[spoiler]So, I wanted to post [u]Strength of the Pack S3: Battle of Two Towers[/u] at 12:00, New Year's Eve, but due to some situation, I won't be able to do that. So, I'll post it a bit early. Y'all can read it whenever you choose.[/spoiler] I woke up from my long sleep. I looked around to see that I was in a cryotube, but the glass was shattered. What happened? How did I get in here? "Colt?" I asked as I stepped out of the pod. [i]Crrrack![/i] I looked down when I heard the crack of glass breaking under my boots. The glass was broken from inside the tube... Odd. I bent down and reached for the shard, and that was when I noticed my arms. They were stripped of the exo-grade wiring and plating that was given to me by Dr. Lorinski. Now, what looked like blood red muscle tissue, streaked down my arms. It was like actual muscles, but it couldn't be-- my arms were cut off! All of the wires were covered with black, diamond shaped plates. I flexed my fingers and watched the red wires move in response-- they seemed so real. A bright red flash lit up the room, and a figure teleported in. It wore a rigid and geometric cloak and hood made with a diamond pattern, hiding its face. All I could see was a single, red, flickering eye. It walked with a wobble as it approached me, and a mechanical sound emanated from the figure as it walked. "Alan..." it beckoned. "Who are you?!" I asked as I gripped my Ace of Spades. "Do not fear. I am an ally..." the figure held out a robot hand to pull me up. The hand had similar plates and wires as my new arms, but seemed more like a crudely built robot. "Where am I? I can't see a thing in here..." I said as I looked around. "This, is my dwelling..." The figure said as he turned on the lights with the simple thought of his mind. It revealed the web and tendrils of the stuff that covered me. "It was once your ship, until you crashed here. I have watched over you since then... Keeping you alive." "Thank you, but who are you?" I asked again. "You might think I am an exo, but you would be wrong..." "But you are a robot?" "Yes," the figure walked away, ducking under a tendril suspended from the ceiling. "I was once made by the Traveler..." "I would like a name..." I said as I followed. "The Fallen know me as the Reformed..." "You're a Fallen?!" I pulled my hand cannon from its holster. "No... [i]I'm[/i] no Fallen..." I held the gun to the figure's head and pulled back the hammer, "Who are you?!" The red stuff that formed my arm, swarmed my gun, blocking the firing mechanism. I watched the tiny drones as they wrapped around my Ace of Spades like a red, ribbon bow. I threw it down, then turned back to the figure. "There are many more questions to answer than who I am," he said as he turned to me. "Like, what happened to you..." The question did dawn on me. What did happen? "This stuff, the nanotechnology-- they call themselves SIVA. They told me," said the figure. "They built me this body, and it appears, they repaired you too..." "They fixed my arms, so? I already had bionic arms..." I replied as I stared at the cloaked figure. He chuckled, but solemnly. "You just woke up, so I wouldn't expect you to know the full state of your repairs. Your legs, they seem to be meshed with the nanites. Part human, part SIVA. And, you seem to be wearing an... apparatus across your face..." I looked to my feet. He was right, more of the wires and plating strung out from my shins. I felt my face. There was something covering my mouth. I rushed to the shattered glass, and stared at my broken reflection. That couldn't be me! "I am the only one who can help you now," said the figure. "The Tower, and the one called Lord Saladin, is fighting a war with this 'SIVA'. As much as I hate to say it, you are just another target to the 'Guardians'." My eyes grew big. I felt my legs trembling, and I knew what came next. I suddenly fell to a sitting position with my back against the wall. "No. No, no, no! I'm a Guardian. I'm apart of the Vanguard! I have to go back!" I exclaimed to the machine as a tear tried to well up in my eye. "You have been here for a week or more. To the Vanguard, you are either dead, or another SIVA zombie like the Devils they are currently fighting. Either way, going back to the City isn't a good idea," the robot told me. That tear rolled down my face. "The Tower. The Vanguard. Wolf Pack. Kourtney. What about them?!" "They are most likely apart of the fight. I wouldn't expect them to hesitate to kill you if needed..." I stood up, then repeatedly punched the wall. More than twenty dents littered the metal. I turned to the figure and let out a deep breath. "What can we do?" I asked.