Welcome once again, everyone! I will preface with saying that this chapter has no involvement from any of the parasites, so if that's your thing then I suggest you skip this chapter; though you will be horribly confused as a result. This chapter is entirely from the point of view of Samael, Dr. Franxx and even Lilith at some point. Hope you enjoy it! Also, I had a lot of fun writing the action in this one. As always, let me know what you think!

Chapter 11

Old Friends

Hell.

I was surely in hell. There was no alternative explanation: no other logical reason for where I found myself now.

I was chained to a wall, my wrists bound and shackled by unbreakable irons as I was forced to kneel in an empty, unlit room. A heavy, cast-iron collar was clasped about my neck and it tethered me to the ground so that I could not move even had I the strength to do so. A device of devilish design was affixed to my face as well, and from it spewed the distilled essence of evil: images of slaughter, cruelty and other endless horrors flashed through my eyes as scalding-hot knives burned their way into my mind with every fresh image, turning me and twisting me into something less than human. Something cruel. Something... monstrous.

So, I thought to myself, this must be hell. Colder than I imagined. Wet, too. How... disappointingly squalid. How fitting for a wretched creature such as I that I suffer in indignity for all eternity. I suppose hell really is of your own make.

The scene changed.

I was standing in a frozen forest now, wind howling through the trees as it bit into my exposed skin. I was naked from the waist up. I was moving. Running. Running over frozen earth.

I was barefoot.

I was armed.

I was on the hunt.

I leapt over a fallen log covered in frost and spun around a tree. A man turned, saw me, and swung an impromptu weapon in the form of a heavy tree-limb. I ducked, delivering an open-handed blow to his solar plexus that drove him back several paces, gasping for air, and then I drove the metal spike I was armed with through his chin and up into his brain. He twitched once, twice and then went slack. The corpse dropped backwards and plopped into the snow. That hadn't been a glorious kill, nor particularly skillful, but it had felt... good.

I looked at the hand that had done the deed. A coat of steaming-hot crimson painted it until the elbow. I let out a laugh- the only sound in the frozen forest. And then I took up running once more, because my mind told me that he wasn't the last. There was more blood to be shed. Always more.

Was this frozen vista purgatory- the realm of lost souls? Why can I kill here? I wondered idly as I sped through the forest, once again drawn ever on wards by the call of the hunt.

"Samael..."

The scene changed again.

I was still running. My body shifting with every step, caught unbalanced by the increased weight of the equipment I now carried, the various portions jiggling erratically with my movements. None of it was truly important though. Only the weight of the rifle in my hands mattered.

I half-jumped over a ditch and my leg caught, pulling me down just as a hail of rounds stitched through the air above me. I was lucky. The brother behind me was not, and I watched from relative safety as the bullets opened up a scarlet valley upon his body until he separated at his abdominal section.

For the smallest of moments, a woman flickered into reality behind him, blue-skinned and hauntingly beautiful, but something was inexplicably off about her. Her lips did not move as she said my name.

"Samael..."

I turned and raised my weapon, pulling the trigger and roaring alongside my weapon. For the brother lost, I raged at the foe. I raged at the world too, for the sorry state my brothers and I were in. I raged at myself, for it should've been me that had died.

This is a memory. I do not die here on this field. But... why am I here again? Am I dead now? I could only question my own actions as I followed them, unable to influence any of it for I was a slave to the memory.

The scene changed a third time.

I was mid-act this time.

There was a man kneeling before me, unarmed and defeated. He looked up at me, tears streaming down his face as he pleaded for mercy, begging for his life as he sniveled nonsense about having a wife and child- like that mattered anymore. All I felt was repulsion for his pathetic actions, for my brothers had possessed families as well- wives and children to call their own- but, that time was far, far in the past. Our families were gone… and we were owed blood for our loss.

I pulled the trigger without a hint of remorse or thought of the repercussions. Just like our families, the Geneva Conventions were a thing that existed only in passing memory.

I turned from the messy affair, but stopped as she appeared before me once more.

The apparition's torso had manifested this time, but her body was... abnormal. Inhuman even. Her lips moved now as she called to me.

"Samael."

This too is a memory, but I do not remember her being here.

The scene changed again.

I was on a battlefield again, but it wasn't the same one as before. This battle had been lost the instant it had begun. The land around me had been scorched black by radioactive fire as buildings had been torn down by cataclysmic winds. I wasn't alone here, for what little remained of the area's inhabitants were scattered out and about in the form of charred skeletons. I took a single step and heard a bone crack beneath my tread. Every step was like that here, for the area itself was a mass grave. So much death was laid before me now: so pure it was, so undiluted by life that the entire scene stole my breath away with its grim majesty.

Another memory... but why? Why have I been brought back?

I looked about for anything- anyone- that could have survived the blast, just as I had the first time I had been here. But no one had. Nothing could survive the primeval energies unleashed by the antithesis of life.

Nothing could survive the wrath of man.

The revenant stood there again, coalescing within the remnants of a shattered doorway. Her body stretched downwards and to her knees this time. Her body was all wrong, though. The proportions were off, the muscles subtly different and the bone structure altered just enough that she was clearly not human. But, still she spoke again.

"Samael. Awaken."

The scene changed again.

I was in a chamber, an office of some sort. No, a laboratory. I held something within my hand. Something sharp. Something coated in fresh blood. I looked down. It wasn't just my tool that was covered in blood.

The floor was drowned in it.

Bodies lay about, dismembered, broken and torn. Flesh was rent and organs were pulped. There must have been a dozen and a half corpses spilled about me. I was the cause of all this death. I was the one holding the weapon, after all. It should have troubled me. This violence that I had unleashed, and yet, I couldn't bring myself to care. Something within me told me that they had deserved it. Something darker within me told me that I should enjoy it.

This has to be hell. I was never here. I did not murder these people.

I turned and the blue-skinned woman had already fully manifested behind me. Her hand flashed out to grip my throat, skin freezing from the ethereal contact. Pools of endless sapphire bore into me.

"Wake. Up. Samael."

The scene changed again.

I was seated upon a throne, the metal fixture far different from my surroundings. The area surrounding me was not made by human hands, fashioned as it was by a people far more ancient than my own. I could not move from my place. I was too integrated into the machine-throne upon which I had been placed. Wires and cables ran freely about and into me, plugging into veins, grabbing onto nerve endings or even running straight into my temple, whereupon sat two neural interface ports gifted to me by my once-friend.

"Are you ready in there, Sam?" His voice crackled in from the comm system. I reached for it in order to reply, sending several cables rattling about.

"I'm here, Werner. How's it looking on your end?"

"All systems are green out here. We can begin the test whenever you're ready."

I chuckled at that. "I'm always ready, friend."

"Sam, this isn't something that's been done before. If it fails, you could die."

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. This is all for science, is it not? Besides, if it fails then nothing important is truly lost."

"Nothing, that is, except for your life..."

I shrugged, knowing full well that he couldn't see it. "Like that matters. Now, are we going to continue this pointless debate, or are you going to let me do my job and start the damn test?"

I heard him sigh across the comm and I could almost see his facial expression. He was definitely shaking his head and squinting his eyes, thinking of something to say in order to admonish me. Such behavior was a usual occurrence when I was around him. "Fine then. Let's begin. Activating initial test in T-minus ten. Nine. Eight. Seven..."

I awaited the end of his dramatic countdown, impatient to begin the test already. Until I saw her once again, the specter manifesting before me in all her glory.

This time was a fully realized form, from head to- well, talons. She was clearly not of human ancestry, and appeared slightly 'demonic' in appearance, even managing to have a pair of horns; though one had been cleaved off her head, leaving only a broken stub. And her eyes- what eyes!- once again captured my attention. They promised an eternity of silence and nothing more. I couldn't resist wondering what such a peace would feel like. I wanted her to take me there, to the edge of the abyss, and then throw me off it so that I could be excused from this wretched existence. That was all I had time to think before she launched at me, grabbing ahold of my throat as her eyes stabbed into me.

"Awaken, Samael!" Her voice boomed, brokering no argument.

I obeyed, and at long last, I awoke.

My body jolted forward, catching upon the restraints that bound me to my throne. I pulled, but they did not relent. I was trapped. And blind. I felt panic well up within me, but I crushed it, for I refused to be controlled by fear. Instead of turning inwards where familiarity lay, I forced my perceptions outward, so that I might understand the situation better. I could feel warm, stagnant air upon my exposed face, so I knew I had to be somewhere in the material world now. There was a throbbing in my head too, deep and pulsing violently. That vicious little sensation told me that I was, for better or worse, still alive. How fortunate. +Lilith. Situation report.+ I reached out for my partner, seeking her alien personality.

+ Ah, Samael. Finally, you're awake. Have you any idea how hard it is to resuscitate you?+ And her presence slipped into my mind with an icy sensation. The pain in my head ceased at once.

+ Not at all. And you're one hell of an alarm clock by the way.+

+ What do you mean?+ I sensed her confusion across our connection. It was genuine.

I hesitated before my next message. What words could reasonably describe what my dream had contained? To hell with it. She already thought I was insane. + I had a... vision of you. You weren't exactly... subtle.+

+ A vision? Of me? Interesting... the fact that you saw me at all suggests a possible lingering after-affect of your fatal incident. I have to wonder though... is it psychological or physiological? Your brain should have been properly reconstructed by now- aside from the occipital lobe disconnection, of course. I'm still struggling to repair it. I wasn't expecting it to be this delicate. Are all of your kind this fragile?+

+ Hold up... why is my occipital lobe disconnected? Just what the hell happened to us?+

+ You don't remember the fight, do you? I suppose it was too much of me to hold out hope that your memory would remain intact after the damage you received.+

+ Did I receive brain damage?+

+ That's an understatement. There was very little of your brain even left after the fight. I've been busy these past few days, putting you back together again. It wasn't easy. I had to literally rebuild your synapses manually, piecing together what I could based purely on blind instinct and a fair amount of trail and error. Thankfully, we share similar neural architecture in our respective anatomies- aside from a few notable exceptions.+

+ Not even my beloved brothers would have managed to save my life. I owe you much gratitude, my partner.+

+ No, you do not. I didn't save your life, Samael. You died. Horribly. Painfully. Catastrophically.+

+ I died? Are you sure? How did it happen?+

+ Without a doubt. You were very dead. As to how it happened: we sustained a ridiculous amount of damage during the fight, so much so that the excess in stimuli caused a feedback overload to your neurological core. As you had foolishly assumed the majority of the neural burden, this damage translated into a massive seizure in which you suffered heavy brain hemorrhaging, ultimately leading to a fatal stroke. There was barely anything left of you when I finally enacted the preservation protocols.+

+ And then... you brought what was left of me back to life?+ I asked incredulously. Well, perhaps my journey to hell hadn't been a madman's dream. Perhaps, the place even existed. How quaint.

+ Of course. What's so hard to understand about that feat?+

+ The fact that you brought me back from the dead is a good place to begin. How is that even possible? You have any idea how difficult it is to regenerate nervous tissue?+

+ For your kind, yes, I suppose it would be quite difficult considering your species general ignorance. But, remember that I have full control of your body- even your cellular structure obeys my will. At that level of control, it is simply a matter of time for me to repair any damage- even severe radiation poisoning would be a mere inconvenience to me. The real achievement of your resuscitation was finding a way to stimulate your neural core to return to a working condition. I had to... shock you, a couple of times. Honestly, not my finest moment...+

+ Well, that certainly explains the overly-aggressive hallucinations, but now I have even more questions: if you have such control over my body, then why even bother bringing me back at all? Why not just use my body like the puppet it is? Why do you even need me in a conscious state?+ No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't fathom why she would do so much to restore my consciousness. Why not cut the middleman out entirely? She didn't seem particularly fond of me to begin with anyways.

+ Because, Samael, I still need you... or rather, I need your brain. Your mind, though horribly primitive and borderline insane, acts as a primary neural anchor. Without you, my consciousness would have literally nothing to tether itself too, and I would drift into oblivion within a scant few months. I cannot let that happen, not while I still have a mission to complete. Besides, what does it matter anyways? You admitted yourself that you did not care if you died.+

+ That is the truth. I couldn't care less if my life was snuffed out, but I'm still having a difficult time in believing that you expended so much time and effort just to bring me back. I cannot possibly be worth that much effort.+ And this too, was my belief.

+ I have already explained why I need you based purely upon practical reasons, but if you still have difficulty grasping your resurrection, then I will appeal to your sense of duty, honor or whatever it is that you hold sacred as a human. You belong to me, Samael, for you swore to stand with me until the bitter end and I will do everything within my power to hold you to it. Did you really think your death would be the end of our arrangement? Did you really believe that I would relinquish my hold over your soul just because you were slain? No, our arrangement is over when the mission is complete and I say it is. I even offered you a single chance to annul our arrangement before, but you did not take it. So now, you belong to me, Samael, and me alone. Do you understand now?+

Perhaps, I should have been worried by her answer. It was, under normal human circumstances, a clear indicator of an abusive relationship. But, then again, this was not a normal human situation nor did we have an easily-defined relationship. Thanks to our deep-level connection, normalcy was no longer applicable, if it was ever even relevant in the first place. And, if I was being completely honest, what she had said had resonated throughout my entire being. Whether she had known what to say because we shared this connection or because she was being emotionally manipulative mattered little, because I could not deny her simple truth: I belonged to Lilith. Perhaps, I should have resisted her claim to me, but I could not. She had brought me back from the dead before and I could never again overlook that- after all, it was more than any human had ever done for me. Not even my beloved brothers could conquer death; though if there had been a way, they would surely have done so for me. And so, I came to peace with my willing enslavement.

+ That might be... the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me, Lilith. I might just start to tear up over here...+ What I said was a half-truth, for no one had ever before been so honest as to why they needed me and I appreciated it- but that didn't stop me from slathering it in a healthy serving of sarcasm. She, of course, did nothing to address it, once again leading me to wonder as to whether or not she understood sarcasm. I was beginning to think my efforts were going to waste.

+ That's mechanically impossible, Samael. You have no tear ducts. Your eyes are artificial constructs; bio-machines tailored specifically for use in combat scenarios. They do not require such obsolete procedures as 'lubrication'. All that is required is their physical reconnection- that is, if I could just figure out why your occipital lobe is not accepting them. Why is the human neural core so, so... ill-designed? The entire front half of your brain is completely unresponsive to your eyes.+

I had a small chuckle at her frustration and I took no small amount of pleasure in correcting her. + The occipital lobe is located in the rear of my brain, near the base of the skull. Not the front.+ For a long, long moment, nothing happened. Lilith was dead silent. The silence stretched further than I was comfortable with and her absence became almost palpable. + Lilith?+ I inquired.

Incandescent light assailed my senses, tearing me from the blind darkness. I flinched and turned, hissing in pain as I instinctively sought to withdraw and wait for the light to move on. For a long, horrible moment, it did not, and it seared its way into my mind instead, seeming to burn away my retinas. I heard her voice in the distance, as if she were far, far away. + That will do.+

+ Seven hells, Lilith! A bit of a warning next time?+ My vision cleared with a snap and it came into focus immediately. There was no moment of blurriness or dull vision like one might expect; no gentle ease from the blinding light. The cockpit was simply thrown into perfect resolution without a moment's wait, lit by no source but the machines within my own skull.

+ I warned you well in advance. Now, standby for audio receptors reactivation.+ And then the world exploded into a cacophony around me. It was the sound of shredding metal and industry; powerful enough to drown out any other sound in a tidal wave of raw destructive force. I endured the noise easier than I had the light, but unlike that period of excessive illumination, this did not fade with time. It persisted, clinging to its wretched life until I realized precisely why it did so: the sound was real.

+ Lilith. What the hell is that noise?+

+ Oh, yes, that. I had almost forgotten.+ She said nonchalantly.

+ Forgotten! How could you forget that? I can barely hear myself think!+

+ I was concentrating on your recovery+ She replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. + I couldn't let the humans distract me from such a vital- not to mention, meticulously delicate- operation.+

+ The humans are producing that sound?+

+ Well, not them, but their blasted machine is the origin of the chaotic distraction.+

+ What machine?+

+ The magma-drill that has been eating away at our armor for approximately three hours.+

+ The what?! When were you going to enlighten me with this tidbit of information?+ I was aghast that we had wasted so much time bickering amongst each other. Humans were our shared enemy and humans were now on their way. We needed to prepare- and soon. How could she not realize this? Why had she waited so long to tell me all of this?

+ I was going to inform you when it became relevant. It is now relevant.+

+ Well, thank you, Lilith, deciding that this critical information was now relevant to the situation.+ Honestly, I didn't understand why I still used sarcasm on her. It was about as effective as harsh language was at holding back the sea. + Tell me, then: what convinced you that now was the opportune time to inform me of an impending enemy and not when I first awoke?+

+ Multiple factors: the primary being that your resurrection was required in order to put up any sort of active resistance. Now that you are here, we might be able to mount a proper defense. The secondary factor is that they only now just breached the tertiary armor layer, which means that it will be ten minutes at best until they arrive.+ She replied with a solid response backed by irrefutable logic.

The short notice of an impending enemy didn't phase me in the slightest. In fact, quite the opposite. I felt... invigorated by the news. Elated, even, that very, very soon I would have an enemy before me- and that meant I would get to kill.

Killing was easy to understand. It was simple and pure, and even the dullest of morons could understand it on an instinctual level. It was not something to be feared or abhorred: it was to be embraced as a natural behavior. Put simply, killing was the taking of life for whatever reason one desired: survival, values, religion, even... freedom. Killing was the nature of man, and what man could deny his true nature? Only a coward would fear the beast that lurked within his heart. And that was why I embraced killing as not only a necessity, but as an art form- the truest expression of humanity: the purest of ideals: the rawest of desires. It was to this end that I enjoyed fighting, for what was fighting if not structured killing?

As an additional bonus to the impending conflict, I would soon be able to find out just what my new body was capable of and I was eager to find my limit. I could feel it pulsing within my limbs: a deadly strength to surpass any lethal potential known to man. My new body was made with combat in mind, and that promise of lethal power swept me up in a pre-battle elation- one so powerful that I nearly forgot about Lilith's neglect to share vital information. Or rather, I simply realized how pointless it was to remember it.

In the end, her concealment- intentional or not- did not truly matter, for I was born to fight and she had given me the greatest tool with which to indulge that practice- but it was not the new body that cradled the last few vestiges of my humanity. No, it was the purpose she had bound- one could even say 'slaved'- me to. I was no naive fool. I knew her mission to 'preserve' the world would require many more of my kind to die- and I was all too happy to indulge what was sure to be a massacre. And so, with my head already swooning with the slaughter-to-be, I forced myself to instead concentrate upon the situation at hand. + Lilith. What are our available weapon options?+

+ As it stands right now: you and your claws. + She replied, falling into the tone of a seasoned warrior with ease. Lilith and I disagreed on many things, and our relationship was not easily definable, but she and I did share a mutual respect despite every difference. After all, both of us were warriors through and through: killers, to the very core. And so, I did not panic when she said that all we had available were my bare hands. That was more than enough to kill with- with my new body, it might even be too much.

I looked at my hands now. She was right in the sense that they were claws- and they were still shackled to my throne. That was unacceptable. + Lilith? Withdraw this contraption. I cannot fight like this.+ The right one immediately clanked open, but the left held fast. + Lilith?+

+ I offer my contrition, Samael. That restraint is unresponsive. The connection must have been damaged at some point. It will take far too much time to diagnose and correct the error. We must prepare for your fight as is.+

Like hell. I studied the arm, noting the similarities it bore to Lilith's own form. That same mottled flesh made up the meat of my arm whilst contoured armor plates covered most of the surface area- except for obvious concessions, of course... such as the elbow area. To hell with it, I thought to myself as I acted upon a radical idea that had spontaneously formed in my mind. I raised my hand, claws ready and poised for a downward stroke. Lilith sensed my intent thanks to the bond we shared.

+ Samael! No! Stop this mad-!+

Too late.

My claws, sharper than any human blade could ever be and three times as dense as titanium, sliced through the exposed elbow joint, sheering the forearm off with startling ease.

+ Oh, Samael... you fool...+

I stood up, now free from the throne's restraining devices and looked down at the severed limb as it leaked a vicious fluid onto the deck. I was still forced to stoop here, the cockpit not configured for one of my incredibly-enhanced stature.+ What? If you can regrow brain cells than an arm should be nothing, right? Or was all that talk of your superiority just that- talk?+

+ Samael, of course I can regrow it, but the process would take time and energy- time, which we do not have, and energy, which I have in dangerously short supply. Besides, I cannot possibly craft something as complicated as a functioning limb with the limited processing power I have available now.+

+ Hmm. Well, it matters not. I have mobility now. That was worth losing a limb. We actually stand a chance now. I'll get us out of here, even if I have to do it single-handed.+ Literally.

+ Well, that is not necessarily true. There is a far cruder option available, one that I believe might even suit you and your, uh, primitive tastes...+ And then I felt my left arm fluctuate as the miraculous occurred before my very eyes. I watched, transfixed with a mix of awe and repulsion in my mind as the stump of a limb changed. The meat and armor blended together and ran forward as a single wave of undulating atrocity. Within moments, the limb was less an arm and more of a butcher's cleaver: long, flat-bladed and possessing of a wickedly-curved edge that loaned it a cruel appearance. It wasn't a graceful weapon by any means and it lacked any hint of higher artistry, but it was a weapon, and that was all that mattered to me. + Oh, it actually worked...+

Despite her own admission that it had been little more than a shot-in-the-dark, I appreciated the end result more than I probably should have. + Oh, Lilith...+ I cooed softly, as if she were my lover. + You know just what a man needs.+

+ I can reform the other hand too, if you so wish.+ Her offer was kind, but I didn't take it up, even though I sorely desired to do just that.

+ That won't be necessary. I will keep the right as is. If I gain control of a weapon system or vehicle, I could turn the tide in our favor. I can't operate such things with blades for limbs.+

+ I concur, for that is rather sound reasoning- especially for one of your 'questionable' logic. Now, I take it you have some sort of devious plan in mind that involves an excessive amount of violence?+

+ Of course; though I admit it lacks 'deviousness', for it is rather simple: we will take the initiative from the humans. I assume you still have control over your own form?+

+ In a sense; yes and... no. I was forced to rearrange most of my internal neural circuitry in order to increase our defensive capabilities. The reforming process is still ongoing and cannot be altered- at least, nothing can be done to alter it in a significant manner in the few minutes we have. My control is severely limited for the time being.+

+ That's too bad. Can you at least open the cockpit before they enter? Preferably in an explosive manner?+

+ What do you believe my form to be? A breaching vehicle?+

I sighed. One minute, she bragged about repairing brain damage with ease, the next, she was listing limit after limit. It was beginning to irk me. And I so hated being irked. + Can you do it, or not?+

+ If you're seeking a fragmentation-like explosion, I cannot. I have no way to generate enough explosive force to produce shrapnel. I can, however, liquidate a portion of my form.+

+ And why would that help us?+

+ The bio-mechanical material's disintegration would create a wave of steam as a byproduct of the liquidation process. You could use it as cover.+ She suggested hopefully, but even I could hear the skepticism in it. We were running out of options.

I thought it over. It wasn't a terrible idea, but steam would dissipate naturally within moments. At most, I would have a few moments of concealment. I suppose it was better than standing around and striking a dramatic pose.+ Very well. We'll go with your idea. Just, warn me in excess of thirty seconds before you decide to pop the cap. Please.+

+ Of course. Have I ever not done so?+ Was she... was she serious, or was she being sarcastic? I couldn't tell. I mentally shook my head, dismissing her inconsistencies as irrelevant. I decided that responding to her question would only invite more conflict between us, so I redirected my mental faculties to a more productive path.

I took a knee and closed my eyes. With my experienced mind, I visualized the upcoming battle and began to run through various scenarios. But first, I made a checklist of every factor that would affect us:

Terrain: unknown.

Enemy disposition: unknown.

Enemy location: within immediate area.

Enemy count: assume to be overwhelmed.

Enemy's current state of moral: unknown.

Enemy equipment: magma-drill and, most likely, small-arms and squad-based weapon systems.

Enemy overall threat level: unknown.

After compiling what little I knew of the enemy, I assessed my own attributes:

Equipment: a single blade, claws, and Lilith's incredible tactical awareness.

Physical state of combatant: no known limits; unable to remain dead.

Mental state of combatant: irrelevant.

There were a thousand more things that would likely affect me, but in the end it was clear that I was far too ignorant to actually form a decent assessment of the situation. Which, of course, left only one option: shock and awe.

+ Thirty seconds, Samael. Get ready.+

I took in a deep breath, realizing for the first time that breathing required a conscious effort on my part. Since I had awoken, I hadn't actually been performing automatic respiration. As I rose, I strained to hear my own heartbeat- there was none, not even a pulse behind my eyes. None of this surprised me, for I had come back from the dead, but it was still... off-putting on an instinctual level. I idly wondered how much of me was still human- not that it mattered.

+ Ten seconds.+ I readied my blade. The damned thing was nearly the length of my body, but I hefted it with total ease. It was, after all, a literal extension of myself. I looked forward to using it.

+ Standby for liquidation process.+

The cockpit fell away before me. It quite literally melted, blowing an excess of steam directly into the cockpit as it lost its form. It should have burned my skin, for it was surely scalding hot, but I felt nothing but a prickling mist. My eyes pierced the veil with ease and I saw what awaited me beyond my sheltered world in perfect clarity thanks to my enhanced vision.

Several ranks of masked soldiers stood before me. They were all clad in body armor- flak vests, to absorb and disperse ballistic energy. They were armed as well, their equipment ranging from assault rifles to sub-machine guns; though a few combat shotguns had found their way into the mix as well. Most, if not all, of these weapons were pointed in my general direction; though, for the moment, I was concealed in a wave of steam, but it wouldn't last much longer.

+ Sixty-four armed personnel identified.+ Lilith chimed in.

Hell. That was more meat than I had expected there to be. Well, no use worrying about it. I moved- faster than I had ever moved before- and quickly cleared the cloud of steam before it could dissipate.

I struck from down low and the side, cleaving through half a dozen men that had been closing in on the cockpit. There was no resistance to my swipe, only a lingering wet-sensation that seeped through my blade and into my perception. I took a step forward, my clawed foot splashing in a pool of blood. The men had been bisected at the waist- torn asunder by my sheer strength.

Without hesitation, I speared forward with my blade-limb. Body armor cracked like ceramic beneath the blow and I pressed forward- one, two, three, four!- I skewered four fully-grown men upon by blade with laughable ease. I swept to the side, tearing the blade free from the corpses in a scarlet spray, only to bring it smashing down on a man that had a shiny emblem upon his helm- an officer, no doubt. The man disappeared in an explosion of rent meat and shattered bone.

What I lacked in 'humanity' these men seemed to have in excess, I thought morbidly. I drew up to my full height- and towered head and shoulders above even the tallest of my enemies. The ones nearest to me shrank away, their eyes bulging in terror behind their visored masks as they gazed at my blood-soaked form. I did not blame them for their fear. Within seconds, I had killed nearly a dozen men plus an officer and they had not even managed to fire a shot- I wasn't about to give them a chance to rectify that negligence, either.

I sped forward, aiming towards the nearest clutch of men; though I could've chosen any direction, honestly. The enemy was packed so tightly together that I wondered if they were men or sardines. It appeared to my tactically-centered mind that they had no concept of dispersion, packed shoulder-to-shoulder as they were. It would've been hilarious were it not the perfect recipe for a massacre.

I slaughtered another half-dozen men before one of them finally got a shot off. The brave soul in question wasn't so competent as his courage would suggest, for his shot went wide and ended one of his comrades before I could do it myself. In recognition for his unintentional assistance, I killed him last, slicing his head clean off in what I saw as an act of pure mercy. It was certainly the cleanest kill I would have for some time.

I charged again, barreling into another group and sending several bodies flying from the force of my impact. The survivors managed to return fire- the first men who had been able to do so as a near-cohesive unit. I twisted and turned, my unnatural reflexes allowing me to miraculously dodge some of the rounds. Some managed to actually hit, rebounding off the heavy plate I wore or simply sinking into my flesh with no lasting effect, but more often than not the shots went wide as panicked men squeezed their triggers frantically, hoping against impossible odds that the sheer volume of firepower would be enough to actually save them- it wasn't.

Finding myself in the thick of the group, I suddenly had an abundance of targets that were unable to fire without fear of killing their own. I turned this way and that way, striking randomly and without thought or hesitation, for none of them possessed the power to harm me. Men stumbled as they sought to distance themselves from the butcher in their midst, but I was too fast. I waded into them almost casually, tearing through them like a hurricane of violence and leaving nothing in my wake but death. Bodies fell all around me, their organs pulped and their limbs broken. I was soon drenched in blood: my appearance like a crimson spectre from the depths of hell. Considering I had been there and back, I knew what awaited these poor souls, and so I laughed as I reaped, mocking them with a gurgling chuckle as I harvested swathes of the frightened wretches. I could smell their fear wafting from their bodies- rich and chemically-strong as it warred with the scent of spilt blood for dominance. It was such an aroma that I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face. This was all a truly wonderful experience.

Through the press of stinking, shivering bodies, I saw another gleaming insignia arrogantly emblazoned upon a helmet. I reached out with my clawed hand, battering aside three other bodies that were too slow to move aside, and then I grabbed the man's head, raising him up high so that all of my foes could see him squirm in my grip. First had come the shock of my assault, but now came the awe.

I squeezed as I held him aloft. My claws closed with the strength of an industrial-scale vice and his head simply popped in my hand: helmet, skull and all collapsing until all I held were the shattered remnants of his cervical region. I roared as blood fountained about me, baptizing my rebirth into the realm of men as those closest to me cowered in fear, for how could they stand proudly against such brutality? My dramatic display coming quickly to its incredibly-gruesome end, I hurtled the now-useless corpse towards the closest group of men: they scattered like the wretched vermin they were and within moments their panic had spread like a plague to their comrades, the entire enemy force breaking and fleeing en masse. The survivors sprinted desperately for cover, fearing that at any moment the monster would find them next. I, however, chose not to pursue, as I had successfully chased them away from Lilith's form.

From the moment the steam had rolled out to the moment they had broken, the entire affair had lasted maybe twenty seconds.

+ That was dramatic.+ She commented with a casualness inappropriate for the situation. I agreed with her statement, but I took the time I had just bought us to appreciate our surroundings. Behind me was Lilith's form: oblong and featureless, but horribly vulnerable to exterior manipulation. Before me stretched an area that I recognized, albeit vaguely: it was more than likely a hanger within one of humanity's massive city-complexes. I had never actually been in one before, but I recognized the architecture well-enough. If this were true, then we were deep in enemy territory. That was... less than ideal.

+ Lilith? How much time do you need to walk?+

+ I've made many preparations for just that, but I still need more time. Several days would be ideal. Why?+

+ Because, I don't think we have several days...+ And, as if on cue, two oversized garage-style doors cycled open across the hanger, their doors shuddering upwards and revealing a worrisome sight: reinforcements. As they filed out in three perfectly-formed columns, I realized there must have been an entire battalion's worth of men: at the very least they had sent in three whole infantry companies, each one marching ten-abreast and thirty deep. Trundling alongside each column was their armored support- APCs with mounted machine guns traversing to sight in on my location. Behind each column loomed a far worse sight than any of that- three fat-bodied silhouettes that resolved into main battle tanks as they entered the hanger proper, rolling forth upon great grinding tracks and sporting an unrecognized pattern of armor. With their arrival, the entire formation fanned out, maintaining their perfect coordination as they stepped off as one. They advanced to my location at double-time, their singularly-unified footfalls reaching my audio-receptors despite the vast distance between us. + And here you thought I was being dramatic.+

+ Perhaps all humans share a flair for it? What is your plan?+

+ Plan?+ I chuckled as I turned towards her form. There was nothing even remotely human in her appearance- hell, even thinking her current form belonged to a living being was a stretch. And yet, I owed her my undying- literally- loyalty, for as long as she would have it. Thinking back on all of the promises of my old life- of the brothers I had promised to save- I realized that I had never once been successful. Always they had died, because I had been no more than a weak human: naught but a common man. But now, I had strength beyond that of mortal men: beyond even the demigods of the ancient legends. It was a strength given to me by a new partner- a partner that I would not fail this time. No, I couldn't fail her, not like I had failed all of the rest. And so, when she asked me for a plan, there was only one answer to give. + I'm going to slaughter them all.+ And then I turned to charge.

The distance between the foe and I closed alarmingly quick. I was fast- far faster than any man rightly should have been. My clawed-feet barely touched the ground as I nearly flew to meet the enemy's forces.

They must not have predicted that I would charge, for their formation changed with my actions, but they reacted with commendable speed nonetheless. The flanking columns broke away from the center and veered further to their respective flanks. It was obvious what the overall intent was. They were trying to surround me. I wondered if they realized that in their center was exactly where I wanted to be the most.

My enhanced vision picked up movement upon the front and I squinted, sharpening my sight to the point that I could read the serial numbers engraved upon their rifles. I watched as the center column came to an abrupt halt and raised those very rifles in perfect synchronization. The front rank dropped to a knee as the second sighted in over their heads. Twenty rifles belched a spray of automatic fire.

I brought my blade-limb up, shielding my face from the barrage of bullets, for though my body was proof against them, I worried that one might slip into my vulnerable eye and into the precious nerve tissue behind it. Death may have been an inconvenience for a creature like me, but failure was not an option. When the volley hit, it was like a storm of hail as six-hundred rounds peppered my body- yet not one brought me to a halt. I continued my headlong sprint without heeding what should have been more than enough to fell me. I peeked over my blade's edge, watching as two APCs wheeled out and swung into a defensive position directly in front of the column. They must have believed that a wall of armor would deter me. It did not.

At fifteen meters distance, I jumped.

My spine sprouted the armored tentacles that until that moment had been kept coiled within my abdominal region. Like mechanical intestines they had slumbered within me, but now they responded as any limb would. They surged forward and smacked into the deck, pushing me up and over in a single, mighty shove. Despite my incredible density, I was propelled high above the APCs, clearing them with plenty of clearance to spare. I continued my flight over the first few ranks as well before I finally came crashing back down, shattering the metal flooring below me- as well as the unfortunates that happened to be standing there.

As I held my crouch in the messy pool of gore, my hind-tentacles darted forwards from above my shoulders. They speared through the two columns of men before me, cracking through body armor, bone and viscera with a sickening ease. At my wish and under Lilith's guidance did these limbs operate, sweeping to the side and clearing the space of bodies before me. I charged forwards again, the path to the tank now much more clear; though a few dozen brave souls remained directly in my path.

I sprinted to the tank, battering aside the last few ranks of men that stood within my way, sending them flying above their comrades' heads. I saw the tank commander sitting in the supposed-safety of his cupola, but as I tore through the final rows of men that still stood, he hurriedly ducked into his mobile bastion, sealing himself away like a coward. I grunted in disgust, for a weapon mount stood unused but attached to the cupola. He could have fired the weapon at me- not that it would have been effective- but instead he hid like a rat.

A slow death, then. I decided.

I vaulted up and onto the armored hull of the tank and casually swung my blade-limb through the main-gun's barrel, severing it for good measure before I scaled the rest of the way to the top of the turret. There I found the commander's cupola, the hatch sealed to prevent unauthorized access. How cute. He actually thought such a measure would stop me.

Without a moment's hesitation, I violently punched the hatch. The metal held, but only barely. I delivered another solid punch and then another, and it was the third that finally caved the hatch in. There was no way I was ever going to fit through the opening, but my arm was just the right size. Without any ability to see inside, I sunk my arm into the tank, fumbling blindly for the first human-like form I could find. My fingers closed about something- a neck, or possibly a wrist- and I pulled with all of my strength.

My prize didn't come cleanly. A portion of him was caught on something within the tank and when I pulled with my ridiculous strength, well... he didn't arrive intact. I only needed his helmet though, and once I verified that he was not the commander, I tossed his body away- what was left of it, at least.

I plunged my arm into the breach once more. I could feel bursts of auto-fire prickle my backside and shouts of alarm rose about me from every side, but I safely ignored them. Until they brought out the anti-armor rounds, I had little to fear from the rabble of humanity. The other tanks warranted a far greater concern, but as long as I was located upon one of their own, then I assumed they would hold their fire. So far, I was correct in that assumption.

I found another human limb inside the tank and I grasped it tightly. This time, I extracted my prize with significantly more care, hauling him up and out of the tank without causing a scratch. Immediately upon the retrieval of my hostage, the weapons fire ceased- and for good reason. The man I had extracted wore an officer's crest upon his helm and I held him aloft for all to see. He squirmed and gasped in my grip, his eyes bulging behind a visor as he struggled against my strength, but I held his neck tightly and began to squeeze gently. I could have snapped his neck there and then, but the greater the drama, the greater the rout, and so I took my time in strangling him before his own men, increasing the pressure in measured increments. He struggled the entire time, fighting for his life with commendable desperation.

The officer drew a large-barreled pistol of a design I did not recognize and pointed it directly at my temple. He gurgled a barely coherent expletive in Italian just as he pulled the trigger, sending the ridiculously oversized round directly at my head. I smiled as my reinforced skull deflected it with ease. His face twisted in confusion and he frantically pulled the trigger again and again and again and again and again- until the weapon clicked empty. "W-What are-?!" His question was cut off as I increased the pressure and brought him in close.

"A monster." I sneered in perfect Italian. I laughed as his eyes bulged in a mixture of horror and confusion. Once again, he attempted to continue his fight as he reached down, drawing a combat knife from a sheathe upon his belt and plunging the weapon into my neck. The blade sunk all the way down to the hilt, burying itself deep within my flesh, but I barely took notice of such a wound. Within moments, the blade had been isolated by my form and the stench of burning metal permeated the air as manufactured acids ate away at it until nothing was left save a sizzling hilt that fell to the wayside.

Lilith did her work well.

"You know, I was going to kill you slowly, but... I think that show of defiance deserves some special attention..." I whispered to him, but he did not respond in any fashion beyond a strangled gasp. He was nearing the blackout point by now, so I wasn't really expecting a civilized reply. All he needed to do was die. And so, I lifted him even higher into the air as I positioned my blade next to my arm, the point staring directly up and at his stomach- a public disembowelment was always a good show of force.

"SAMAEL!" I froze as my name was called out. That voice. That. Voice. I knew it. I knew it all too well, for it was the last voice that had spoken to me when I was still a normal man.

+ Samael, what is it?+ I ignored her inquiry for the moment. How could he be here? After all these years, how could he even be alive?

"Werner..." I murmured as I slowly turned my head to look about the area, searching for my near-forgotten friend, but I could not locate him. I only saw the rows of men about me: hundreds of them as they surrounded me completely with arms at the ready. I saw the APCs as their weapon mounts zeroed in upon my position, but they held their fire. The other two tanks, islands of armor in a sea of flesh, turned their guns to me, but even they held their fire. An odd moment of silence descended and the only sound that dared to break it was that of the half-strangled gasps of the officer in my grasp.

"Samael, please, stop this madness." Unbelievable. It was even in the same language we had last spoken to each other- German, for I enjoyed the cadence of his native tongue.

+ Samael! What is happening? Who is calling your name?+ Lilith's voice reminded me of an oath I had sworn- an unbreakable bond in my mind. She was owed an explanation, but I didn't have a good one to give.

+ Someone that should have been dead a long time ago.+ I switched to my actual voice, resorting to the language that he had just used.

"Werner!" I cried out as loud as I could. "Is that really you?" My voice was boosted by my artificial form and projected clear across the hanger. The men about me flinched as those closest suffered for their proximity.

"Yes, it is. It's been so long, Samael, you've... changed." I finally found him. There was a skybox-like area high above me, nestled where the wall met the ceiling of the hanger. It must have been the control center for the entire area. I narrowed my eyes and they brought the structure into focus and I could see him there, standing within one of the windows as he looked down at me with his usual gaze of undisguised criticism and half-veiled arrogance. Oh, how I missed that look.

"You've changed as well, Werner. You have a very definable jawline." I teased him from my position, watching as his eye widened at my powerful feat of observation. I could see many things that had changed about him, such as the gleaming augmetic eye and the shock of grey hair, but the fact that I could see him at all from my distant location was incredible. I fancied it was unnerving for him to be so casually scrutinized.

Werner recovered his composure quickly and spoke again. His voice filtered in from the hanger's speakers. "Will you put the major down, Samael?"

Oh, right. I had almost forgotten my current situation. I looked at the squirming officer- the man was teetering on the edge of the abyss. I let him drop to the tank, my grip falling away from his neck, but I dared not release my only hostage just yet and I wrapped my claw around his head. Everyone had already borne witness to my strength. They knew he was in no safer position than before. "I can't do that, Werner. Not even for you. This wretch is the only guarantee that these men will live through this day." And I swept my blade across the ranks of soldiers.

"Samael, please. Has there not been enough pointless slaughter today?" And suddenly, I had doubts in my mind as to this Werner being true. The Werner I knew didn't care for the preservation of human life. Like me, he was a monster dressed in the flesh of man. It's why we got along so well.

"You and I both know, Werner, that there can never be enough slaughter in this world."

"I disagree. Times have changed, Samael. The preservation of human life is now my ultimate priority. You would understand if you could see this world..." I knew him well enough to sense the emotion in his mechanical voice. He truly believed what he was saying. Curious. This peculiar behavior warranted a deeper investigation.

"Oh, I've seen this world already, Werner." I jabbed my blade at the command center. "I've seen the children you put in command of those war machines. Preservation of human life indeed. Tell me: was it you that thought of that, or was it someone else?"

A new voice filtered in, deep and resonate, and not even in the same language we had been conversing in. "We did what was necessary, my child. Surely you must-?"

"Who in the nine rings of hell is that?" I interrupted the disembodied voice. "They sound like a pretentious prick. Werner, don't let that fool interrupt us again with his bastardized tongue. I need answers and you're the only one I remotely trust to tell me the truth." A moment of silence passed. I could see Werner turn to the side, motioning with his hands as he conversed with someone out of sight.

+Samael, what are you doing?+ Lilith asked as we waited for Werner to finish whatever he was up to.

+ I'm talking to an old friend, Lilith.+

+ Your track record for negotiating leaves much to be desired.+

+ Negotiating is for dealing with enemies and settling trade disputes. I am speaking with a friend.+

+ I do not like your friend. He is not trustworthy.+

+ To you, perhaps not, but to me, well... he is predictable, at least. He has patterns, the same as any man, and these I will exploit in our favor. Don't worry, I can control this situation, or do you really place so little faith in me?+

+ I trust you to take someone's head, Samael, not treat with them as if they are your friend.+

+ He is my friend, Lilith.+

+ He was your friend, Samael. You're something greater than any human has ever been, now. Just keep that in mind.+ And she lapsed into silence just as Werner spoke again.

"Fine then. We can discuss anything you wish as just the two of us. But first, please, release the major and step off the tank." I looked over at the man still held in my grasp. I smiled as I released him off the side of the tank and he plummeted to the ground. He landed on his ankle rather poorly and cried out in pain. I suppressed my laughter as one of his men dragged him away to a relatively safer location.

"The major is safe. I'm not getting off the tank, though. We can speak as is." Like hell I was abandoning my height advantage. Considering my new-found jumping prowess, I could easily reach one of the other tanks from where I stood now. As an added bonus, Lilith's form was well within my sight, meaning I could monitor the area about her for any threats. "First off: what year is it?"

"That's... difficult to answer without a lengthy explanation of the new dating system. That being said, you have been presumed dead for little over a century." I nodded as I accepted the information. I had known it had been some time, perhaps even ages, but... a mere century? And the world had changed this drastically?

+ Ask about the key.+ My lovely partner insisted with her single-mindedness that seemed to characterize her unhealthy obsession with 'the key'.

+ In due time, Lilith. There are social protocols to be observed.+

+ The fate of this world hangs in the balance and you waste precious time with your frivolous social antics? You truly are insane.+ She made a good point, and so, I acquiesced to it. After all, my first question had satisfied my own personal curiosity to some extant. It was time to return to my professional duties.

"Werner, where is the child known as Code 002?" I asked without any buildup whatsoever. "Is she safe?"

+ Mentally and physically. Ask about her state.+ Lilith practically stage-whispered to me.

"How is she psychologically and physically? Stable and well, I hope?" I amended my question and observed Werner's face as a flicker of surprise flashed across it. He turned once again to the side and I watched with my telescopic vision as the muscles in his face flexed with his conversation. The ancient man had no lips to speak of, though, so I couldn't actually decipher what was being said. The conversation seemed to grow heated as he began to gesture with his hands, waving them about frantically. As the intermission dragged on, I stole a glance at Lilith's form and ensured she was safe. The remaining two enemy companies had advanced further out, but had yet to make it to her before they had come to a halt. Still, their closer proximity made me weary.

"How do you know of Code 002?" Werner's voice returned, pulling me from my distraction.

"I met her." My reply was simple and true, but Werner's face twisted in doubt. He turned away, resuming the conversation with his unseen associates. I idly tapped the talons upon my feet on the tank beneath me, the rapping of steel a clear indicator of my impatience. The men about me stood awkwardly, fingers hovering around their triggers as they watched me. I could see medical personnel dragging away the wounded and bagging up the dead- what was left of them, at least. I peeled my lips back in a cruel smile, exposing my teeth- of which there were far more than there naturally should have been- to the soldiers as I ran my tongue across them in a deliberate move to mentally disturb the enemy. For the most part, though, my efforts went to waste, but here and there I noticed worried glances and slumping shoulders. My very presence was disturbing to these men- this pleased me greatly, and I began to wonder how else I could subtly undermine the moral of those about me. Just as I decided upon a particularly gruesome, but otherwise harmless, action, Werner returned.

"How?" He asked simply.

I cocked an eyebrow. "How? I walked up to her and engaged in a polite conversation. How else do you meet someone?"

"Please, excuse me for doubting your integrity, Samael, but my associates are worried that you are being... less than truthful. According to them, there are no records of you ever once having made contact with the child."

"And yet, just such an event has occurred." I brought my hand to my chest- exactly where my heart would have been had I still possessed such an organ. Then, feigning personal hurt, "Do you really doubt my integrity, Werner? Is my infallible character really being called into question after all this time apart? Or, are your associates just that much more credible than I?"

"You've been locked away inside the belly of a genocidal creature for an entire century, Samael. The changes to your form are obvious, but how could I possibly be aware of the changes within your mind? How do I even know if you are still remotely considered human in your thought processes? How do I even know you're still the same Samael that I said goodbye to so many years ago? The harsh reality is that I have no guarantee of any such thing and I must treat you as a foreign entity. I am sorry, Samael, if it truly is you but I have made too many mistakes to place my faith blindly." I was forced to concede to his point of logic. From his perspective, I simply couldn't be trusted. That was fine with me, for Werner was a means to an end in this life and I did not necessarily need his cooperation; though to obtain it would certainly smooth things over in the long run.

"That's all fair enough, but it isn't to her. After all, she isn't any more genocidal than one of our kind." Werner leaned forward, placing his weight onto a twisted cane with both of his hands.

"Her?" It was at precisely that moment that I realized my mistake. He knew now, that I was not working alone.

I closed my mouth and became incredibly conscious of my facial expression: I restored it to a placid state immediately. Maybe, just maybe, my skills at negotiating were not as sharp as those that pertained to outright conflict. Maybe, just maybe, Lilith was even right in that regard. I silently swore to never admit that to her, for she would never allow me to hear the end of it.

"Yes," I admitted, "her."

"Intriguing." His voice was low and practically drooling as it came from the speakers and I instantly recognized it for what it was. I now had his full, undivided attention as not just a man, but as a scientist. Perhaps, I could use his inexhaustible hunger for knowledge and understanding against him? My slip could possibly be an opening to a previously unseen advantage.

"Werner!" I called out. "I'll make a deal with you."

He managed to lean in even more, seeming to balance entirely upon his sturdy cane. "Do tell..." Now we were negotiating.

"Let me see Code 002. Let me speak to her and know that she is safe. Then, and only then, will I introduce you to her..." I dangled the carrot before him. But I watched with disappointment as he drew back, shrinking from the deal.

"Absolutely not. I cannot allow you to interact with her anymore than you supposedly already have. First off, I haven't the proper authority. Second, I just watched you tear your way through two score of highly-trained guardsmen. I have no assurance that you will not simply murder her the second you two are in the same room." I shrugged.

"They weren't that well-trained..." I turned my head and ran my tongue across my teeth as I made eye contact with one of the soldiers. He visibly shuddered.

"But, you see my point, don't you?" I sighed as I returned my attention to him- and noticed something concerning. There was a commotion within the two fore companies as men began to detach from them seemingly at random before forming three entirely separate squads. I noted that several pairs of men hauled metallic cases of oblong design between them.

+ Monitor those men. Inform me if they enter within a seventy-five meter perimeter about your form.+ The warning given, I resumed conversing with Werner.

"Oh, I do, but I fail to see how it is relevant. After all, you saw me tear into these poor wretches-," I swept my arms out to encompass the hanger, "- and I barely slowed. Tell me, Werner, if you truly believe anyone in this facility could actually stop me. They can't, can they?"

"That's not-."

"Oh, but it is true, Werner. It might not look like it, but I hold the upper-hand here. None of these men can stop me, and you know it. I know it. We all know it. If I wished, I could begin to systematically slaughter my way through this entire place, leaving nothing but rivers of blood and islands of bone in my wake, but I do not wish to do this. You might wonder as to why I do not commit to such a course of action, especially if I make it sound so easy, but I will only offer you the barest explanation for taking my precious time to negotiate with you: it would take even more time to kill everyone. Just know that this is your one and only chance to 'preserve' human life." I did not mention that Lilith required time to prepare regardless, but he didn't need to know about that. I watched his face as my words set in. He was stoic throughout the delivery of my ultimatum- for that is what it was- but even in the aftermath he didn't immediately react. He went silent for so long, I was beginning to think he would never reply, but I was wrong.

"You truly haven't changed, have you? You are still just a blood-seeking monster."

I couldn't stop the smile from creasing my face, even if I had desired to do so. "Did I ever say I wasn't?"

+ Warning: they have breached the established perimeter.+ My eyes flicked to Lilith and I saw the truth. The squads were moving in closer to her, hauling those same mysterious cases along between them.

"Werner!" I raised my voice, projecting it clear across the hanger. "I apologize for leading our conversation astray, but there are a handful of suspicious men moving towards my partner this very moment. Tell them to cease their movements immediately or I will be forced to..." A casual flourish of my blade-limb was enough to convey my intent.

"Those men? They are merely moving to secure a scientific specimen- pay them no mind." And yet, the men in question were armed with rifles, the weapons slung upon their backs as their hands manipulated the bulky cases. I had my suspicions of what those containers held. None of them were promising.

"I won't ask a third time, Werner. Tell them to halt where they are and return to their companies." My voice carried so well that there was no possibility that the men themselves didn't hear me, and yet, they didn't even waste time to turn their heads to me. My concern increased tenfold.

"I cannot do that, Samael. I have no authority over military matters." His explanation decided my course of action in a split-second. Those cases held no devices of scientific inquiry, but were more than likely some sort of weapon or even restraint intended to be used on Lilith. Such a thing could never be allowed to pass as long as I was sworn to her. As far as I was concerned, hostile action against Lilith was hostile action against me. And so, I acted without even bothering to speak to Werner. After all, I did tell him that I wouldn't ask a third time. And I was nothing if not a man of my word.

I leapt from the tank, soaring high above the surrounding soldiers before I came crashing down in their midst. None had predicted my movement, and thus none had even been able to track my short flight. By the time I had landed, my synthetic muscles were screaming as they propelled me forwards. I crashed through the ranks around me, not even bothering to end their lives. I was only concerned with reaching and protecting Lilith.

I broke free from the throng just as the first spatters of auto-fire traced after me- not that such things could harm me, of course. Immediately, I was face-to-face with one of the parked APCs. I merely lowered my head and leaned into a shoulder charge as I sprinted directly into the vehicle. The head-on collision should have halted my progress there and then, but whatever ancient technologies had created my form proved to be far greater in design than the human machine and it was battered aside, flipping onto its side and skidding away.

The whole incident had me wondering just how powerful I really was. Did I even have limits anymore?

Such thoughts were sidelined as I crossed the gap between Lilith and the human forces, sprinting straight through the kill-zone of all three companies. As soon as I had made my crossing, I set to work, stepping behind and skewering the first man without delay. I turned and decapitated his partner and the case dropped between the corpses. That left about thirty more men- fifteen pairs with as many cases.

I worked methodically, slaughtering those furthest out first before working my way in. Never once did I think to offer them a chance to surrender. They were hostile and had approached her with malicious intent, so by my simple reasoning they were to be treated with absolute hostility. And so, I killed them without a hint of mercy or regret, laying into them just as easily as I had before. They lasted mere seconds before my fury consumed them all.

Gone was the diplomat that had spoken to Werner- only the monster remained.

As the last man's skewered corpse slid free from my blade-limb, I turned, presenting my armored chest to the no-man's land between Lilith and the human forces. There were none of the case-wielders left and-

My world was sent tumbling: the floor, the open-air, the floor, the open-air, the floor again, and finally, darkness as I came to a skidding halt, face-down. My ears were left ringing from the shockwave as my head thrummed from the impact. These sensations were not so much experienced by me as they were perceived. I felt so far removed from the pain that I didn't even feel disoriented in the slightest-

+ Move!+

I rolled to the side without a moment's hesitation, but the blast-wave still managed to overtake me, sending me skipping along the ground once again. I came to a shuddering halt as I slammed into Lilith's gigantic form. With no where to retreat to, I stood upon trembling legs with my back to her- or rather, I slowly pushed myself up and used her to support me. I looked down to assess the damage done.

All things considered, it should have been worse.

My legs were twisted at unnatural angles and that wasn't even the worst damage. The right limb was missing everything below the calf and I noted with grim humor the talon that served as my foot was several meters distant- and still twitching. My chest had borne the full brunt of the initial impact, for my contoured breastplate had been gored so deep that my internal organs were on display. There were things in my torso that I did not recognize: black things that spewed dark ichor as they writhed: sacs of indeterminate use that pulsed with disturbing life: and at the center of it all, an engine of thrumming activity that heaved to pump a glowing, green liquid deeper into my body through many rubber-like tubes.

"Oh, what the hell...?" I muttered as I pushed off Lilith and stood as well as I could manage to upon a single, trembling leg. But, my words were not for the nightmare amalgamation of bio-tech within my chest, but for the two tanks grinding their way across the deck towards me, their barrels smoking as a literal army jogged behind them.

This was now an unwinnable situation.

"Samael! For old time's sake, stop, just... stop. You have nothing to gain by continuing to fight, and everything to lose by doing so. Just stand aside and let yourself be taken into custody. I have more than enough authority to promise you that you will be treated fairly and humanely." Werner's voice boomed from the speakers.

I shook my head, uncaring if he could actually see the gesture. "Damn fool..." he must've known that I would never surrender whilst I still breathed- or, well, maintained a conscious state of awareness- and yet he still offered it to me. What arrogance he still had in his old age!

Werner hadn't changed a bit.

I raised my voice to an appropriate level so that I could deny his ultimatum. "You insult me, Werner, for you know I cannot accept that. And even if I did, you gave no guarantee for my partner's well-being. I must politely... decline." And then I began to struggle forward, hopping awkwardly towards the oncoming enemy.

I had failed all of my brothers in my life before. I wouldn't fail Lilith. Not this time. And not ever.

+ Samael. Your dedication to my cause is admirable. I haven't even the words to describe the depths of my appreciation for your efforts.+ Her words caused me to beam with an unusual sense of pride. After all these years, I would finally manage to keep my oath. Or, so I thought. + But, this affair is at its end. I accept his offer. We live to fight another day.+

+ Wait, what?+ I came to a halt, but not because I was too baffled to continue. No, something had arrested away the control of my own limbs- or rather, someone.

+ Remember, Samael, that I own you. You will rage at my decision, but that is fine. It is in your nature to resist and I have come to expect it from you. It is what makes you my most precious asset. Now, rest your mind and know peace whilst you still can. I will call upon you soon and it will not be for peaceful reasons.+ It was already too late to protest. I was already falling to the side, my eyes closing as my will was shunted to the side by Lilith.

The last thing I saw were her sapphire eyes, and they promised nothing but silence and darkness.

She watched her partner fall with a casual detachment. His magnificently sculpted war-form thudded ingloriously upon the metal deck like a children's doll that had been discarded. She watched, both from her form and his, as his human kindred gathered around him and investigated his body. With a primitiveness that seemed to be uniform across their kind, the humans poked and prodded him with the barrels of their rock-throwing weapons.

All of his kind are just barely above apes upon the evolutionary ladder.

She continued to monitor Samael's broken form as his kin quickly carted him away. As she tracked him through the facility, she simultaneously diverted a significant portion of her attention to her own form as she began the laborious process of reconstructing her synthetic neural structure. Slowly, very slowly, she began rearranging every asset she had available as she painstakingly rebuilt her body from the ground up. Within the protective cocoon, Lilith's old form began to take shape.

Millions of years had passed since she had possessed a physical body that even remotely resembled her biological self. And now, she had the liberty to actually reconstruct something in her own image. She threw herself into this work, the pride within her mind growing as she fashioned a new war-form for herself. It was a difficult labor of love, for she was no bioweaver, but as her mind shaped matter according to her own desires, Lilith couldn't deny the sense of satisfaction that slithered into her consciousness.

She became so engrossed in this line of work that she completely lost track of time.

Lilith pulled herself from her work with a start as a sub-algorithm screamed for her attention. The minuscule thing was ridiculously simple, but it had been tasked with a mission that was far more important than its underwhelming simplicity would suggest. She had tasked it to monitor Samael- and she had been right to do so. He was beginning to stir in his rest already and that pleased her greatly for she respected his willingness to fight until his very last breath. But, this caused a problem, because she had yet to devote the time and resources to the reconstruction of his body. She was entirely unaware of the psychological effects that would be inflicted upon a human mind that awoke in a body so thoroughly maimed. So far, Samael had not displayed any sort of mental degradation due to his artificial reforging, but that didn't guarantee this would remain so. What she did now was for the best.

Lilith swept herself into his mind. His memories swarmed about her, assailing her with past woes and joys; though the former were by far the more numerous of the bunch.

She ignored every last one of them.

She owned Samael: from the scars upon his tortured face to the bio-mechanical organs that kept him from dissolving into a formless mass, she owned all of it. Everything about his physical form was merely an extension of herself. But, his memories were an exception- in fact, his entire mind was an exception. His ego belonged to himself, and she respected this sovereignty. And so, as she settled into his mind, she did not pry at all, for she respected her partner- or, at least, as much as one of her kind could respect an over-evolved ape.

But, this respect did not stop her from her act of suppression.

Lilith found his ego reacting to external stimuli: a familiar scent that had been detected by his enhanced olfactory receptors that she had left activated. She had thought that leaving such receptacles of information open would allow her to subtly gather environmental information, but now she saw her error. She moved to correct it.

She extended her presence about his surging ego- and then she smothered it. She drew the darkness about him and let it blanket him, simultaneously shielding him from any further intrusions. Within moments, Samael's awareness dimmed to nothing and he lapsed into a state of nonexistence, neither resting nor stifling, just... nothing.

Satisfied that Samael would no longer trouble her, she turned her attention to just what exactly had troubled him.

Lilith compared the scent to a million different items she was aware of. And then, the few thousand Samael had experienced since they had awakened. When no comparison was made, but Samael's familiarity with it remained unmistakable, she reached the conclusion that she would have to dig deep into his memories in order to find the answer.

She hesitated for only a second before she decided upon her course of action.

Lilith dropped the matter, and returned to her work, tasking the same sub-algorithm to alert her if he stirred mentally again or his body came to a stop.

It was only moments later that the alert was triggered.

She observed with pleasant satisfaction that the alert was now caused by his body having come to a complete stop- several kilometers distant from where she was now. Not ideal, but not necessarily too inconvenient. She could work with it. She pulsed a continuous signal through his body, using his form as an improvised antenna for the geo-mapping waves. With this information, she painted a picture of his surroundings as well as the electrical devices and organic structures about him.

Samael was being held in a room with monitoring devices aplenty. He was also the sole occupant of said room. With this knowledge did she determine that he was being held within a room designed specifically for observation. That was good, for it meant he was safe from immediate harm.

As her own reconstruction progressed smoothly, Lilith began similar work upon Samael; though her's would be the longer labor. He would wake long before her form was ready to act. But, that was fine with her, for she knew now that her partner enjoyed his socializing.

He even had a new friend to converse with.

+ Wake up, Samael.+

I obeyed.

+ Aw, there you back, Samael. Whilst unconscious, you were-+

+ Betrayer.+ I spat the accusation without delay. I tried to move, but I could feel nothing from below my neck. My vision was blank as well, not the darkness of blindness, but the pure white of absence. What was I staring at?

+ I understand you might be-+

+ Traitor.+ I found another word within my vocabulary that fit my partner.

+ No, not me-+

+ Deserter.+

+ I-I, uhm, n-no...+ She fumbled for an appropriate response. Perhaps, if she had apologized there and then, I might have dropped the matter. But, she didn't, so I continued without hesitation.

+ You gave in. You surrendered me- your partner- to the enemy. You sold me out. Coward!+ I hissed at her.

+ I… I no, I am no such thing and I did not sell you out. I only did what I could to ensure your survival.+

+ Survival? You can bring me back from the dead, but you made me into a coward by forcing my hand instead! Why did my survival matter more than my oath- more than my honor?!+ And that was the tipping point.

+ Your honor?+ The voice within my head froze over in an instant, and I suddenly felt like I may have pushed her too far. + What is your honor to the oath you swore to me?+

+ My honor is everything to me, Lilith! You had my sacred word that I would stand with you to even the bitterest of ends. Was that not enough? Was my promise to you insufficient?+

She pushed against my mind, her wrath as terrible as a deep-winter blizzard. + There is more to your damned oath than standing and dying, you barbaric ape. If I had wished for a mere meat-puppet, I would never have even bothered to bring your consciousness back in the first place. Did you ever once consider that I need more than a single-minded brute to accomplish my mission?+ Her fury was terrible to behold, but I endured it as I had endured countless adversity before.

+ More than a brute, is that it? That's what you want? And yet, you withhold critical mission information from me whilst making strategic decisions without ever once seeking my input. Sounds to me like you'd be fine with just a mere 'meat-puppet' as your partner. Perhaps, you should just shunt my consciousness to the side once again and use my body like the tool it is. You seem to have no qualms about suppressing me whenever it would suit your desire. Or did you think I would not notice?+ And then I felt her presence diminish with my words, the pressure within my head decreasing just as quickly as it had arrived.

+ You're right. You're absolutely right...+ She said as the cold melted away by something that I could not place. + I am a coward... I'm sorry, Samael, for the way I have treated you.+ Was this humility that I sensed within her words? Even genuine regret? Was it even possible for her to associate such feelings with me? + You swore to aid me in my time of need, and I am eternally grateful for that, but sometimes... sometimes I just... I just... I'm sorry, Samael, for failing you...+ And her words left me without a response.

Lilith's apology took all of the rage from my soul in an instant. My fury ebbed and died, curdling to nothing and leaving me horrible... empty? Was that the feeling I experienced? Or was I just lacking in any other emotion at this point? I could not tell. I treated everything as a battle, for that was how I had lived my entire life, but when she offered no more resistance... I could muster up no further desire for conflict.

Perhaps Lilith was the one of us that should have been the diplomat?

+ It's... fine. It's fine.+ I said with some awkwardness. I wasn't used to being apologized to. In fact, I could not recall a single instance wherein someone had offered me a genuine apology. I suddenly ached to move on from this conflict. + What is done is done, and it cannot be changed. Just... tell me what happened after you... 'saved' me.+

She seemed just as keen to move past this subject for she willingly moved the conversation forward. + After your kin carted you away-+

+ They're not my kin.+ I interjected.

+ -after the primitives-+ I took no offense, + -carted you away, I was placed under heavy guard and so decided to take the liberty to began preparations of my own.+

+ Preparations?+

+ Indeed. I am proud to report the restoration of my war-form is now progressing rapidly.+ I was suddenly intrigued by this new development and metaphorically leaned into the conversation.

+ How rapidly?+ I inquired with renewed interest.

+ Far more than I had first anticipated. My restoration will be complete within a couple of days rather than almost the week I had anticipated. And your reconstruction is already complete.+ I lost a little interest. Her reply ensured that boredom would now creep its way into my mind as I painfully waited upon her repairs.

+ You restored my body? Is my arm back? My foot?+

+ Yes, yes, and yes. Your arm, leg and even torso are completely restored. I also made some additions within your arm that I think you will find... pleasant later on.+

+ Additions? Like what?+

+ Your neural circuitry was rather rudimentary before. You mimicked the standard nervous system of most humanoid beings, but I... tweaked it a bit during the restoration process. There will be many opportunities to put the additions to test soon, but for now you won't notice a true difference.+

+ Are you withholding information from me again?+

+ Not exactly. I just thought you'd enjoy the surprise later on. You shouldn't even need to utilize it until it's absolutely necessary for the situation.+

+ And the situation doesn't call for it now, which is also... what, exactly? Where am I?+

+ As I said: they carried you away from me. Currently, you are several kilometers distant from the hanger and my form.+

+ And why can't I feel my body?+

+ Because, I have yet to restore your full-body control to you. I will, in a moment, but first I must pass to you a warning: you are being held in a room that is laced with monitoring equipment. I believe you are under intense surveillance.+

+ Or I'm being contained.+ I offered a counterpoint.

+ Most likely that as well. Your show in the hanger has the humans on edge. But, your 'friend' has been very true to his word. You have not been harmed. Your form has been scanned, even prodded and investigated by those crude tools they dare to call 'scientific instruments', but you have not been harmed or restrained in any manner.+

+ Give me control.+

+ Of course.+ I felt it flow back into my body. Feeling coursed its way through me; though I experienced it through a belated sense, as if I was slowly being submerged in a bath of warm water. Once that surreal sensation passed, I realized I could move and twitch my muscles with but a thought- just like a real body. But, as I sat up and looked around me, I knew better than to believe I was still wholly human for I remembered well the impossible feats I had achieved during the hanger.

I was in a very featureless room. The walls were blank and cream-colored. There was no furniture aside from the reinforced slab of metal I currently reclined upon. I threw my legs over the side and stood up, rising until my head nearly bumped the ceiling. Thankfully, I was not required to stoop here.

+ To your immediate right is another room.+ I turned towards the indicated direction and noted the featureless wall. It was the same as any of the other three walls. + I'm receiving an acoustic return that verifies that there is movement beyond it. There is also an absence of significant electrical signals for several meters.+

+ Meaning that it's an empty room?+ I ventured. + Perhaps the control room for this very cell.+

+ Perhaps.+ She agreed. + Although, whatever it is, I can not say it is entirely empty. Here, look for yourself.+

My vision changed, switching from the visual spectrum of human eyesight to one that was... not within the realm of normal human capabilities to observe. Everything was dark grey now, aside from a distinctive outline of a humanoid entity beyond the wall, but it shimmered with starlight. + What the hell am I looking at?+

+ You're looking directly at the nervous system of another human being- your friend's, actually.+

+ Werner?+

+ If that's what you call that reject of a cyborg, sure.+ My partner had a... curious view of other human beings. Of course, I couldn't have cared less about them, but it was amusing to know what she thought of them.

+ Can he hear me?+

+ Several of the audio recorders seem to be originating from the room he is currently in. He should be able to hear anything you say. You will speak with him?+

+ Of course. You need time, right? Besides, you basically accepted his deal already when you shut me down. Might as well humor him.+

+ You're fine with resuming negotiations? If not, I'd like to make amends for my last mistake and fully endorse your original plan of wholesale slaughter.+

I sighed with genuine regret as I denied her endorsement. + As fun as that would be, I must agree that negotiations will get us further than indiscriminate slaughter- probably. Either way, you only need more time. I'll get you it, and maybe I can even get some information from an old friend.+

+ Thank you, Samael. I knew I could rely upon you. Don't forget to ask about the key.+ And then she departed, shifting her consciousness to whatever task she needed to complete in order to walk again. I, on the other hand, shifted my attention to a task of my own. I judged where Werner's eyes might have been had there not been a wall before us and then I fixed my gaze to it. And then, I spoke to an old friend.

"Werner..."

Dr. Franxx wiped the sweat from his brow as he stepped free from the stifling room that the debrief had taken place in. Hachi was already waiting for him as he made his exit and the former parasite fell into step alongside him as the doctor oriented their shared path towards the observation cells.

"How did the meeting go?" Hachi began.

"It was a waste of my precious time! Honestly, who in the world demands I devote all of my work to unlocking scientific secrets, but then mandates I attend a three hour meeting in an un-air conditioned room? Like I care that reinforcements are on their way to break the bloody siege. If it was such a problem, then why did we even begin this farce in the first place?" The doctor tossed his arms up in despair, exasperated beyond reason that one man could be so demanding whilst remaining so... illogical as well.

"But, that's good news, is it not? The Gran Crevasse is the last viable stronghold the Klaxosaurs possess within this hemisphere, which makes it the most important strategic objective for the current war-effort. With it under APE's control, humanity will be that much closer to victory." Hachi felt it prudent to remind the doctor of the necessity of their presence near the Gran Crevasse.

"Bah! Victory? What a waste of lives and resources war is. Will this senseless obsession our species has for such a vice never be sated?"

"We didn't begin this war, doctor. They did. It is only right that we respond with equal hostility."

"Oh? Is that what happened now? I didn't realize, Hachi, that you were there the day it all began." Dr. Franxx raised an eyebrow at his pupil as they turned down a lengthy corridor together.

Properly admonished, Hachi briefly faltered. "I... wasn't, doctor. You know this. But, you yourself told me that the first Klaxosaur encountered was unreasonably hostile to mankind."

"I did tell you that, didn't I?" He mused as he perused his memory whilst Hachi virtually confirmed it with a clipped nod.

"You did."

He grunted. "Mmm. Didn't I also tell you of how it only emerged after we began to explore magma as an alternative energy source?"

"You did, doctor. But, you cannot tell me that the Klaxosaurs lay sole claim to a natural resource. It is well-within humanity's right to take and use the magma as we see fit."

"Whoever said magma was a natural resource?"

"What are you implying, doctor?"

"I imply nothing. I only caution against blind faith and jumping to conclusions without sufficient evidence." When Hachi looked quizzically at him, the doctor shrugged the matter aside. "Forget about it. It's in the past anyways and we certainly can't change that. Only the future matters now, and to that end we are more than fortunate that my research is now reaching a critical stage."

"I agree." Hachi willfully moved the conversation along, eager to forget the doctor's sometimes perplexing methods of philosophy. "The study of the specimen will yield valuable information that will finally turn this conflict in our favor."

"What? To hell with that nonsensical war-stuff! The specimen is far more valuable than just another war-asset. We have so much more to learn from our guest than how to kill Klaxosaurs more efficiently!" The two men rounded a corner and Hachi expressed his doubts upon the matter.

"Are you sure about that, doctor? All I see is a monster in that room. What could we possibly learn from such a creature other than how best to destroy it?"

Dr. Franxx raised a solitary finger in the air as he informed his pupil. "Ahhh, you're too focused upon the war, my boy! You must think in broader terms than just simple strategy. Use your imagination! Samael may be a bastardized monster, but he is also a bastardized monster of magnificent potential if properly utilized. Just imagine it, Hachi. The possibilities of finally uncovering the secrets of Klaxosaurian bio-tech! Humanity would enter a glorious new-age of civilization- one far greater than what we currently occupy."

"What are you saying, doctor? How could you possibly improve upon immortality? Are we not what humanity has striven for across the ages to achieve?"

Dr. Franxx frowned and shook his head solemnly. This youngster was born too late to know how short we fell of our ultimate goal. "Someday, Hachi, you will see just what I mean. But, until that day arrives, just try to keep an open mind- see the larger picture before you."

"I'm... not sure I understand." Hachi said with a slow shake of his head as they came to a halt just outside the entrance to the observation cells. Dr. Franxx turned to him with his inscrutable expression.

"You don't need to understand just yet, my young friend. I know that you will overcome your ignorance one day and find out exactly what it truly means to be human. Just do as I have asked. Can you do that for me?"

Hachi cocked his head to the side in confusion, but he agreed nonetheless. "Yes, doctor. You have my word."

"Good boy." Dr. Franxx said with a smile in his tone as he reached out to pat the boy- in his mind, at least- upon the shoulder. "Now, I have very important, world-changing matters to attend to. And you have the children to take care of. They will need your guidance soon. Do them well..."

"Always, doctor. Have a good evening." And then Hachi pivoted smartly on the spot and departed, heading towards his own office upon the uppermost level of the plantation. Werner watched him leave before he murmured the words he should have said to his pupil.

"Do them well, because I won't be there to help them." He sighed and entered the observation cell's control area without another moment's introspection.

The control center for the observation cell was empty, save for his lonesome. This was per his request, of course, and thanks to Papa, his request had been made into law. There were stations aplenty arrayed throughout the room, each one constructed around a different principle of observation: sound monitoring and collection, visual analysis, energy distortion recording, etc. But, they all went unmanned for the moment, save for the single station Werner now applied himself to.

His ancient fingers cracked as they danced into a stilted life upon the keyboard. He racked up several different tests to be performed upon the specimen, all of which were non-invasive and subtle in the extreme. They, by their very nature, would be far less effective than dissection or sample-collecting, but they were simple enough to serve his purpose and even managed to satisfy his burning curiosity to some extent- for now, at least.

Dr. Franxx sat back in his chair and eagerly awaited the results of the first few tests. Noting that it could be some time, he turned and looked at the primary viewer and the image it displayed.

The interior of the cell was unadorned and simple, save for the specimen and the table upon which he lay on in a death-like state. Dr. Franxx resorted to performing the oldest and most reliable forms of scientific inquiry: visual analysis. He studied the specimen known as Samael with as much intensity as he could muster and did his best to reach some sort of conclusion about his old friend.

From what he could see, Samael was... extraordinary. It had been mere hours since his awakening and the subsequent conflict within the hanger, but Samael's body showed little, if any, battle damage. Indeed, the only real difference now was that his ridiculously-oversized blade-limb had returned to a state that matched its opposite- of course, a thorough decontamination had also seen him returned to a state not literally caked in gore.

Samael was encased in heavy, turquoise-colored armor from the neck down, and it shared similar physical characteristics with a beetle's smooth carapace across the chest, thighs and extremities, but also borrowed heavily in design from the layered plates of a lobster's abdominal shell in other areas, such as his knees, elbows and even neck. The only skin that was on display was his face, for the rest of his body was covered by some sort of skin-tight body glove that seemed to be effortlessly thin, yet infinitely durable, for none of it had been broken at any point- even the area across his torso had been seemingly restored alongside the dense breastplate. His shoulder was also a peculiar point of interest, for his right side was blessed with a much larger pauldron than his left- to what end had this abnormality occurred, Dr. Franxx could only begin to speculate.

Eventually, he couldn't help but for his eyes to wander down and gaze upon the lethal claws that had replaced his hands. The fingers themselves must have been three, maybe four inches in length at the shortest point and nearly twice that at their longest. His arms and legs matched this bizarre up-sizing, and had swollen with a grotesque amount of thick muscle that seriously seemed to stress the integrity of his armor. If Werner peered hard enough at the still-image, it almost looked like the limbs had non-human muscle elements as well, for he could not place a name to certain contours of Samael's form.

Just what exactly had happened to his old acquaintance?

Dr. Franxx searched in vein as well for the tentacles that had seemingly sprouted from no where, but to no avail. There were no such limbs now, and that troubled the doctor's scientific mind greatly, for it implied the tentacles had come from within him, and such a thing was surely impossible. After all, that would mean his internal organs would have to have been displaced by the freakish things in order to make room within his torso, and that was- should have been impossible.

The console chimed softly, alerting the doctor to the completion of the first round of tests.

Their results were... disturbing.

For starters, he had been wrong- a rare thing for one of his impressive intellect. Samael was not- as he had first perceived- encased in a full-body glove of some sort, rather, the Klaxosaurian material was his skin.

And that was just the beginning.

The plates of armor affixed to his form seemed to be made of the exact same material that also served as his 'flesh'; though the armor was a far-more tightly packed group of atoms than the soft tissue, which remained as flexible as possible in order to fulfill such a role. This meant that the entirety of Samael's armored form was Samael's actual form. The man had become a fusion of the organic and the inorganic, a hybrid of flesh and machine so perfectly interwoven as to be almost inseparable. Even the pale skin he wore as a face was not actual skin, but was the same hybridized material that made up the rest of his form. Somehow, it had managed to acquire the special properties required in order to mimic the porous skin of a homo sapien; though to what end this grotesque parody served, Dr. Franxx could only wonder.

And that still wasn't the most bizarre realization.

Samael was dead.

Biologically speaking, the specimen within the chamber was dead. Bio-monitors showed absolutely no heartbeat nor any other sign of the biological processes necessary to operate and support the many functions of a complex lifeform. There wasn't even an automated respiratory process that he could detect. There was literally no oxygen flowing through Samael's body, and yet, the doctor was tracking an astounding amount of neural traffic in the cerebrum. Somehow, brain death had not yet occurred, despite the total lack of supporting organs and missing vital processes. Furthermore, it appeared that a good portion of his temporal lobe had been entirely replaced by some sort of crystalline structure.

Dr. Franxx thought it was singularly the greatest thing he had ever seen in his life before. Strange, but utterly fantastic.

This was the ultimate achievement of evolution. A being so great that it had bonded both flesh, machine and only god knows what else together in order to create a super-organism that could deny death at will. It made his 'immortality serum' look like child's play. After all, Samael was only dead in terms of biology, but the rules of nature could no longer rightly govern him. He was beyond the cycle of life now- something the human species as a whole had only been able to achieve in the most underhanded way.

Somehow, despite all odds, the obsolete warrior Samael had achieved true immortality.

But, how? How did this all happen? I had theorized that a portion of him might have remained; a vestige of his personality, trapped within a Klaxosaur, but this... this is more than I could ever have hoped... feared for. I'm not sure which I should be at the moment. It all depends on what he remembers. His temporal lobe has been replaced by some sort of artificial construct, and even other parts of his brain have been altered drastically, so there is no reason to assume his memory even remains fully intact. But, he did remember me. That should bode well, but what if... oh, god, what if he remembers too much? And that was terrifying, especially considering his current location within Plantation 13. If Samael ever broke free from containment... made his way to Mistletein... would there be any survivors? There wasn't a man-portable weapon in the entire plantation, maybe even the entire world, that would actually be able to stop Samael if he were to go berserk.

I've made a terrible mistake bringing him back. He recalled the massacre that had taken place in the hanger. He hadn't meant for that to happen, but the damn sages had wanted the plantation's security forces to take control of the situation. And how they bungled that. He was worried now, for the entire situation could have set the tone for Samael. It's no longer worth it to use him. My plan already had a low-chance to succeed, but with Samael interfering, it would lead to an utter failure. The advances in all scientific fields his knowledge would aid is negligible compared to the potential threat he represents. I need to terminate him before he wakes, like I should've done so long ago... it will be mercifully swift and painless... I hope. But, there was a single problem with his decision: how did one kill a truly immortal being? His brilliant mind raced to think of a way to end the threat of Samael before he awoke, but the worst happened at that exact moment.

Samael woke up.

It was eerie upon an instinctual level to see a corpse open its eyes. It was even stranger for those eyes to stare dead ahead, unblinking and unresponsive to stimuli. For a long moment, Dr. Franxx watched his guest stare at the ceiling. He almost thought about activating the intercom, but Samael stirred into activity before he could act.

The man sat up in disturbing silence. He showed no alarm at his immediate surroundings as he took a quick glance around the room. Then, he stood upright, his head nearly reaching the top of the chamber as he straightened. The doctor idly noted the massive increase in height that Samael had acquired in the last century.

Samael's head swiveled unerringly to where he stood and a devil's grin cracked his mutilated visage, the multitude of scars squirming with an unnatural life. Black veins pulsed angrily beneath weathered flesh surrounding the steel horns atop his head. Bloodshot eyes gleamed like cut gemstones hammered deep into his recessed sockets. A pallid complexion completed the terribly ghoulish appearance, and the holes that served as his nostrils flared with his grumbling speech, the words dragging from his fanged maw in an almost bemused tone.

"Werner..." The crimson gemstones bore into his eyes with an intense, unblinking gaze. It was clear that Samael could see him, but how this was achieved was beyond him.

"Samael." He replied with a nod. If he could be seen then so be it, he would be seen.

Samael's grin grew even wider at his acknowledgment and he sucked in an audible breath through his teeth. The doctor noted that this action did not cause his chest to expand despite the length of it nor did he ever let out the breath. Dr. Franxx concluded that the action had been a deliberate attempt at unnerving him- something Samael had been expertly trained to do. It might have worked upon a lesser mind, but the doctor was wise to the warrior's ways. He also noted that Samael had yet to close his mouth, leaving his array of shark-like teeth on full display- another attempt at undermining his mental state. He wondered if either action was deliberate or purely automatic at this point.

"Werner, Werner, Werner... how have you been, my old friend?" The beast of a man growled in fluent German. He watched as a black tongue slithered across the front of Samael's teeth- a deliberate action, no doubt.

"I've been- " he told the truth, for if there was one thing Samael valued above all things, it was the truth, "- better. These last few decades have worn on me more than I'd care to admit; though it seems they have been just as harsh to you. You look... awful." He replied in the same language, choosing to comment upon the state of his friend's appearance.

"Time can be as cruel a mistress as fate, but despite my 'degenerated' appearance, I am feeling fine." His face seemed to argue the point as muscles twitched beneath his skin at random.

"Is that so?" Dr. Franxx eyed the man's writhing face and took note of it- it didn't seem like Samael was aware of it at all. "You don't need any water or perhaps something to eat? I'll fetch either- or both, if you need it." He casually switched to Japanese as he offered some form of refreshments, but Samael casually waved the hospitality away.

"That won't be necessary." Ever the expert in tongues, Samael smoothly replied in kind. The doctor seriously doubted his guest's answer, though, for it had been some time since Samael had been placed within the cell. Surely, he would require water soon? Or, had he left such things behind?

"Suit your self."

Samael squinted in his direction, and he felt as if he was being scrutinized.

"Did you never decide to partake of your own elixir?" Samael asked, falling back into German. Dr. Franxx made a mental note of the transition, resigning himself to his birth-tongue for the remainder of their conversation.

So, his linguistic abilities are still intact? How curious... what else is intact? Hopefully, not too much...

"Never." He shook his head. "I like the idea that one day I can find a peace that no man can take from me." He couldn't fail to notice that Samael hadn't visibly aged a day since last they met. Whatever had happened to him, it hadn't been time that had done it.

Samael nodded solemnly. "On that, we can both agree upon; though I now know that there are those that can withhold that final peace." His response was as vague as possible whilst still allowing a terrible truth to slip through: Samael was well aware that he had died.

"Might I ask what you mean by that?"

"You can ask, but I will not elaborate."

"And why is that?"

Samael only offered a slow shake of his head. "I have my reasons."

"Is she the reason?" He watched as the giant closed his mouth, his lips holding onto a false smile; though this was ruined as his left eye began to twitch erratically. He vocalized no response, either, but his silence said it all.

"Who is she?" He inquired, and Samael stared blankly at him without speaking.

"Samael, who is she?" He tried again, but Samael had been trained to resist even the most invasive of information gathering techniques long ago. There was absolutely no way that he would simply give up information by being asked- even by a supposed friend.

"Where is Code 002?" Samael asked instead.

"She is safe, have no worry."

"But, where is she? I need to know- she needs to know." The flesh above his left eye spasmed once again.

"What does she even have to do with Code 002?" The doctor watched as Samael's entire face writhed with his reply.

"Everything."

He is definitely suffering some sort of nerve-damage.

"And yet, you're still unwilling to elaborate upon the identity of her, aren't you? Do you see my predicament, Samael? You're demanding information from me, yet all too willing to withhold it as well. Trust goes both ways, my dear old friend."

A deep, groaning sound came from Samael. It took Dr. Franxx several seconds to realize that it was a chuckle. "Wise words, Werner, wise words indeed. Then, allow me to suggest a... an alternative to our dilemma: a game, even, if you fancy. I'll ask you a question, and then you will ask me a question. We will trust to our ancient friendship that we will be honest with each other. Do we have an accord?"

Dr. Franxx considered it. It was just like Samael to offer such a deal, for it was just another form of fighting to him. He wasn't designed for negotiation, but he possessed a frightening level of cunning that could see him turn any situation to his advantage. By accepting the offer, the doctor would undoubtedly be risking the leakage of vital information, but... was it worth it to learn all that Samael knew? It's more than worth it. It's a thousand times more worth it than anything I know now. His knowledge, properly utilized, could make the difference for all humanity. It could even lead to his destruction. He slipped before by mentioning her. Perhaps, it will occur again? "Okay. I agree. Furthermore, as my guest here, I'll permit you to ask the first question."

Samael acknowledged him with a short bow of his head. "As always, you have the most impeccable manners, Werner. Tell me, then, how is your wife?"

The question had come from nowhere, and Dr. Franxx was reminded just how much Samael knew of his personal life. And now he had used that knowledge to make his first strike a crippling one. But, the doctor wouldn't give in after the first blow. "She is gone... dead in the name of advancing science." But he could not deny the damage done by the question. It cut him deeply. Very deeply.

Samael grimaced; though his face was never truly able to display anything but cruel parodies of emotion, beset as it was by nervous ticks and hideous scars. "I am sorry to hear that, Werner. I truly am, for she was a kinder soul than any I had ever met." That was not true, for Samael had never actually met his wife. Only through Dr. Franxx had he even been aware of her, so it was not his fault that he had been given information that was somewhat biased. Still, the memories that the question had dug up stung, for they made him realize just how much he missed his late wife- exactly as Samael had intended. Damn him. He knew just how to get under my skin. But the doctor excused Samael's insolence, for he knew that such rudeness was simply in his nature. He was a blunt tool after all, and he had the blunt tactics to match.

"It's fine. Her death was... noble in the end. Perhaps, not in the act itself, but certainly in the purpose she gave her life for. She understood well that what she was doing would ultimately benefit all of mankind. I don't believe for a second that there is any greater sacrifice than that."

"Did you two ever have children?" His head turned almost sickeningly sharp to the side before it slowly re-centered.

"That's a second question." But Samael only defended his inquiry with a shrug of his mountainous shoulders- and, it worked. Dr. Franxx continued speaking, even though he didn't quite understand why he did so. "But, no, we did not. She died before... before I was ready." He admitted to Samael something that he himself had denied for the better part of the last century. Had he been more focused upon her then they might have been blessed with a child... a child! A son or daughter to call his- their- own! He could've had a true family then. How great that would have been... to have a family... raise a child... my own child... watch them grow up... watch them surpass me... die knowing that I would be leaving the world in better hands than I received it... He stopped as he realized how Samael had cunningly derailed his thoughts.

How was that possible? Why did Samael's patchwork face make him speak so easily? Was it the gnawing guilt he felt every time he peered into those void-hemmed rubies? Was it because he was a relic from his own past? Or, was it out of some misplaced pity for the creature that Samael had become? Any reason was irrelevant. He had to find a way to suppress it, less he lose the fight before he could even throw the first punch.

"What happened to you? What caused all of... this?" He gestured with his bionic hand, for he knew Samael would notice the body language despite the wall that separated them.

"Is it not obvious, Werner? You did. After all, it was you that drove these-," and he touched his claws to his forehead, his blade-like fingers tapping the crude interface ports there, "- into my skull. It was you that strapped me into a pilot's seat within a half-dead Klaxosaur. And, it was you that convinced me that the whole thing was a good idea."

"In my defense, you did volunteer..." His response only made Samael chuckle in that deep, deep grumble.

"Only after you mentioned that you required only a single volunteer for some sort of 'grand experiment'." For the first time, his smile might have been genuine. "I'm not blaming you, Werner. I remember quite clearly that it was I that volunteered for the experiment. I even remember signing the waivers."

"What else do you remember of that night?"

"That's another question, Werner..." His smile twisted as his left side went slack and the right tightened. Dr. Franxx wondered if Samael was even aware of the issues his face seemed to be having.

"Please. Humor me, for old time's sake."

Samael leaned in, grinning ear to ear. He rumbled once more, and now Dr. Franxx was wondering if the sound might actually be the result of some sort of twisted engineering process within his barrel-like chest that simulated a biological function. "As you wish, my friend, so I will honor our friendship." He cleared his throat dramatically and the action reminded Dr. Franxx of a combustion engine roaring to life. "All I remember is..." Samael squinted in concentration as he dived into another age. "I remember the countdown... the warnings you endlessly gave me..." his wretched mask crinkled as he put great thought into remembering, "...the final option to turn back and give up... but how could I be so cowardly? And then, then all I remember... is a pain that seemed to go on forever and ever, and then... nothing- nothing but darkness for an eternity."

He leaned forward, hanging onto every word of Samael's. "And? What else?"

"That's it. After that... I woke up here." His recollection over, Samael's monstrous expression returned.

"You woke up here? As in, this day and age, or you woke up within the hangar?"

"You're not good at this game, are you?" Samael pointed out in reference to their agreement of only a single question at a time, but he continued on anyways. "And, no to the latter question. By the time of my capture beneath the silent city, I was fully lucid and possessed all of my memories."

The silent city? Does he mean the Gran Crevasse? He seems to be having problems remembering. Was he truly lucid? For how long? Was he conscious during the battle for Plantation 26? Was he aware of what terrible acts of carnage he was responsible for? Is that when he met Zero Tsu? Does he truly possess every memory? Dr. Franxx had so much more to ask, but it was well past his turn and Samael was already asking his next question.

"Why children, Werner? Why use them as soldiers?" His upper-lip danced for several moments as he lost control of it. In typical Samael fashion, he did not seem to address it.

Dr. Franxx let out a long sigh. It was an old argument, long past its time. "Must I really address this? Besides, it isn't like we employ only young adults. Many of them almost make it to their thirties."

"Almost." His lips curled about the word with distaste. "I imagine you start them rather young, and consequently the natural attrition rate must be horrible, but that still doesn't answer my question. Why children?"

"It wasn't by choice, mind you, but after much trial and error, we discovered that the Franxx units I designed would only operate if they were piloted by someone that had not partaken of the elixir of immortality."

"That doesn't answer my question. You could have had literally anyone else pilot those tinker-toys, but instead, you went with... children. You couldn't have waited until they were at least twenty or something?"

"I can see that this issue is rather... touching, for you." The doctor watched from safety as Samael bared his teeth in the first true display of hostility. Now, his face did not twitch.

"So what if it is?"

"Oh, Samael, do you... do you actually care about the children?" Could it be that the unstoppable Samael had a weakspot? Could there be a flaw in the weapon? Could it be exploited? The doctor's head swam with ideas as he stumbled upon potential salvation.

"I don't." And Dr. Franxx believed his words, for Samael did not lie. "But, I do know the difference between right and wrong, and using children to do your dirty work isn't just wrong; it's downright cowardly. And you know how I loathe cowards." So, he only cares out of some misplaced warrior-code? I suppose I can work with that.

"Alright, I'll tell you why, if only so that it soothes your consciousness. The truth is... it's because of my shame that they are forced to fight. You see, I was the original designer of the Franxx-"

"No shit."

"- but I ultimately failed in my mission."

"How so? You seem to have a veritable fleet of those mechanized nutcrackers marching to your tune. Seems pretty successful to me."

"Oh, I designed the vast portion of them, but the central processing core- the device that allows them to bond with their pilots- is... borrowed..."

"Oh, Werner, Werner, Werner what a man of integrity you are! Who did you steal it from?" Samael seemed positively delighted that the doctor had admitted to something as unethical as the theft of someone's intellectual property.

"No one. Technically speaking, I looted it."

"Do tell..." He said, leaning in as a fresh wave of facial ticks sounded across his face.

"The central processing core is ultimately of human-manufacture, but its original design was borrowed entirely from the remnants of a... of a Klaxosaurian core. The cores are quite complex- almost artificiality so. Using one as the baseline processing unit was the only solution I found that would allow the pilot to interface with the unit as if they were one unified nervous system. " He braced for Samael to turn violent, for he was well-aware of the man's new allegiance, but all the old warrior did was laugh aloud.

"Werner! You dastardly devil! You stole the entire design from your enemy? What marvelous ingenuity! I'm quite proud of you, old friend." He clapped his claws together several times in a show of genuine praise. "Tell me: do your associates know of this theft?"

"That, is another question, Samael."

"And yet, you've curiously managed to elude my original: why children?"

Damn him. Fine, he deserves to know the truth. It's what little he will ever know anyways. "Due to the Klaxosaurian nature of the original central processing core, a few 'features' managed to cross over with the... redesign of the human-variant. One of these features limited the use of the technology to only those that shared certain genetic markers: markers which were not found in any living human, but could be easily synthesized manually within the prepubescent body of any human."

"You... you altered them, didn't you? Those children are inhuman hybrids. Well, that certainly explains the horns..."

Horns? So, he really has met Zero Tsu face-to-face... "Yes, they have been altered, but they're still very much human. We don't replace anything within their original genetic structure. Rather, we augment it, adding in the markers as needed. Unfortunately, the markers are also incompatible with the immortality elixir, and if you were to mix the two, well... let's just say that did not go well for anyone, especially the janitorial staff."

"Intriguing. And this tampering results in horns as well?"

"No. Absolutely not. Code 002 is a special case. She is the single parasite that was born a true hybrid."

"She is of Klaxian blood, is she not?"

Werner froze as he realized his slip. If he said nothing, he confirmed it. If he were to verbally deny it, Samael would see through the lie in an instant and he would lose what little trust he had built between them. There was no other option now but to commit to his chosen path, and trust that somehow Samael wouldn't interfere too heavily.

"Yes. She is. Now, I've answered plenty of your questions in a row. It's my turn." He took a deep breath. All that he had said had been working up to the question he asked now. "Who is she?"

Samael didn't immediately reply. He didn't do much of anything aside from close his eyes for a long, silent moment. The doctor watched his face twitch in silence. When he finally opened his eyes once more, he answered the doctor's burning question. "Truth be told, I haven't a clue who she really is. I know nothing of her home, family, nor even her true name. I call her Lilith, and that is all I know her by. She allows this because she needs me in the same fashion as a soldier needs his weapon. I do not know what she is ultimately after, but she says it will be for the betterment of all inhabitants of this world."

"Where exactly is she?"

"She isn't here at the moment, but usually she is a voice within my head."

Okay... that is certainly strange. Lucid he may be, but he is most definitely insane.

"Have you actually seen her?" The doctor inquired cautiously.

"Of course. She is rather difficult to miss. You saw her yourself."

"I... did?"

Samael nodded. "The Klaxosaur I arrived within and that now rests within the hanger- that is her."

Oh, lord... he is insane. He has somehow created a personality for that... creature in custody. That was his first thought, but then the doctor remembered that he was a scientist first, and therefore he could not simply rule anything out without first having sufficient evidence. Oh my, what if there actually is an intelligence within the Praetorian? An alien intelligence as well. The more he thought of it, the more sense it made. There was actually more evidence to support it than there was to deny it: the weapon the Praetorian/Samael had possessed, the active countermeasures he had run into during his initial studies, and even the mysteriously suspicious absence of footage from the S.T.A.R.R.S mission logs as they had delved into the Earth's crust in pursuit of Strelizia's captor. All of it suggested that Samael could very well be telling the truth- a truth, which someone very powerful had gone through a lot to keep hidden from him.

And how could he possibly know that the Praetorian is still being held in the hanger? Lucky guess, or... is he actually being fed information?

So, with all of his information pointing towards the conclusion that 'Lilith' was indeed a real entity, and quite possibly a Klaxosaur as well, he continued along as if she were an accepted theory.

"You mentioned before that she requires Code 002. What for?"

"She has not shared such information with me. I'm not entirely sure she knows either."

"So, you haven't a clue as to why you need a child, but you're willing to kill anyone that gets in your way purely because this 'Lilith' voice- which may belong to an ancient, anti-human monstrosity- simply speaks to you and tells you to do so, correct?"

Without missing a beat. "That's correct."

"You're absolutely insane."

Samael smiled at his pronouncement- no, he had a doctorate, and it was more like a diagnosis at this point; though he was certainly no psychologist. "Insanity takes many forms, Werner. Perhaps, you should rethink your army of child soldiers before condemning me for following a disembodied voice in my head."

Okay. He certainly has me there. If this were a hundred years ago, perhaps I would be just as disturbed by the use of children as well, but... I'm already damned as it is. I've simply seen too much... done too much. "Fair enough, I suppose. Why exactly are you helping her, then?"

"I made a promise." He said as if it were the simplest thing in the world, but his response sent Dr. Franxx into internal panic mode.

Damnit! Damnit! Damnit! Once Samael made a promise, it was virtually impossible to make him break it. He adhered to them with a fanaticism greater than any religious follower. And now he is sworn to what is at best a voice in his head and at worst a spiteful entity that directly opposes mankind. Wonderful… I should have put the bastard out of his misery when I had the chance. As he desperately sought a way to handle this new development, his guest continued with their game, oblivious to his growing panic.

"So, where is Code 002?"

Should I actually tell him? What will he do with the information? What will he do if I don't tell him? With great hesitation, Dr. Franxx imparted the information Samael had so desperately worked to obtain. "She is here, upon this very plantation. Several dozen floors above us, upon the surface of the plantation rests a dome of antiquated purpose. Within that dome is a house, and upon the highest floor is her room. There you will find Zero Tsu- safe, and sound. There, is that what you wanted?"

"My dear Werner, that is all ever I wanted." His face split with that awful grin, maddening in the sheer amount of teeth his post-human face was able to display. "Now, I believe that concludes our little 'game', wouldn't you agree?"

"That's it? You only wished to know her location? Why?"

"The game is over, Werner. I'm no longer beholden to your inquiries." He sat onto the slab and leaned back, his bald head resting against the wall.

"I did not agree to that. We have much more to discuss." The doctor protested this sudden change of attitude. He had been so close to uncovering so many secrets!

Who actually are these Klaxians? Their name suggests they're related to the Klaxosaurs, but is that the whole truth? If I could actually speak to this Lilith...

"You didn't have to agree with it, Werner. You allowed me to set the parameters of our arrangement. Not my fault if you never noticed them." Samael shrugged and Dr. Franxx scowled at his sudden unwillingness to cooperate. Until Dr. Franxx could produce solid evidence of another species possessing intelligence, it was little more than a simple theory.

Like hell he is going to avoid me now. The discovery of another intelligent species is the ultimate catalyst for all of mankind! I won't let one man- even one so stubborn and terrifying as Samael- get in the way of confirming such a discovery.

Dr. Franxx would not be dismissed so easily. He had come to Samael for information, and he would obtain it no matter the level of cooperation. "Fine then. Be that way. Be the stubborn, sulking bastard you've always been. All that I ask is that you allow me to perform some 'tests' upon your body. They won't be too serious, just some routine things that will satisfy my scientific curiosity."

Samael slowly turned his head back towards Dr. Franxx. "You do realize that I directly oppose the human species as a whole right now, don't you? Why would I allow you to examine me and possibly uncover a weakness or fault?"

"Because, I'm betting that you are wondering as to what extent you have changed. Do you not wonder how much of you remains human? I can tell you for sure. In fact, anything I discover about your body, I will immediately share with you." He offered Samael a deal he knew would be carefully considered, but would also be too good to resist.

"And how can I trust that you will do so?" A fair enough point.

"Trust to our... friendship, Samael. Trust that I won't betray you as you have betrayed our species."

Samael looked away, his face twitching; though whether it was in rage or simple nerve damage, Dr. Franxx could not tell. "It was they that betrayed me..."

"I know, Samael." He spoke kindly and in a reassuring manner- like a true friend might have done. "Our kind did not treat you well. You need not share with me the horrors of your life. I know too many of them already. But, I have never betrayed you, Samael. Always have I been truthful to you. Even when you volunteered to be placed within a Klaxosaur, who was it that thanked you endlessly for your bold actions even as he warned you of the risks?"

"It was you..." He whispered as he turned back to affix him with that terrible gaze.

"That's right, Samael. It was me. You can trust me: you know this! I am your friend, now and forever..."

His nostrils flared as he snorted loudly. "Do you swear to that? Do you swear that you will be truthful to me? Do you swear that you will use none of what you learn to oppose me or my mission?"

"I swear it. I will only use what I learn to better my own understanding of the universe. You have my word."

"Then we... have a deal. Fetch whatever instruments you require. I am eager to learn about... me."

The doctor offered him the kindest smile he could. "Of course, my old friend. I will return shortly, and then we can begin in earnest. I promise you that this will benefit us both greatly." Without another word he turned to leave, stepping free from the observation cell control room. The door hissed closed behind him and he fell against it, weak from his conversation. It hadn't been physically taxing, even for one of his immense age, but it had required great mental fortitude to lie to Samael and to keep his face from showing it. But, it had all been worth it, for he now had many questions. Questions, which he word work diligently to find answers to.

Klaxians? Lilith? Are they truly of the same intelligent species? Does this mean Klaxosaurs aren't renegade bio-machines controlled by corrupted AI from a long-forgotten species? Are they actually just serving their original functions? Or, are there greater agendas at work here? But, whose agenda is it? Klaxians? Or, others...

Dr. Franxx had much to trouble himself- more than he had ever dreamed of- but there was a silver lining. After all, the solution to his problems sat just within the cell, biding its time for the inevitable attempt to break free. Even the doctor understood that Samael's time in the plantation was temporary, but that wouldn't stop him from learning everything he could. And maybe, just maybe, he could even gather enough information to put his own plan into motion, before things spiraled out of control and the world collapsed. Maybe, he could even get Samael to help him. But, he doubted it.

Samael wasn't designed with sympathy in mind.