Korie simply watched as Lorenzo shot Ian, flinching as each bullet made contact with his flesh. They just watched as the new squad leader Sigma picked up Ian and followed behind Lorenzo... but they knew that they were never going to make it to the Med-bay; Lorenzo was never going to take them to it. That would be something far, far too kind of him to do. No, knowing the XO, he was going to probably take them someplace where he was going to break Ian even further...

"Good luck, Ian..." muttered Korie as the promptly walked out of the room and headed to their personal quarters.

_____________________________________________________

Lorenzo led Sigma passed the Medbay, and down many, many hallways that it was almost like a maze. They passed checkpoint after checkpoint, and security after security until eventually they reached a place that was entirely dark... and suddenly- Sigma would find that a strange man was suddenly lifting Ian from her and strapping him to a chair in the middle of the room that was barely lit.

"There you are, Cedric! So, how is everything going today? Is he doing well?" asked Lorenzo as he promptly looked over some files at a nearby desk.

"If by well, you mean quiet and motionless... then yes, he's doing perfectly well... So, we got another one who's going to be given to it as a meal?" asked the strange blue haired man as he finished fully strapping in Ian.

"Hm... That depends, we do need this one alive since he's part of the project."

"Oh... is that so. What about the girl? Is she a snack too?" murmured Cedric as he nodded nonchalantly at Sigma.

"Ah, she's with me. She's technically his superior... Squad leader. I brought her here as a gift."

"Oh," Cedric then promptly took out a gun and pointed it at Sigma as if to shoot.

"She's safe you idiot. Irina would be upset if you killed her... Er, sort of. Seriously, you're more of a nuisance then this guy," Lorenzo smacked Ian a bit, making sure he was awake to listen. "Hope your awake buddy, because you and your Squad Leader are going to experience something fantastic!"

"Fantastic indeed..." murmured Cedric as he holstered his gun and returned to a panel, speaking in his monotone voice. "I think he can smell the blood. Fresh wounds, I take it?"

"I did just shoot him a few minutes ago."

"Sounds just like something you would do, Lorenzo... Let me guess, you pointed something out to them, they got snippy, and you decided to show just how powerless they were?"

"Pretty much," laughed Lorenzo as he shrugged.

"Kids, am I right? Oh, this is interesting, he's getting active... far more than usual."

"Well, this is a first... Alright then. Initiate protocol Horus Alpha along with life support, I don't want Ian dying at all," Lorenzo began to speak as he walked behind him looking at a distant figure that is chained, muzzled, and skewered with wires and tubes, "You're going to feel a little, pinch..." murmured Lorenzo as needles from the chair suddenly began to pierce themselves into Ian's back and make their way to his heart, along with a couple going into his brain.

"Horus Alpha complete. Life Support at 100%. Shall I initiate any-?"

"No, I want to hear him scream," grinned Lorenzo. "Also, take his muzzle off, and release his restraints by... say... 20%, allow him to at least be able to break a few things if he needs to."

"Someone is feeling sadistic today..."

"No. I just hate kids who don't know their place is all... Oh, and make sure Sigma doesn't interfere, she needs to know what'll happen if the rest of her squad doesn't shape up either."

"Roger," Cedric glared at Sigma before taking aim at Sigma in case she tried to do anything, before pressing something on the panel. "He's released."

A loud clankechoed from the dark hall, before a mechanical roar and clang could be heard... then a bang before a stampeding sound as the sounds of chains flailing about could be heard as well. Then, it could be seen. Flesh, molded and burnt against metal with scars from what looked like the ends of syringes protruding from crevices against sores from its eyes as it leaped onto Ian, shouting with a blood curdling roar at his face. The lower half of it is entirely machine and rusted, while one arm is 'flesh-like', the other isn't, part of it's face is mutated from countless experiments, though, from one point... this thing used to be humanoid maybe.

No. This thing... this thing isn't a human...

...deep down... you know what is is... you've heard tales and stories about them... but you've never seen one up close with all of its raw metal exposed...

...a Cruxi.

Almost immediately the Cruxi grips Ian's broken legs, and squeezes down tight, before licking the blood and biting down on his legs flesh, eating and devouring with its razor like teeth little by little before it is suddenly yanked back by the harpooned chains attached to it- although, due to its sharp tight teeth, it is still able to take with it a large chunk of Ian's thigh before being forced back quite a bit.

Hungrily, the Cruxi devours its petty snack before turning upon its full course meal with blood oozing from its rancid teeth, wanting to eat more.

"I think he likes you Ian... Again, Cedric."

The Cruxi is freed once more, and this time he is left to bite a larger chunk of his leg... except he bites hard as the sound of bone breaking and being crushed can easily be heard underneath its mighty jaws as he wraps his hands on Ian's foot, crushing it within his hands.

"We will be at this for quite a while... oh, and don't even think about dying, I wont let you," murmured Lorenzo as he smiled to himself as he folded his arms behind his back.

Sigma gritted her teeth, partially under the weight of Ian. Although the gun did get a bit of a reaction out of her, it didn't startle her in the slightlest. She had been put through the same countless times before, during her drills. But for all brutal training she had received, she wasn't ready for that.

Sigma felt her stomach sink as she saw the creature, stealing at her field of vision, staining her sight forever with dread. She felt she was losing it, but she couldn't avert her gaze. Her whole body was shaking like a leaf, tears went down her eyes, as she watched the fellow soldier get torn alive by a monstrousity that had been once a Cruxi. She felt her undersides becoming wet all of a sudden as she lost control of her bowels.

Yet she kept staring. The madness. Ian. The Cruxi. Lorenzo. Was this the bottom of the madness of war? Was this what she was expected to go, the lenghts she was supposed to reach?

There was one answer within her. One which filled her with dread. Finally clamping her eyelids, she struggled to breathe and vocalize.

She had to do it.

She had been created by humanity to fight. She couldn't avert her gaze. She couldn't break in here. She couldn't be scared of watching people be eaten alive by Cruxi.

Her hand grabbed Cedric's shirt, shaky, and at the same time filled with determination.

"I wish to undergo the same punishment as him." She replied. No turning back ever again.

"R-Roger. Congratulations on the promotion," Elora said in a hurried tone, and then left the room. It was great that Sigma took the situation under control, and in such a cool way too. She was inspiring, Elora thought to herself as she went through the corridors in a brisk pace.
On her way she passed by Serah, who seemed to have a break down; she must have heard the gunshots. Elora wanted to stay with her, but she had Utano to find, and she wouldn't let Sigma down. Instead, she continued running, but shouted behind her: "Ian's still alive. They're taking him to the med bay." She was blissfully ignorant of the horrors he was about to go through.

Her intuition told her to go to the women's restroom, and there she found Utano. She approached her, and attempted to comfort her, though she didn't really know how.

"Umm, Utano? Hey, It's okay, Ian's going to survive. He won't die. They're taking him to the med bay as we're speaking. Sigma's making sure of it, and I completely trust in her." She paused for a moment, and took a look at herself in the mirror. "I'm also scared, I really am, but running away never helped me. It only made things worse. Trust me, I've done that a lot." She made as much of a smile as she could after having seen someone shot right in front of her. She hoped she succeeded in calming her down, even if a little bit.

Serah calmed down, sitting on her bad and giving the wall a blank stare. She overreacted in that hallway... The gunshot was probably some sort of training excersise. Yeah... That... That had to be it... Taking a deep breath and gathering her courage the blue haired girl left her room. She made her way over to the cafeteria, stumbling into Elora along the way. Serah tried not to let anyone notice, still having a smile on her face, but the messy hair, frilled clothes and tired looking eyes betrayed how she truly felt. Once they passed eachother Elora said something which Serah really didn't want to hear.

Ian's still alive. They're taking him to the medbay.

...No way. No way no way. Ian got... Shot? Serah already feared the worst but now it got even worse. Why was he shot? What happened? Who shot him?! Serah just let out a soft "...Mhm." back, not finding anything worthwhile to say. She decided to go to the medbay. She had to see Ian, to know what happened. Why did she leave?! Maybe Serah could've prevented it... Blaming herself for Ian getting shot she went over to where she thought he was. Hoping dearly he'd be okay. She... She'd find something different, though.

Ian was going in and out of consciousness for a bit, the only things he could really focus on was Utano's screaming and Sigma helping him down the hallway, though it was all a blur for a while. That is, until he felt needles slip into his heart and brain. That woke him up just in time to the meet the horrid monstrosity roaring into his face before clamping its misshapen jaws into his leg, causing Ian's breath to hitch as the pain tore through his body. His teeth clenched together as it was torn backwards by the harpoons in it's back, taking a rather large chunk of his thigh with it.

It took everything Ian had not to scream as it happened, the mixture of pain and fear almost overwhelming him. But one thing was stronger than his fear of the monster, and that was the strength of will he had spent his entire life cultivating. He wasn't going to give Lorenzo the satisfaction, not today.

"Interesting pet, Lorenzo, was he this butt ugly when you captured him, or was that your handiwork?" Ian chuckled, a cold sweat making it's way down his face as his heart seemed like it was going explode from how fast it seemed to be beating. The second time the beast came at him, he didn't let out a sound, his face scrunched up in a look of intense agony. Yet he stayed silent, actually spitting a mix of blood and saliva into the creature's eye. The only sound thay followed was that of his bones breaking, the pain causing him to clench his fist, a muffled groan scraping out of his throat.

Ian could hardly think, it took every drop of his will to keep from screaming out from the pain, and it was only barely keeping him from breaking. But to him, that was enough. He was being pushed to his limit, probably beyond his limit, and he wouldn't lie, some part of him was actually enjoying this. Not the pain, not the intensity, but the fact that he had every reason to believe that he would die from this, it set his adrenaline racing through his veins. This was the biggest rush he had ever been on, the closest he'd ever felt to the edge between life and death, and deep down in his subconscious mind, he wanted to cross the border, to let go off his earthly ties and see if there was anything on the other side of mortality.

Ian looked up to look Lorenzo right in the eyes, pulling a smile that spoke of defiance and insanity. Ian was almost convinced he was going to die today, and if he was, he wasn't going to let this sadistic fucker break him. Maybe it was the intense pain addling his mind, maybe he was just this crazy, but he was going to be defiant to the end. If he was going to die today, he wasn't going meekly into the darkness of the void. He was going to stride in with his head held high.

@AtomicNut
@Gnar The Missing Link

Two rapid shots brought Takeo back to his home planet and the war against the Cruxi, and he immediately fell back against the nearest wall to find cover. His head was on a swivel, trying to spot the danger. Oddly, everything else seemed to freeze, and then reality continued on, ignoring the disturbance. There was no alarm, no further shooting, and the look on the face of the lieutenant spoke of business as usual.

Takeo felt his heart leaping in his chest as he forced himself to relax and move toward the doorway, the source of the gunshots. Everything registered, then, and the scene played out retrospectively in his head. Lieutenant Ritsu had handed the XO her sidearm. He moved to the hallway to confront Ian, and shot him in both his legs.

Confusion and disbelief brought the mechanic's thoughts to a jarring halt. Ian was being disciplined. He understood that. But what kind of discipline was this? On his home world, the battle against the Cruxi brought everyone together. Everyone was family, everyone protected each other - the bullets were for the Cruxi, and them alone. Why did Lorenzo waste such precious resources on hurting Takeo's fellow pilot?

Sigma pushed passed him, knocking him out of his thoughts, and picked Ian off the ground. Something else introduced itself into Takeo's thoughts, then, something he had rarely experienced before. It was the vice grip of cold fury, grinding his teeth, twisting his face to indignation. His bones creaked in white-knuckled fists, and his arms shook with violent energy.

Why? Takeo's voice was a roar in his mind. I've failed to protect him twice, now. Why did I let this happen? WHO are we supposed to be FIGHTING!?

The XO escorted Ian and Sigma away, something Takeo didn't notice until they were gone. Fiery eyes found the lieutenant's as she made to leave, the woman whose gun put Ian on the ground. He only watched her as she left, trapped between anger and subordination, unable to find the words to speak to her. He had to speak to someone, had to ventilate his rage before he did something he knew he would regret.

"Good luck, Ian..." Korie said, nearly whispering.

Why would you say that? What do you know? Takeo followed Korie as they left the scene, waiting until they were both out of sight before stepping in front of the other pilot. Once more, he could not find the words to say. He could only stare at Korie with wrath and anguish painting his face, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring his smile back.

@Gnar the Missing Link

Zan heard someone coming up behind him. The person walked up, which was Ian beside him and put his arm around Zan's shoulder. So in-return Zan grabbed Ian's arm and squeezed his arm very painfully as he removed it from his shoulder as a warning.

"Why hello there, I've a few questions for you, Zan, my man . . . it's Zan, right? That's what ol' Lorenzo called you so I'll assume that's your name. My name's Ian and I'm wondering . . . think any of the girls here are cute? I mean, they are all very pretty, but are there any you take a particular interest in? Maybe the shy, delicate looking Elora, our the serious commander, Sigma, the sexually confusing Korie, or the highly excitable Serah?" asked Ian.

Zan didn't even need to think about his answer, but before he answered Ian's question, Ian was shot in the back of both of his knees. The perpetrator was XO Lorenzo.

"You're right, I am too idealistic... and you aren't special, you're pretty disposable," he muttered before kicking Ian hard across the jaw and stomping on his face, before shooting both of his shoulders while smiling in front of Zan.

After the punishment started Zan took his leave and went to start training. Zan was unfazed by the 'show' since he had seen punishment as bad as that before.

"A shame really, your sister was so happy that she was going to be able to see you again... to bad that you have your head so far up your ass that you can't see that you are nothing more than a battery for the Framewerks, can you? I could cut off your ar..." said Lorenzo as his voice slowly faded away, while Zan walked away.

Zan heard a girl scream, he had no idea who it was. He didn't really care though, since he had more important things to do.

Lorenzo just sighed a bit as he watched the Cruxi gnaw and eat Ian's leg, digging down straight into the bone and ripping out flesh... before the creature was yanked forcefully back thanks to a button that Cedric pressed. "This is getting us no where... Sigma, if I heard you correctly you wanted to join in, yes? If that's correct... then Cedric, place all the restraints back on him on full power, would you?"

"Alright..."

"Sigma," Lorenzo took out a fork of sorts between his fingers while a pair of pliers in his other fingers, before grinning, and holding it towards Sigma. "Be a dear, would you, and carve out Ian's left eye with these, and feed it to the Cruxi? Oh, and break off each of Ian's toes while you are at it. And make sure he screams and learns his lesson, if not... he dies. We don't have time for this, and I'm growing bored of looking at him," he said dully.

__________________________________________________________________

"A-Ah... Hey Takeo," murmured Korie as they noticed their fellow pilot suddenly appear before them. Giving off their usual smile, they tilted their head a bit, before continuing, "I take it you're pretty upset about what happened during the debriefing, huh...? Yeah, it was harsh... I... I think Ian will be alright."

Korie frowned a bit, thinking if they might have been lying or not, unsure of what they might be going through, before shaking their head.

"Anyway, would you like to grab some coffee? You don't look so well. I was heading to my room... but we could always stop by the cafeteria and grab something to eat if you'd like, Takeo," they said as the walked towards Takeo a bit, noticing that they weren't their normal looking self, nor were they smiling like they usually do.

"Takeo?"

(Got GM permission for the following.)

Serah eventually stood in front of the medbay. She was scared of going inside of there. Seeing what happened to Ian. But he'd be fine, right? He's probably resting right now... Sleeping like a little baby... Everything will be fine... She won't lose someone else... Swallowing her fear and gathering some courage, Serah opened the door to find... Nothing. "Uhm, Nurse? E-Excuse me nurse?" She called out to the supervisor of the medbay, them turning to the little girl. "Hm? Is something wrong, Serah? Need a check up?" the nurse asked, causing the pilot to shake her head. "N-No... I heard that Ian was carried here by Sigma. Is he here?"

A feeling of dread began to sank in, and was only reinforced when the nurse said "Sigma and... Ian? No... No, I don't believe they passed here. Why do you ask, Serah?" ...The world was suddenly spinning. Where is Ian? Was Elora mistaken? Is there a second medbay somewhere? An emergency room? The girl nodded towards the supervisor, weakly muttering "...Nothing..." before exiting the office. This couldn't be happening. No way. Serah became as pale as a ghost, and walked almost automatically towards the mess hall, hoping to find... Anyone.

Sigma couldn't control her tears. They were running down unchecked through her cheeks. And yet, she didn't avert her gaze even once. Half because the grotesque hellish scene had her frozen in place. Ian's rictus of agony and screams were flailing her soul numb and making even breathing without hiccups difficult. She felt like passing out just for what was watching. She could feel how her panties had been soiled from before, and her heart as if she was about to burst out of her chest.

And yet...she was gritting her teeth. Clenching her fists, trying to muster whatever willpower had left. No. Turning. Back. She kept mentally reassuring herself as she watched through the ordeal.

And then... a reprieve. Sigma eyed cautiously Lorenzo while he commanded Cedric to stop. And then he spoke. He spoke of her hurting Ian. Sigma felt like breaking down. But she didn't. She got up sluggilish, and wiped her tears with her sleeve. She thought of what was at stake. Why they were doing this. Desperate times called for desperate measures. She wished this was all a nightmare, that this was a cruel play of a Psychopath.

But Lorenzo wasn't any of that. Unfortunately. They had turned him into that. And the culprits were the Cruxi. She grabbed the tools shakily at first, then gritted her teeth. She wasn't crying anymore. She couldn't cry anymore.

"Millions of lives." Sigma said, with the tools on her hand as she advanced towards the Cruxi. Fighting against her instict to flee, each step like enduring a punch in her face. "Millions, of fucking human lives." She kept saying as she grabbed the fork and in a bout of courage and anger, furiously stabbed Ian's eye.

"MILLIONS OF LIVES ARE EXTINGUISHED AS WE ARE PLAYING MEDIEVAL INQUISITION, IAN." Sigma finally spat, her voice having turned in a growl. "I don't care who you are. Or how brave you are. If humanity's survival demands that you have to be broken down, that I have to endure this... It will be done. " She added as she plucked the spherical eyeball of ian, with a sharp tug and twist and almost gagging waved it in front of the cruxi's mouth while she eyed Lorenzo.

"Next. The toes." She growled, snapping the pliers.

Other than Antwon, Zan, and Korie, everyone else seemed to turn into an emotional wreck by the unfolding events. Ant could hear a scream and some loud chattering as he was making his exit, but didn't bother turning back before putting in his headphones for some more noise rock; ironically, the closest source to comfort Ant had in this madhouse. The reaction from Lorenzo was exactly what Ant expected, having seen it countless times, having spent most of his childhood growing up in dark alleyways, where life on the streets was measured by stature above all. I guess it really isn't any different with the rest of 'civilized society'...

After changing, Ant found some peace and solitude in the mess hall, left to his lonesome, finding his private quarters rather tight and depressing. His heart sank, however, at the sight of the loud, excitable girl flying into the room. She was making a bee-line toward Ant; he looked behind him on both sides, having to ensure she was actually heading to him. Oh, good Lord... Antwon muttered under his breath. Anyone else. Anyone but the freaking ray of sunshine. Ant looked at her with glazed eyes, anticipating being asked some asinine question like what his favorite season was, or if he had a unicorn, what color would its fur be...

Ian was making a good show, but that's all it was. He wanted scream his throat raw as he witnessed his legs getting turned into mincemeat by the deformed creature that was consuming them, but any scream that did go out was muffled by his clenched teeth and lips. He eas too proud, too willful to given into that slimy fucker. And then, it was over, the creature was being dragged back and Ian let out a ragged breath of relief, just managing a small smile to cross his face. Lorenzo was saying something, but Ian couldn't make any of it out through his pain addled mind, and he honestly didn't care what the psycho said. As far as Ian was concerned, he'd won this battle of wills.

Hearing Sigma's voice and footsteps he looked up, wondering what she was doing. Then his mind exploded with indescribable agony as she shoved something into his left eye. Unprepared and already drained from before, the scream that clawed it's way out of his throat faced no resistance, his body jerking and straining against the restraints holding him, trying to get as far away from Sigma as he could. The scream soon grew into an animalistic roar as she yanked it out of it's socket, blood mixing with the tears that streamed down Ian's face. The screaming and struggling died down a little after that, only to ruse again as Sigma got to work on his toes.

Ian's back bled as he thrashed about, the needles tearing gashes into his flesh as he tried to escape the pain, all of the pain. About 5 minutes after Sigma finishes, Ian would be huddling up as far into himself as his body and restraints would allow, his figure shuddering violently as his screams broke down into agonized sobs. His remaining eye was covered by his hair, leaving only the gaping socket to be visible to those present.

@Gnar The Missing Link

@AtomicNut

"Why are we here?" Takeo asked, struggling to keep his voice steady. "To fight the Cruxi? Then why is it ever okay to fight each other?" He wasn't thinking of a mock battle, but a lethal assault on a fellow human being. "What kind of institution is this? We're supposed to protect each other. I can't..."

Takeo realized he was nearly incomprehensible. He could hardly think of what he was saying before he said it. Thousands of independent thoughts slammed into one another within his mind.

"What...what will they do with Ian? Don't tell me you don't know!" Takeo suddenly barked angrily at Korie, this time unsuccessful in restraining himself. "You smell like this place. You're one of them. I didn't...I didn't sign up for..."

Suddenly he collapsed, slumping against the wall. Can't say that. Don't know who will hear. I don't know what to do...He was suddenly aware of hot tears running down his cheeks. I can't save anyone...

While walking Zan heard someone yelling. "Why are we here? To fight the Cruxi? Then why is it ever okay to fight each other? What kind of institution is this? We're supposed to protect each other. I can't... What...what will they do with Ian? Don't tell me you don't know!" said whoever it was.

Zan turned down the hallway where he thought the yelling was coming from. The source of the yelling was Takeo, which the one he was yelling at was Korie.

"You smell like this place. You're one of them. I didn't...I didn't sign up for..." said Takeo, who then slumped against the wall. Takeo started crying as well.

Zan was extremely pissed now. He quickly walked up to Takeo and punched his fellow pilot in the face. Zan didn't really have to try that hard to do it with Takeo breaking down and all that. The punch mostly likely knocked Takeo onto the ground. If Korie tried getting in his way Zan would do whatever he had to do. Which Zan then gripped onto the front of Takeo shirt with both hands. Then he lifted Takeo up and slammed into the wall, and started to yell at him. "These are desperate times and desperate times call for desperate measures!" Zan getting into Takeo's face. "That was punishment for Ian's back talking to a superior! You need to man up, you piece of shit and stop crying about shit that someone brought upon themselves! Or you are going to get yourself killed and others along with you, cause you can't handle seeing someone get hurt, you little bitch!" Zan then slammed Takeo into the ground. "Are you going to stay down there like the piece of shit you are, or are you going to get up and train so you will actually be useful in the war against the Cruxi!" Zan waited for Takeo's reaction. For Takeo sake he better pick the one that Zan thought was right.

@Tancuras@Gnar The Missing Link

Satisfaction.

Complete and utter satisfaction was all that was that could describe Lorenzo's grin as he watched Sigma carry out her orders. Picking up one of Ian's discarded toes, and flicking it at the Cruxi only to watch it hungrily eat it like a starving rat only made chuckle in delight. "Very good Sigma, I'm delighted to know that I can count on you to carry out orders... and not only that, but you also helped Ian from not dying... although, I wonder if he would have welcomed a lovely death at this point," spoke Lorenzo as he patted the broken Ian on the head all the while smiling.

"I also think the Cruxi has taken a liking to you Sigma, maybe you should feed it some more I wonder?" joked Lorenzo as he laughed aloud before pointing towards the drooling Cruxi as it was staring at Sigma... clearing wanting more to eat.

"Funny. Sir, shall we go ahead and start replacing his legs and eye?" murmured Cedric as he looked over the panel that he was staring into.

"Of course... Hm," Lorenzo took a couple of steps, before walking towards Sigma. Pulling the traumatized girl by her hair and pulling her off to the side, he gripped her by her hair and promptly spoke again, "Remember, Sigma, this is partially your fault because you couldn't control and protect your team... and this might happen to the other members of your squad as well if you can't protect them either. Not only that... but just imagine if I'm not there to keep the chain on a Cruxi..." grinned Lorenzo as he promptly slapped Sigma's face softly with his bloodied hand, before pushing her out of the room. "You are dismissed!"

"...Can we get to removing his legs and replacing his eye, sir?"

"Can't I talk to my subordinates in peace, Cedric?" groaned Lorenzo as he promptly walked over to where Cedric was at, and took his place at the Panel.

"I hate kids more than you, so calling kids subordinates is a waste of time. They'll just get in the way..." spoke Cedric as he rummaged over a table, and took out a large handle with a chain-like saw attached to it, before beams and electricity started to flow through it and a loud roaring sound could be heard from it. "So, we're still keeping him awake during the whole procedure?"

"But of course... I particularly like that last scream... that I'll enjoy hearing it again from here on out. Oh, and feel free to remove everything below the knees, they're useless to him now thanks to the Cruxi. While you are at it, make sure to dig out anything in his eye socket that he wont be needing either. The torches, drills, plasma cutters, bolters, whatever you need to fix him up is at your disposal."

"...and as for his ear?"

"...I'll leave that to you."

"So, how human do you want me to make him... I can always make him look like our friend over there..." spoke Cedric in his monotone voice as he looked at the Cruxi.

"Normal looking Cedric... I'm not that heartless."

"Hm... Give me sixteen hours then."

"That fast, eh?"

"It's slow compared to what I usually do... I haven't had anything to eat, and I hate working on kids."

"Fine, fine... Make it twelve and I'll treat you to some delicious pizza, deal?"

"Anchovies and octopus?"

Lorenzo frowned and gave off a disgusted look. "Whatever you want... just get it done within twelve hours."

Cedric then smiled and licked his lips at the prized pizza ahead of him, before starting to cut off Ian's legs as he began to operate on the young Cadet in order to fix him. His first smile ever since Ian, Lorenzo, and Sigma entered the room.

"Delicious..."

@Raijinslayer@AtomicNut

________________________________________________________________________________

As soon as Zan finished speaking, a black blur was all that he would see in front of his face as the back of his head made contact with the ground; Korie had kicked them with the back of their boot- and hard as well.

"You shouldn't have done that, Zan..."

Korie got in front of Takeo, and promptly glared at Zan, clicking their boot hard against the floor and ready to hit again if needed. For some reason, what Zan did pissed Korie off. They lost their usual demeanor and their emotion... kind of like back in the Mock Battle when everyone was in danger by Antwon's traps and hellfire... they felt the need to do something and throw themselves in harm's way.

Although, in this particular situation, they were more than pissed off.

"Takeo... You are right, maybe I do reek of this place because I know too much, but I wish I didn't. But know that he will be fine, he wont die... I know that he wont... although, I can't say the same for Zan here if he tries something stupid again."

"I find it funny how the 'robot' is the one who is trying to act all different now... Let me guess, did a few screws go loose or did you get a reprogramming?" glaring at Zan, Korie promptly raising their hands in a defensive position, clenched their fists, readied their legs. It would seem that despite their build that they clearly knew how to fight, and they had every intention to.

@Thanatos@Tancuras

Iskander was perfectly willing to drag the bloodied imbecile, but the new squad leader stepped in to perform the task. He honestly didn't care who did the deed, as long as it got done. Iskander dropped Ian unceremoniously, and walked away with his hands held out in a show of sarcastic submission. Then she went on to suggest that he was about to cause some sort of issue. Like what, provoke their obviously insane commander? Yeah, he had better plans than that. Besides, how could she sense sedition from him? Was she a telepath? He doubted it, since the Atlanteans had been culling psykers since the fourteenth century before Christ. That, or they never existed. One of the two, he could never get it straight.

Either way, he had better things to do than stand around while blood was pooling on the floor. He also wanted to avoid any unnecessary altercations with the other pilots. He could feel the tension rising in the room, especially around a particular trio of males. Iskander made his exit, stage left, returning to his quarters. Making a point to step over the trail of blood leading down the hallway, he quickly made his way back to the room that had been assigned to him. Spartan, but livable, Iskander didn't really have any belongings to fill the room with, aside from his clothes, and a pair of particular possessions.

He retrieved them from their case, carefully holding them in the unsteady light of the fluorescent bulbs above him. Their silvery sheen glinted back at him, forcing him to squint just to inspect them. Czar blades; awarded only to the finest of Lemurian warriors. Forged of the orichalcum of lost Atlantis, their form took the shape of their wielder's desires. Or as he had discovered upon inspection by his Framewerk trainers, their nanomachine composition reformed according to pressure and temperature. That was how he had smuggled them out of the Lemurian compound, after all, passing them off as dull training blades. As it was, their usual composition was sharp enough to take off a man's arm at the shoulder by letting the blade fall on it. An ameture would likely maim themselves trying to wield the blades. An expert could maim themselves attempting the proper Czar style. Iskander was neither. He was a warrior of Lemuria.

He changed back into his usual garments, complete with his traditional crimson cloak and lengthy braid, and sheathed his swords at his hips. Their blades folded down to make them seem far smaller than they were, appearing to be little more than simple utility knives. In a place where someone could be shot for merely vocalizing disapproval, Iskander felt far safer with his swords. The sound of muffled screams but a few rooms away made his decision feel very smart indeed. Iskander returned to the others, who had apparently not progressed far, only to find that all hell had broken loose.

Iskander gave a particularly bored-sounding sigh. "Can we not? All of these dramatics are very tiresome, and I can assure you that no one is impressed."

"Umm, Utano? Hey, It's okay, Ian's going to survive. He won't die. They're taking him to the med bay as we're speaking. Sigma's making sure of it, and I completely trust in her."

Utano turned to see Elora there, looking at her with concerned eyes. Hastily, she wiped herself clean, stifling whatever emotion that tried to well up from inside her again. She must look like such a mess right now.

"I'm also scared, I really am, but running away never helped me. It only made things worse. Trust me, I've done that a lot."

"Is.. is that so. I see. The outcome is still the same isn't it. Even if we run it's still the same." Tears started trickling down her cheeks again, though she was unaware that she had started crying again. "We're all just some tool for them, so it doesn't really matter what happens to us right? That's why, if we stay or run, it will end the same. It will be... the same."

All the warm feelings she had prior to the meeting had evaporated, leaving her feeling rather empty inside, and very perplexed to how things turned out this way.

"Sorry." All of a sudden she regained her composure, as she started to wash her face again. "I'm sorry for bothering you. Please inform the others I will try to cooperate as best I can, for as long as I can."

When Serah entered the mess hall, one person was there. Antwon. Nobody else. While normally she'd be dissapointed by the deserted room, Ant was more than enough for the girl right now. She practically stumbles over to the older pilot, desperation in her eyes when "W-Where's Ian?! Elora said he'd be in the medbay but he's not there!" was blurted out. Sera bit her lip. "S-Sorry... I... He's probably fine... I just don't know what happened... I wasn't with you guys..." She barely managed to hold back her tears, grabbing one of the chairs to have a seat. Her legs were starting to buckle and give way, almost causing her to collapse. "...Can you... Please tell me what happened?" The girl asks the older boy, but not bothering to make eyecontact. She didn't have the strength nor will for eyecontact right now.

"No, it's fine." Elora suddenly felt heavy, and she suspected that it was her adrenaline stopping. So much has happened in the past ten minutes that she's had trouble keeping up. But now it seemed like things were going back to normal, or as close to normal as one could get in this situation. "Umm, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll always be here. I know from experience that sharing your worries with someone really helps. Okay, I'll let the others know. See you later, Utano."

As Elora walked back to the changing rooms and changed back to her casual clothes, Elora couldn't help but feel like there was something odd about their XO officer. There was the kind of spark in his eyes you don't see on normal people, like if he viewed the world through a filter of some kind. She also suspected he was actually insane, but she wouldn't admit that. Surely people put into such a position must be clear-headed and wise for them to be effective commanders. The professor's just stressed out due to his secret test of character failing. Still, whether he had any mental illnesses or not, he was their commander, and they would have to obey him, or else they would end up like Ian did. Thankfully Sigma got promoted to squad leader out of all of them. She's keeping an eye out for Ian, I'm sure of it.

Elora felt a bit hungry, and thought about going to the mess hall to get something to eat, but she first wanted to check the briefing room, just in case Sigma had problems with moving Ian. She walked in to find Korie and Zan punching each other. She covered her mouth with her hands in shock. Her face was turning red, and her feet started shaking.

"P-Please...stop fighting...stop...STOP FIGHTING!"

(I've got GM Permission for this post)

Sigma let go of the tools with a loud clank, tears rolling down the face once again. She heard the fatidical sentence. "You're dismissed." She felt like that was a waking up slap, as she slowly turned her face to the madness for the last time. "Yes...yessir." She then started walking towards the door, closing her eyes at intervals. For her, it was over, but not for Ian. She gritted her teeth as she uttered a last sentence. "I'm sorry about my ineptitude...I'll improve." She spat the words, almost as if droning. Words that had been once so common, when countless time she had been flung like a ragdoll in the hands of her trainer. Battered, bruised, at times wishing to die. But that never happened. All veterans, they all are the same. She thought with bitterness. What kind of people had been those two before the war? She bitterly wondered as she kept walking.

She looked terrible, tears rolling down her cheeks, bloodstains in her face, hair and clothes. Her panties were soiled as well, and she walked like if she wasn't even there, with a slow, zombie-like gait. And then a figure interrupted her slow walk towards her living quarters.

Lieutenant Ritsu. She was staring at her. And dear god. She was staring at her with sad eyes. Her sight made contact for only a brief second, but Sigma flinched. That sentiment of pity was just as bad as Lorenzo's torture had been now.

"I am sorry for what you have to see and endure, Pilot." The Lieutenant said curtly, and then she handed a small box to Sigma, which she took in her hands, with a rather confused expression. "It's a gift as your promotion to Squad Leader." The Lieutenant said. "It's a specialized stungun and a tazer." Sigma looked briefly at the contents of the case, and then closed it. She shook her head. She really wanted to call it a day, and cry herself in her sleep.

But there's still more to do, Sigma. Millions of lives. Remember that. She steeled herself somewhat, as she bowed in thanks, and gripped the case tightly. She began to walk towards her dressing room. She couldn't possibly discipline people looking like that.

"Come talk to me once you're clean and you finish your tasks." The woman finally added, as she looked at Sigma before walking away, to be left at her own devices.

Sigma wanted to say something, but words didn't come out. She then bit her lip. First, dressing room. Then briefing her squad.