pollution is disturbing. Before I start using the poison on several prisoners in a row I should think about a less painful formula."
"Or thicker glass."
"Yes, yes that idea is even better. However, I still don't understand why you insisted on testing it on a bunch of Echidna scouts first. I immediately could have gone for Knothole or even better that pesky Hedgehog."
"No one ever conquered the world using a Beta-version", Finitevus explained. "As you have perfectly seen the first three Echidnas died and we're still not sure if we got the right amount of poison or if this one is simply too much robot already and thus more sturdy. If you had tested it on Knothole inhabitants you would have alarmed them immediately. Who else would go for them other than you? But these are Dark Legionnaires. Just throw the dead bodies out and let the successful experiments run berserk - they will blame it on the other Echidnas, they will blame it on me but you will be the last one they think about. Besides it will also help me - the less of the Echidnas are left, the less work remains."
The first phase of the venom seemed to be over. The cyborg was now lying on the bottom of his cage, breathing heavily. He obviously didn't feel pain anymore but now his eyes were filled with pure rage.
Finitevus walked closer to the glass and silently said, "Guess I was very lucky to find you among the prisoners. You managed to escape my control once but this time you will remain my ally until your death, my dear Xenin."
~~~***~~~
Lien-Da stood at the corridor staring out of the window. What took them so long? Night was falling in and there still were no signs of Xenin or the little squad he had led.
"Do now even Grandmasters have to be on guard duty or why else have you been on the lookout for the past few hours?" she heard Kragok's voice behind her. "Don't say you're worried about your monster. He can take care of himself. If anything it should rather be the rest of the planet to beware of him."
Lien-Da gave him a crooked smile. "I know but I still can't get rid of that nagging feeling. He never had been away that long."
"Knowing him he and his squad most likely went further than they ought to do and just couldn't make it back before nightfall anymore. I'm sure he will be back by tomorrow."
She wished she could be so sure about that as well.
Lien-Da might only have gotten a few minutes of sleep that night when one of her personal servants woke her up in the morning.
"We got a call from one of the Guardians some minutes ago", the female Legionnaire said. "He wanted to speak to you and it sounded as if it was important."
A few minutes later in the conference room she had Spectre on screen.
"We just got a message from the Sandopolis Zone", the dark Guardian said, "General Stryker warned us that a crazy Echidna Robian was running amuck and attacked several of his soldiers. I have no knowledge of any roboticized Echidna who would still exist somewhere but I know one Dark Legionnaire who nearly looks like a Robian. Whatever Xenin is doing out there, I ask you to call him back. Should the Dingoes find out that he wasn't sent by Robotnik it will put our peace agreement with them in danger."
"We will take care of that matter", Lien-Da said and switched off the screen.
Not again...
On the outside she remained as coolly as usual when she ordered several Legion officers to the conference room but on the inside...
How were they supposed to stop a raging tank? She remembered what the scientists did to one of their last experiments gone crazy. They had to shut him down completely because there was no way he could have recovered. Xenin had to be prevented from the same fate at any cost - maybe even by the cost of her own life...
~~~***~~~
One small Legion unit was sent to each of the Zones - for the moment only to find out Xenin's current position. But what to do if they found him? In their labs they had enough ways to lock him up or keep him in place until they had found a solution - the scientists always had to make sure that the base was safe in case one of their experiments went horribly wrong - but how should they get him there?
Kragok had led his troop to the lake south of Echidnaopolis. If Xenin wanted to leave the Dingo camp and the Sandopolis Zone on the fastest way possible he would come here next or maybe already had arrived.
Everything was quiet so far, still Kragok couldn't escape the feeling that danger was near. The soft ground swallowed the sound of steps and every little rustle in the forest around them could either have come from an approaching enemy or just a bird. The Legionnaires wouldn't know Xenin was there until he jumped right at them.
Kragok quickly turned around. That movement he had seen in the forest was definitely not a bird and also no other little animal. Only moments later the cyborg jumped out of the bushes, rammed a Legionnaire to the ground only to let go of him a second later and attack the next one. They all had put their weapons on stun only so they wouldn't kill Xenin through headshot and tried to fire at the unprotected half of his head but they only were threatened to stun each other. Xenin was fast. He leaped from tree to tree, from Legionnaire to Legionnaire, slashed wounds or knocked them out completely but he stayed nowhere longer than two seconds. And then he decided to charge at Kragok again and slammed him against a tree. He had already wounded the Grandmaster before and this time it seemed as if he had finally decided to go for a kill. But before the two males could do more than glare at each other, before anyone could aim his weapon, Xenin was hit by a Chaos blast and sent flying away from Kragok. The Grandmaster slid down the tree and remained sitting leaned against it.
With a cry of rage Xenin jumped up again and now attacked the lavender Guardian who had just arrived at the battlefield. Thunderhawk threw himself out of attacking line and with the next blast Xenin was nearly dashed into the lake. The cyborg quickly got back on his feet and first remained in attacking position while quickly looking from enemy to enemy then decided to turn around and disappear into the forest again.
Thunderhawk let out his breath. "Thank goodness he's gone. I might have been able to continue this for a while but my endurance isn't ulimited like his. None of you hurt too badly?"
"Thanks for interfering, Guardian, but I think we now will be able to take care of ourselves and don't need a nanny anymore", Kragok growled. He was still leaning against the tree. He felt blood dripping down the back of his head but that was none of the Guardian's business. Bad enough that of all Echidnas available the Legionnaires had gotten help from a damn Guardian, now they didn't also need to get nursed back to health by him.
"Whatever", Thunderhawk simply shrugged it off and turned to another Legionnaire who was happier to get some help.
"Has someone seen where our monster headed to?" Kragok asked.
"I think he ran north", Thunderhawk answered.
The Grandmaster silently cursed.
"If he didn't change his direction then he will run into my sister next. I have to warn her."
~~~***~~~
Lien-Da's communicator went off. She saw that it was her brother calling but to her surprise she heard Thunderhawk's voice.
"We have met Xenin and I have to say it wasn't the best of all encounters. At least no deads, only some injuries."
"Give me back my communicator, damn Guardian", Lien-Da heard Kragok's voice in the background. "It's just a flesh wound, no mortal injury."
"I just came from Echidnaopolis where I have found out that several people who had been outside the town had been badly wounded as well when they ran into Xenin but he never killed so far and always was gone very quickly", Thunderhawk continued. "This is definitely not like the last time. Back then he might have been controlled by Finitevus but now he's gone completely berserk and I think no one can control him in this condition... Hey, sit down again. Your wounds will only start to bleed more."
"I'm a Grandmaster; it should be ME who is warning other Legionnaires, not a Guardian."
If the whole situation wasn't so serious Lien-Da could have laughed when she imagined the scenario she heard right now.
"Xenin headed right into your direction so be on guard", now Kragok was heard again. "The Guardian already threatens he will contact one of his people in case you need help too so please be able to deal with it on your own."
"Heck, how can someone be so stubborn? If you need help then why don't you just accept it?"
"But not from a Guardian for crying out loud."
The connection was interrupted.
Lien-Da had shut down her communicator. She had other things to worry about than her brother's bickering with a Guardian. She ordered the few Legionnaires around her to ready their weapons and move to their lookout positions - wherever Xenin left the northern part of the forest, he shouldn't be able to pass unnoticed - then she dragged her own stun gun out of the holster and stared at it. Would she really be able to fire that thing at Xenin? It wouldn't injure him, only paralyze him for a while but it still felt wrong to aim any kind of weapon against her love and one of the loyalest members of the Legion. And yes, she still saw him as loyal even though he had started attacking Legionnaires this time and also injured her brother. It wasn't his fault he had gone berserk - whoever had done this to him was to blame.
"Grandmaster! Incoming!"
Lien-Da quickly turned around. The Legionnaire who had warned the team was struck down but Xenin immediately let go of him when the blast of a stun gun hit his back and jumped at the next closest Legionnaire. Soon the few members of the team were out cold or lying on the ground in pain - only Lien-Da who had stayed further back had been ignored so far.
Her eyes were locked at the scenario in front of her. Even if she had wanted to draw her weapon against him she couldn't because her whole body felt as if it was frozen.
And then Xenin landed only a few steps away from her.
"Xenin..." Her voice trembled but she tried to control it. If this beast before her still had a little piece of Xenin living inside of him she had to get through to him. "It's me, Lien-Da. Please try to remember who you are, who I am. Whatever control you are under, fight it. I don't want to lose my beloved monster."
Xenin unsure remained in position. She just opened her mouth to continue talking to him when she noticed Spectre slowly stepping out of the forest. His fists were glowing with Chaos Energy but he wanted to wait and see what happened first and not attack until it looked like Lien-Da was in danger. Now also Xenin noticed that the Grandmaster was staring at something behind him. He turned his head but then quickly turned it back again, ran towards Lien-Da and protectively wrapped his arms around her. A Chaos Blast hit him in the back, strong enough that even Lien-Da could feel the shockwave although she was protected by his body and Xenin broke down in her arms.
"Quick, stun him", Spectre said breathlessly. The attack had cost him a lot of energy. "He might not be out cold for too long."
Lien-Da knelt down, her arms wrapped around Xenin, glaring angrily at the Guardian.
"Why have you done that? I could have gone through on him. He didn't even try to attack me, just wanted to protect me from you. And thank goodness he did or else you would have hit me as well."
"I know how to control my powers. The attack was focused on him only. Even if he had jumped out of the way he would have been hit. Besides where's your guarantee that he really would have listened to you for longer than a few seconds? Better talk to him when he's locked up at a safe place in your base. And now would you please use your stun gun? I think he's recovering and he won't be too pleased when he remembers what just had happened."
Reluctantly she put her gun against his head. "I'm sorry", she whispered and fired.
~~~***~~~
The soldiers were out of the way and now all what was left was this female who didn't even try to stop him. He jumped off his previous victim and landed only a few steps away from her but then he stopped. The fire of rage inside him was burning and screamed for more blood but he couldn't attack. There was a feeling inside of him, not burning, rather warm and soothing, and still it was stronger than his rage and holding him back. Nothing could force him to harm this female. His memory started with being locked up in an unbreakable glass cage and feeling incredible pain, everything before that had been eradicated but the soultouch needed no memory. It was a connection that couldn't simply be erased.
Then he noticed she stared at something behind him and when he turned his head he saw the approaching Echidna. He wore nearly the same cloak as the other soldiers but something inside Xenin told him that he didn't belong to them. The other Echidna readied an attack and suddenly Xenin was sure that it wouldn't just hit him but also the female. He quickly closed the gap between him and her and shielded her with his own body. He didn't remember who she was or why he felt that way but he knew that he wanted to protect her, even if he had to give his own life in the process. A mighty blast hit his back.
When he regained consciousness he was strapped down on a table in something that looked like an operating room. Bright neon light shone above him. A bit further away there were Echidna scientists observing some medical devices. At first he still felt too weak to move but then his rage started burning again. He let out a furious cry, tugged his straps and desperately tried to get free of them. Someone gently put a hand on his chest.
"Everything's alright. You're back in the Dark Legion base. We want to help you."
That voice... It was that female again. Xenin turned his head so he could look at her and relaxed a bit. He really wanted to believe her.
Lien-Da turned to one of the scientists.
"Do we have any results yet? Can we restore his memory?"
The scientist frowned.
"His memory is completely erased. The memory chip in his head could restore it but it is damaged too. The repairing and reactivation needs an amount of energy high enough to kill him."
Lien-Da felt as if she was freezing from the inside.
"And there's no other way?" she silently asked.
"Not unless we want to keep him in the labs so he won't be able to harm any of us."
So it was a choice between his death and being locked away forever.
The Grandmaster turned to Xenin again. Had he even realised what they had been talking about behind his red veil of fury? His body was twitching from the suppressed rage and she knew he wouldn't be able to hold it back for too long.
"There's a little chance that he will survive it", now another Echidna said reluctantly. "I was one of the scientist team who created Xenin's improved Titanium armour a few weeks ago. There was one feature we didn't tell him about - a Chaos core. It has no other features but to take over the function of internal organs for a short time, just like a pacemaker. Since it contains Chaos Energy it will withstand the procedure of reactivating the chip. But it never had been tested and we also don't know if it can take over the function of every single organ the same time."
Lien-Da closed her eyes and took a deep breath then she said, "Alright, make it end. Let's reactivate the chip and hope for the best. But I want to stay near him until it's over."
"Okay, but don't touch him anymore until we are sure it worked."
Xenin now was breathing heavier and started tugging his straps again, a last desperate try to escape his fate.
Lien-Da gently stroked his cheek. "It will all turn out right. You will survive", she said and tried to ban the pain out of her voice. A tear ran over her face but she immediately wiped it away, didn't want to show such a weakness in front of her Legionnaires.
As soon as she stepped away an unpleasantly loud buzzing filled the room. Xenin let out a cry. He convulsed in pain as far as the straps let him. Lien-Da bit her lips until they were hurting and only wished it would be over soon. The buzzing got even louder the more the energy level was increased, nearly drained out Xenin's screams. And then everything was silent. It came so sudden that at first she thought she must have gone deaf but then she heard a weak, scratchy voice.
"Lien-Da..."
Xenin caught her gaze. The corners of his mouth twitched as if he tried a smile then his head sunk to the side. Lien-Da didn't even need to look at the ECG-screen to know it was showing a flat line only. Seconds of silence passed. The scientists only watched the ECG while Lien-Da couldn't turn her gaze away from Xenin. And then, finally...
"An amplitude", one of the scientists called, "He's coming back."
Lien-Da could have cried for joy. She wanted to run to him, only wanted to be in his arms again but she held herself back - he needed a while to recover.
"His condition is stable now", a scientist said. "I think we should give him some rest now. You can come back later to see him."
Not even half an hour later Lien-Da entered the lab again. Xenin was sitting on the table but tried to stand up when he saw her. For a few seconds he managed to stand more or less upright then his legs gave in. Lien-Da caught him.
"I'm feeling weak as a kitten", he mumbled, "But I guess no one can hold my record in dying right now. Death should get a revolving door for his lair if I make a habit of that." He chuckled but then quickly became serious again. "I have been told that I had attacked several Legionnaires and even Kragok while I was in berserk mode. How are they now? I hope I haven't caused too grave injuries."
Lien-Da smiled lightly. "Don't worry, they are all okay. Nothing that won't heal or can't be replaced. I just visited my brother and he only complained about a massive headache but according to him the reason to that was the 'damn Guardian and his constant nagging'. But now tell me, what has happened? How did you end up as a berserk?"
"We were attacked while on our mission. Dozens of robots were coming through warp rings. Not even I could withstand them for too long. I think someone injected me some kind of poison but I can't really remember that anymore because the following pain pushed it immediately out of my memory. I don't know what happened to the others of my team. Either they are still imprisoned or dead already or they are going postal somewhere else."
"Warp rings and robots? That sounds as if Finitevus and Robotnik are teaming up. I hope this won't lead to another war." She silently laughed. "I guess I must sound as if I have gone insane - a Grandmaster who wants to have peace. But I only want it for our Legion. A few battles more and we will become extinct."
Xenin placed a kiss on her forehead and shook his head. "Nah, no reason to worry about that. The fat guy is too obsessed with this Hedgehog and it will drive Finitevus crazy sooner or later."
Lien-Da smiled. "Guess you're right, or at least I hope for it." Then she looked around. "Is there still a reason we have to stay here? I don't like this lab - only have bad memories of it."
"I guess I can already walk for a while but not sure how long."
"No problem, I will support you if you need it."
Arm in arm they left the lab. A bodyguard who needed help from his protégée, now that wasn't seen too often, Lien-Da thought by herself and smiled. But actually some little weaknesses once in a while made Xenin a living, breathing Echidna. Without them he would just be a robot. Or the beast he nearly had become.
