Dark Crow Rising

"Alright, I'm here, hooking myself up now." I explain, leaping the final distance to what is a throne by comparison. All the other seats and god-made consoles have been small set ups, but this place is a chamber for but one. Mysterious devices dot the walls and many are continuations of the peculiar trails from before.

Power cables, it's all reminding me of power cables. And that throne is where they all lead. This back-heavy throne with a strangely form-fitting place to sit. It's not cushioned, but carved.

"Good, good, how far along is everyone else?" Inerish asks, and I quickly ponder the question.

"The left side is most likely fully set up." I answer, knowing that is the side we came up through. The torso is probably finishing up right now. Whatever parts of Segaansallis' body remain empty, it's all likely on the right side. Leg and arm. The limb the weapon is on...

"I will have the soldiers hurry the students along, just set yourself up for now," she explains and I nod.

"Got it." I go, letting her know.

Taking a leap towards the throne-esque seat, I linger around it. My body should fit in here, it should... As I move to sit down, it suddenly shifts, adjusting to my scale. It almost makes me want to shrug.

"Ok... Now what...?" I mutter, getting comfortable and minding where all the button-looking pieces of rock are. Fiddling with some, I try to acclimate myself as to their functions, but some won't budge. I find one that can wobble and push. A jaw of syringes snaps out of their holsters on my left and they stab.

Screaming in pain at the sudden attack, the occupants of Segaansallis' left echo my reaction. Some more hysterical than others. The hollow containers above the spikes start to turn a deep red. The stolen blood glows and Segaansallis stirs awake with the pop of its gear-joints.

"What happened? What's going on!?" Inerish demands to know and, hissing against the mic, I stop resisting the machine.

"Syringes, this damn thing is full of syringes and they're draining our blood!" I explain, instinctively pushing my body rightward.

"My men misse- Nevermind, is Segaansallis turning on?" Inerish asks as I stop this self-harming reaction.

"It is!" I snap, minding the controls as various hieroglyphics begin to form and colour themselves in. What must be a warning flashes bright and quiet.

"What are you able to do at this moment?" she asks, and before I can open my mouth, a thick collar lurches forward and slams me upright. All over my body, it locks me down almost to the point I can't even budge my mouth.

"Nothing! It's locking me up like a priso-" I begin to say and my vision suddenly warps into a seizure-inducing blur. One eye can see the giant on its advance and the world outside, while the other is still seeing the chamber. Half of my body can feel sand and is free, the other half i-

"HUH!?"

"WHAT'S GOING ON!?"

"HELP ME!"

"EVERYONE CALM DOWN!"

"VOICES! VOICES! VOICES!"

"MAKE IT STOP!"

"What in the name of the gods? This is weird."

"IT'S FINE EVERYONE, FOCUS!"

"I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR ARMS OFF, SEIGUNFREI!"

"Ah... AH! Ow... Ow! OW!" whimpers Liadanann? "No... Not this again... Get these things out of me... No, no, no, no... Get these needles out of me... GET THESE NEEDLES OUT OF ME!"

"RRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" I roar with all I can, spooking Inerish who I can somehow still hear.

"Nin, what's going on!? Nin?" she asks, only to be drowned out by the voices in my head. It's just like when I dealt with that osibindah hive in Vadei's village. The queen bug, that monstrosity, it could get inside my head. It was in my head!

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I roar, thrashing against the machine. One hand strikes away at the dunes while another shakes, for that is all it can do. Moment by moment, my right eye loses its vision. Patches of the outside world begin to take hold. My body is losing control, numb. I feel numb...

More needles, more are taking what is mine... More is being put into me. It's just like that day. The day that sealed my fate. Not the same day Rose was... Before Vapooliar, before any of this, so long before!

Osibindah hive... Hive! Hive! The hive!

"Focus on my voice," Inerish calls out with an almost song-like tune. Gentle, beautiful. Calming. I do as asked and focus on it. She repeats her words over and over. My breathing stabilises, and the nervous chitters stop.

"Alright... I am focusing on you... Don't stay quiet... DON'T!" I go, snapping at the end as all the different voices begin to take hold of me again.

"You're alright, Nin. Everyone one in Segaansallis is alright, little blood is being taken. You'll be fine." She explains and I nod as well as I can. My actual head barely moving while more of this new head does. I am outside fully, the world is all around me. Deserts without end and a colossal threat ready to decapitate me... The last dots of the inside depart.

"Getting Segaansallis on its feet." I explain, my voice booming like an airship's war horn. Every step sends a dull thud to my ears. A heartbeat. I feel as if my head is against a chest. Inerish... Focus on her voice.

"We see it, Nin, keep doing what you're doing!" she goes, and, encouraged the way I am, I get Segaansallis fully upright. The last of the lethargic dullness goes away and my- no, Segaansallis' body attunes properly with mine. My right hand cannot move, only my left can.

"Four fingers and a thumb..." I try to mutter though the machine cannot do quiet, it can only roar. Despite being born with hands like this, years of only two claw digits and a thumb on one make it weird. It does not feel right even though I know it should be. My past is alien.

"Are you ready to fight, Nin? Atarifuge certainly is." Inerish asks, pointing out what I should be focusing on. Turning the dark giant's way, I watch it slide to a halt. It takes a step back and narrows its form. Despite shambling like a corpse for so long, even after all the blows it has taken. It is more than capable of standing around like a trained swordsman.

It will launch forward on its front leg and transfer the energy to the back. Weapon up and pointed, it will rear back and I will block. Wrist, arm? Sword! I have never fought like this.

I can't fight like this... This body is not able to fight like I do. I can think of the spells, but nothing is happening. I'm trying to cast magic, but the clicking and the pressing aren't doing anything!

The flexibility I know my body should have is not here. This is not my body!

"I can't do this... I can't do this, Inerish. I'm not a swordsman. I'm not a-" I try to squeak.

"It's alright, Nin, focus on my voice. I will guide you through this fight. Do as I say when able. You know how to fight. Just trust your instincts. Let me handle the swordplay." Inerish explains, and my heavy-topped head wobbles back and forth.

"Ok... I trust you." I tell her and it goes quiet on her end. A noise escape her lips, one that means it wasn't much. She's gaping, so very slightly. Her lips smack gently and the huff of a smirk breathes down the mic.

"Let's destroy this bastard!" she lets out, a giddy pitch to her voice. Affirming her words, my left side reaches out and the fingers strike the palm. Come on... Come on!