Twisted Destiny

Part 14 - The Facility

Everyone else seemed unaffected by the deafening sound that had echoed around the room mere moments before. All chatter that was silenced for a moment when the bars closed down continued almost instantly. Everyone else seemed calm, as if this procedure had happened multiple times before. Not knowing what to do, but with no other options, Lantana began to wander around trying to find Violet, and assess the others that were trapped here alongside her. She assumed Violet would be near the gates as she would have been one of the last ones in. Then again though, she had seemingly wandered across the room in seconds, so she could easily be anywhere. The atmosphere was very congested, as there were many individuals crammed into one area, and in some places, it was completely blocked off because of the sheer number of entities. Carelessly wandering around though, her eyes wandering all around the room, she didn't acknowledge a giant wolf-like man. As she crashed into him, he immediately spun around and gave her a nasty side eye. Even though he didn't communicate any words, she got the general idea, and from that point onward, began to be cautious of her surroundings, and steered clear of anyone who looked dangerous. It was certainly a strange group gathered there now that she had seen more of the captives. About a quarter of the people seemed like true humans, half seemed like human hybrids, and the last quarter seemed like another species entirely. Finally, after almost ten minutes of pointlessly wandering around looking for her friend, she saw a lock of black hair followed by a dirty, leather tunic that crashed into her.

"Lantana!" Violet cried out in relief

"Hey. It's only been a few minutes though, what happened?" She asked, immediately sensing something was wrong.

"Come on! See for yourself it's bad and I can't explain!"

Confused, Lantana followed Violet as she was practically dragged through the mob of people. Both man and beast scowled at them as they passed, except for one person. Dull brown eyes, and matching shaggy hair, Lantana felt that she had seen them before, but couldn't place him. In a flash though, he was lost in the crowd as they continued to push past people until finally arriving in a corner that was oddly... secluded. Nothing was in it except for one raggedy bed, with an equally  beat up person warily sitting on it. He was old, very old judging by the wisps of white hair that spread across his head in little tufts, many bald patches springing up in between. That was along with the long white beard that almost reached his knees in the hunched over position he was currently in.

"Rin! Can you tell my friend what you told me, please, it's urgent!

Warily, the old man glanced up at Violet. Then, he turned his head to face Lantana. Old, weathered eyes, ones that looked as if they could hold the knowledge to the world, faced Lantana. And then, in a fluid motion that would have been missed if she hadn't been watching him, he held up a hand, and pulled it back to him, as if beckoning forward. Looking to Violet for confirmation, she also urged her on, so Lantana took a step toward the man. He waved his hand once again, but this time, downward, as if telling her to crouch. Complying, Lanta bent her knees so that she was at eye level with the man. Then, he spoke to her. A quiet, raspy voice that had a peculiar accent, native to the land she assumed.

"It's a testing facility. They take humans, hybrids, mutants, and perform operations on them. They turn humans into superhuman, turn them into weapons. They know about your country. They want to take it over. It's the last piece that's missing. Before world domination. Even though you may not know of it, there's a... weapon that has been on your lands that protects you from attacks. The weapon is no longer in your territory. But, they want to attack your people soon. They will brainwash you," he beckoned her even closer, and whispered into her ear. "I was tested on once. They made me the Rin. I sense power. Beings with powerful auras will obviously result in stronger weapons, and dangerous, advanced tests can be done on them. Your friend there, I can sense her aura. It's not normal, in fact it's one of the most powerful I've ever experienced. I believe she is one of the descendants of the dying race of White Mages.