If you missed the last chapter, you can find it [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/218906515/0/0]here[/url], or if you need to find a previous chapter, you can find them all in the [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/218618986?sort=0&page=0]Table of Contents[/url]. Hope you guys enjoy this latest chapter and if you like it, a bump would be greatly appreciated! If you have any questions or corrections, comment or message me anytime, I welcome any and all feedback! *** Screams echo through the corridors, reverberating down to us in the Trophy Room. The assorted Tanises wedge themselves further against the walls at the sound. The human male watches the door warily before finally turning back to me. I meet his gaze, blocking out the horrifying screams. “So what do I call you?” I ask my new friend. “I am a Tanis,” he responds automatically. “Does Taniks ever call you anything else?” “…just a Tanis.” “How am I gonna talk to you then? Should I just say ‘Hey you!’ every time I want to say something?” “We’re not supposed to talk." “So?” He looks at me curiously. “I don’t want Taniks to make me do that,” he says, gesturing to the door. Another scream punctuates his meaning. “He’s gonna do that anyway,” I point out. “So why not lighten things up in the meantime?” “How?” I smile, forcing bravado again. “You like jokes?” “Jokes?” “Yeah, like….here, I got some Earth ones. Why are Titans so out of touch?” He looks like he's trying to understand what I’m doing. “‘Cuz they live in a bubble! Get it?” He keeps staring. “Okay, maybe something about….oh, I got it! Why did the Guardians leave Mars? Cuz they got a little Vexed! Haha!” I force the laugh for his benefit – he just keeps staring. “Oh, c’mon, there’s gotta be something you find funny.” “Funny?” Inside, my heart breaks for him, but I plaster my best calming smile to compensate. “Yeah, funny, like laughing, smiling – jokes usually help.” I smile again at him, beaming like an idiot. He studies my face for a moment, then pulls his lips back to mimic me – it ends up looking like a grimace, and I chuckle as I lean in to fix it – he recoils immediately, eyes wild. “It’s okay,” I tell him, “I’m not going to hurt you.” “I don’t….I….” he starts, unsure, but footsteps from the corridor outside make his head whip toward the door. The footsteps draw closer as the other Tanises hide. My new friend backs away as the door slides open, but not enough – as the Dregs dump the spent Tanis on the floor, they look around for a new one and spot him. He tries to crawl to a corner, but they seize him and drag him away. I catch his eyes as he’s pulled toward the door, and fix him with a serious gaze. “Bury it,” I hiss to him. “Bury it – you’re more than just what he chooses to call you!” One of the Dregs stops and walks back to me – I look at it defiantly as it glares and backhands me, knocking me to the ground. I look up from the floor as it seizes my new friend once more. The door closes behind him, and a wave of emotion hits as I realize the double-edged sword of trying to help these others: that I would come to share their pain. I look around the darkened room, try to see the outlines of the others in our cell. [i]That’s why they don’t talk to each other[/i], the sensible part of me observes sagely. [i]There’s pain enough for one without taking on the pain of others. I can still help them, it might just take a little longer… You’re missing the point. They don’t want help because they’ve been taught they’re only objects. You can’t force them to put hope over survival. But this isn’t survival, it’s – It’s all they know. This IS life to them – just as it was to you once.[/i] I look around at the other Tanises, pity, anger and empathy hitting me all at once. [i]Can’t they realize that death is no worse than this? How can anyone think that this is life? How did you?[/i] the sensible part reminds me. [i]Every living thing has an instinct to keep living – no matter what happens, that drive is always there. [/i] I don’t answer – there’s too many conflicting emotions. [i]There must be something that can make them see what I’m trying to show them…[/i] Hours pass. The other Tanises never speak once, but I can feel their eyes flick to me every few moments in the dark. I ignore them, waiting to see if one will come to me and say something other than “I’m a Tanis.” The longer my new friend is gone, the angrier I become at the other Tanises – how can they just keep sitting here, day after day, week after week, watching fellow living beings be taken and tortured? How many of them have even helped comfort each other after? They’ve all gone through the same thing, yet they are all alone, separated, isolating themselves from the only other beings around who can empathize and comfort them. [i]Don’t they want that comfort?[/i] I think angrily. [i]Did you?[/i] the sensible part of me asks. I think back to my first imprisonment here – I was younger, stupider, more easily malleable. [i]So how did you find your strength?[/i] I’m asked again. I struggle to remember – and find with surprise that I can’t. [i]You don’t remember, do you? No….why don’t I remember? You don’t remember how you escaped either, do you? Of course I do, I –[/i] But I find I can’t remember – why? Taniks took my name, not my memories, yet….there’s nothing. I can’t even recall how long exactly I was imprisoned. I don’t know my age, my….my home…. [i]No, I think forcefully, I do remember! I remembered it just a few days ago – [u]Before[/u] you were tortured and conditioned,[/i] the sensible part reminds me. With horror, the truth sinks in – I’m forgetting things again. [i]No![/i] I think, panicking as everything hits me at once. [i]No, no, no, I remember, I – my mother and I found a ring in a cockpit once, and she’d always call me afterwards her little….her little…[/i] … There’s nothing. The memory’s gone. Hot, angry tears spring to my eyes as I struggle in vain to remember. Panic and uncertainty follow soon after, catching me like a riptide and sweeping me out to an endless sea of confusion, fear and emptiness – [i]Do you think all the others are experiencing the same thing?[/i] the sensible part of me asks. I look to the shadows again as it suddenly hits me – they’re all trying to remember. [i]Is that why they don’t talk to each other?[/i] I think. [i]They’re all trying to remember their old lives? Perhaps[/i], she responds. [i]Or perhaps they’re trying to think of nothing at all. Maybe it’s easier that way. And that’s why they can’t all be saved – for some, there’s just nothing there to save anymore.[/i] The truth sinks in as I finally understand the full horror of Taniks’ evil. [i]They really are just Tanises[/i], I think painfully. [i]But you can still save one or two[/i], the sensible part responds. Footsteps from the corridor outside draw closer to the door, larger, louder this time. I sit motionless in the center of the room, stricken by my new understanding as the door opens, and Taniks himself enters, mask off, followed by the Dregs carrying the limp and ragged body of my new friend. They dump him on the floor in front of me – with slight relief, I can see that he’s still breathing shallowly. Taniks looks at me as he gestures to the broken human male at his feet. “[i]Is this funny joke, too, Tanis?[/i]” My blood runs cold as Taniks snickers, pointing to the ceiling. “[i]Cameras everywhere. I hear and see everything, Tanis.[/i]” He seizes me suddenly, yanking me off my feet and holding my face inches from his own. “[i]You still think of escape? Of help?[/i]” I struggle against his hand grasping me, still fighting him. “[i]Must be broken more.[/i]” He brings his foot swiftly down on the human male’s legs – there’s a sickening crunch as the man shrieks in agony. Taniks snickers at me, pulling me close to his terrifying alien face. Rows of sharp teeth glint in the reflection of the light outside as he smiles at me. “[i]Your pain is no longer your own. Every time you defy me, every time you try to help others, I will hurt them worse. I will hurt you worse. I will teach all Tanises through you.[/i]” He drops me to the ground and steps over the broken body of the human male, walking to the door and summoning his Dregs behind him. “[i]We begin again tomorrow.[/i]” The door shuts behind him as I crawl quickly to my new friend. I feel a large puddle on the ground beneath him, and I’m thankful for the dark that obscures the amount of blood he’s lost. Tears springing to my eyes again, I can’t help scream at the closed door. “HE’S NO GOOD TO YOU DEAD!! DID YOU FORGET?!! WHERE’S YOUR MEDICS TO FIX HIM?!!! FIX HIM!!!!” My new friend looks up at me, roused by my shouting. I look down at him, tears pouring unbidden as I’m overcome with sadness, anger and a deep sense of injustice. “I….bury….” he manages to get out. “What?” “I….bury,” he repeats as I look at him incredulously. “Went out of touch….like….Titan in bubble…..” “You….what…..” “Joke….” is all he responds with. I suddenly start giggling – I can’t help it. I look down and see him forcing a smile to his face. [i]He’s a lot tougher than I thought,[/i] the sensible part of me says, impressed. [i]Reminds me a lot of you.[/i] We keep our temporary mirth quiet, silencing our giggles before turning our attention back to his legs – they’re shattered. He sees the look of anger in my face, and reaches out, hand shaking, to clasp my shoulder. I meet his gaze, surprised at the touch – looking in his eyes, I see he’s just as surprised. “Ari,” he says finally. “Taniks calls…..calls males Ari…..females Ia.” I take his hand and move it to my cheek, trying to transfer as much warmth as I can to him. “Nice to meet you, Ari.”