Kyra gathered her people and regrouped with the rest of the warriors in the forest outside the Castle. Or at least what was left of the warriors. Many had not survived. Kyra ran up to Hideo, looking around wildly for their General. The dawn was becoming day, and they had to conceal themselves.

"Where’s Tani?" she asked, fearfully.

Hideo shook his head.

"He never made it out. Taro saw Saburo knock him unconscious with the handle of a nunchaku but he doesn’t know what happened to Tani after that."

"We have to go back!" Kyra said, forcefully.

"Whoa!" Hideo grabbed her arms "We have to think it through first, Kyra"

At eighteen, Kyra was an enthusiastic fighter, loyal to her General, devoted to him and his cause. Hideo held onto her for a moment, trying to settle her. Kyra’s light brown eyes betrayed her anxiety.

"Listen….you and I will go back tonight, the rest of the troops will remain hidden in the forest. We’re wearing black uniforms, they aren’t, but they will be ready to assist if we signal that we need help."

"Right." Kyra replied, re-fastening her long brunette hair into the pontytailed style she always wore to fight "We go when it’s dark?"

"Yep."

"Good"

* * *

As the darkness crept over the castle, Hideo and Kyra, their faces smeared with mud for camouflage, swiftly scaled the Great Wall, keeping a watchful eye for the Emerald Guard. Staying close to the nearby bushes in case they needed to dive for cover, they made their way to where Tani had last been seen…the foot of the Uphill Garden. There was no sign of him. Kyra spotted movement close to the bridge…two Emerald Guards, patrolling. Hideo had been about to move, but she pulled him back and pushed him under cover of the shrubbery.

"Stay down!" she hissed "There are two Guards down there."

The Guards milled around for a while, then continued their patrol. Kyra breathed a sigh of relief. Hideo smiled at her.

"Thanks." He said.

"No probs," she replied "I only just saw them myself."

Hideo narrowed his eyes, scanning the top of the hill, near the fence. There was something pale coloured on the ground there. Or someone. He tugged at Kyra’s sleeve and gestured for her to follow. Keeping themselves low, they scuttled up to the top of the hill. Kyra gasped.

"Tani-san!" she ran to the lifeless form sprawled close to gate "Oh my God!"

Hideo followed and both Corporals dropped to their knees beside the silent, still body of their General. Kyra checked his pulse, and his breathing.

"He’s alive." She told her colleague "But his pulse is very slow."

Hideo remembered what Taro had said, and felt the back of Tani’s head. There was a small bump, but no blood, no wound.

"Why did they leave him here?" Hideo gave Kyra a puzzled look.

"Perhaps they thought he was dead." Kyra replied, shuddering as she recalled the number of their colleagues’ bodies they’d passed to get to this point "Their mistake, our gain. Let’s get the fuck out of here."

"No argument there. I’ll carry him, you scout ahead for trouble."

"Will do."

* * *

Having been safely returned to the compound, Tani was taken to the infirmary wing, where Tom, their Chief Medical Officer, carried out a very thorough examination before allowing Kyra and Hideo in to see him. The three stood around the unconscious General’s bed, and the doctor seemed very perplexed.

"He’s in a deep coma," Tom explained "but I can’t find any cause for it. There’s no severe cranial trauma, no subdural bleeding, his blood chemistry seems normal…..there’s a small bruise on the back of his head and a slight swelling…to be honest I’m surprised that such a minor injury was enough to knock him out. I don’t get it. All I can do is give him intravenous nutrients and wait for him to wake up."

"Neural shock?" Kyra asked.

"If it was, his neural activity has since returned to normal." Tom replied, shrugging "I can’t do anything further till he regains consciousness."

"Can I stay with him?" Kyra asked.

Hideo glanced anxiously at her, and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Kyra, you’ve had a heavy day, you should rest." He told her.

"He’s right," Tom added "there’s nothing you can do here, and you do need to rest. If there’s any change in him, I’ll wake you."

Kyra opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it. Arguing with a CMO was nearly always pointless. Perhaps it was best that she didn’t get under Tom’s feet.

"You’d better."

* * *

The next morning, Kyra came to the infirmary to see her General. He was so still, so silent. The only movement was the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed steadily. It saddened her to see him this way, to see all the pads and wires monitoring his vital signs and neural activity. With tear-filled eyes, she sat beside him and touched his hand gently.

"Come back to us soon, Tani-san." She murmured softly "I miss you."

* * *

For three days, Tani remained stable but comatose. Kyra had visited him every day, Tom constantly monitored his condition. He was still unable to explain Tani’s coma. During Kyra’s visit that third day, Tani’s fingers moved. His lips parted, and he sighed. She jumped up and cried out for Tom.

"He moved, Tom, he moved and he sighed!"

"Let the dog see the rabbit." Tom said, gently ushering Kyra aside so he could look at both Tani and the monitoring equipment.

She observed him as he checked the EEG, the heart/blood pressure monitor and then carefully opened Tani’s eyelid and shone a light into his eye.

"Well," Tom turned to her finally "I can’t say how long it will take but it looks like he’s on his way back to the land of the living."

Kyra’s eyes filled with tears once more, but this time they were joyous tears. She gave Tom the broadest smile he’d ever seen.

"Thank God!" she wept.

* * *

It took a full day for Tani to return to complete consciousness. Tom did another battery of tests and concluded that there was no brain damage. The trouble was, Tani could not remember what had happened to him. That evening, Kyra and Hideo came to sit with him.

"What’s the last memory you have?" Hideo asked.

Tani frowned and sighed, trying to pull up the memories.

"We went over the Great Wall." He told them "That’s the last thing I remember. I don’t remember being at the Uphill Garden or anything else."

"Perhaps it will come back in time." Kyra tried to reassure him.

She smiled gently, glad to be able to see those beautiful velvet-brown eyes of Tani’s once more.

"I’m just glad you’re alright, Sir." She said.

"Thank you." Tani smiled back.

* * *

Within the week, Tom had concluded that Tani was fit to return to duty. As Kyra walked to his office with him, she said laughingly:

"It’s just as well you’re back, I think Hideo was getting way too used to that chair of yours."

"Well, time I reclaimed it then." Tani smiled wryly.

They went into his office, and immediately Hideo stood up and moved out of the General’s way.

"You like my chair, huh?" Tani remarked.

"I was just keeping it warm for you Sir." Hideo grinned back.

Tani went to his chair and sat down.

"Very kind of you, Hideo." He said, seeming less than amused.

He surveyed the paperwork on his desk. Surveillance reports, costings, training schedules. Silently he flicked through them. The corporals stood before his desk, awaiting his orders for the day. Tani said nothing. He continued to scrutinise the documents on his desk as if his two adjutants were not there. Eventually, he looked up and seemed surprised that they were still standing there.

"Do you two have work?" he asked.

The Corporals both shifted uncomfortably. Hideo finally asked:

"Are there any specific orders you have for us today, Sir?"

"No." Tani replied, simply.

Kyra frowned. Hideo noticed her uncertainty, and took control.

"Right then, Sir, we’ll go and get the troops out there in the gymnasium." He stated, nudging Kyra towards the door.

"That’s fine." Replied Tani.

* * *

"No friendly chat, no humorous observations, no special instructions." Kyra commented as she and Hideo left the building "no flippant remarks, no taking the piss…."

Hideo sighed and looked at Kyra.

"Give the guy a break," he said "he’s still recovering."

"I hope so." She felt uncomfortable with this new unfamiliar attitude of Tani's "I want him back the way he was."

Hideo frowned at her and opened his mouth to speak, but Kyra suddenly added:

"Yeah, I know, we’re lucky we have him back at all."

All the same, she missed the warm, generous-natured, good humoured, caring Tani she was used to having around. But as Hideo said, he was still recovering, and Kyra was determined to be there for him, as always.

* * *

Kyra was getting more and more worried about Tani. It had been three weeks now and still it wasn't happening. He hadn't regained his sense of humour, or his warm, gentle nature. His concern for his warriors seemed to have evaporated. Having seen what he had been through, she could understand why he hadn't wanted to lead another assault on the Castle so soon, but to send warriors in by themselves in smaller groups was insane. Very few returned, and those who did left Tani's service soon afterwards, usually because they were unfit to continue. Kyra and Hideo found themselves giving a lot of basic training to a lot of new recruits who were drawn by Tani's reputation, not only as a warrior, but as a person. All over Japan, the name of Hayato Tani was loved and respected. Kyra wondered how long that would last, if the current situation did not improve. She studied the file listing the names and details of the newest recruits and with a heavy heart she went to take the file to Tani. Normally she always welcomed the chance to go to his office and talk with him, but now she was beginning to dread it. She didn't know what mood he'd be in, and when she knocked on his door she found her stomach was knotting itself in anticipation of a less-than-welcome reception.

"Come in." she heard him say, flatly.

She forced herself to smile, trying to remember that it was not his fault, it was down to what he had been through, and she opened the door.

"Good morning, General." she said, pleasantly.

He glanced up at her, his expression devoid of any emotion.

"Corporal." he nodded briefly before looking back at the open file on his desk.

It hurt Kyra. His eyes, those beautiful brown eyes which had held such warmth before now held nothing at all. The smile which had always welcomed her before was no longer there. It was as if someone had taken away his soul. She felt so sad. He was still Tani, she still cared for him. But it pierced her to the core to think that she might never see him as he used to be, ever again.

"What is it?" he asked, not looking up.

"The file on the latest recruits, Sir." she replied, holding the file out for him to take.

"Put it on the desk." he muttered, still not looking at her.

She complied, and wondered if she should voice her concern for his wellbeing.

"Sir..." she began "...I was just wondering...."

"..that will be all, Corporal." he cut her off mid-sentence without giving her a glance.

"Yes Sir." she responded.

She closed the door quietly behind her as she left, wondering if Tom had been certain about Tani having no brain damage.

* * *

After the fourth week of cold, humourless responses and Tani's uncaring attitude, Hideo was now questioning whether his General was going to recover.

"This can't go on." he said to Kyra "We're losing people, not just the troops who don't come back, or the troops that are forced out of combat because of injury...we're not getting as many recruits."

"I know," Kyra sighed "people used to fall over themselves for a place in Tani's army, he could pick and choose, but not anymore. Word's starting to get out. I was lucky to get back unscathed myself last week, he orders me over the wall where a couple of dozen Guards are stationed with guns, me and ten others.....geez!"

"I talked to Tom....asked him if this could be some sort of post-traumatic stress thing." Hideo said, ruefully "He says it's the only explanation he can come up with. There was no serious physical injury. The coma, the personality change....it's got to be psychological."

"His personality hasn't changed," Kyra replied "it's just disappeared!"

"I know," Hideo said "all he seems to be interested in are the contents of his confidential files."

* * *

The following day, they noticed changes in Tani, but not the changes they were hoping for. Emotions were beginning to surface in their General, but the results of that were unfortunate. Hideo was the first to bear the brunt of the new face of General Tani, when he and Kyra went to his office to deliver the training reports for the week.

They stood before his desk, while Tani silently read them. His expression was passive. He scrutinised every word of their reports without uttering a syllable. Then he put the documents down and slowly looked up at them. His expression grew angry and fury blazed in his eyes as he looked from Kyra to Hideo. The Corporals both found themselves completely intimidated. Tani stood up, glaring at the two of them.

"What the hell do you call these?!" he snarled "Are you two running training sessions or a fucking nursery?? These programmes won't produce soldiers, they'll produce 9 carat wimps!! What do I want with a bunch of fucking wusses?! If they don't improve within the week they'll be out and so will you!"

"But Sir.." Hideo began.

Something inside Tani snapped and he whipped the back of his fist across Hideo's face. The Corporal staggered backwards from the force of the strike. Kyra gasped loudly and instinctively moved to help Hideo. She prevented her colleague from losing his balance, and stared back at Tani in horror. She beheld a man she did not recognise at all. A handsome face contorted with rage.

"Get the hell out of my office!" he bawled at Hideo before turning to Kyra "You too! Get out of my sight!"

Kyra held onto Hideo who was clutching his face, blood trickling down his chin, and took him to the infirmary.

* * *

Hideo winced as Tom dabbed away the remaining blood. In his rage, Tani had broken his Corporal's nose.

"One minute he was totally emotionless, next he was incandescent with fury!" Kyra told Tom "He was always such a gentle person. The Tani we used to know would never have raised a hand to anyone like that. He just...erupted!"

"Yes...you're not the first person I've had in here that's said he just went ballistic! I'm worried about him too. Besides...." Tom looked from one Corporal to the other for a moment "..you know I normally have to nag him to come in for his annual medical?"

"Yeah," Hideo remarked dryly "nag, cajole, plead, anything."

"Well, not this time," Tom resumed applying cream to Hideo's bruised cheek "this time he was in like Flynn, insisting on having his medical."

"And?" prompted Kyra.

"He's fit as a butcher's dog." Tom replied "No sign of any injury, anywhere."

"Geez!" Hideo said.

"I mean, anywhere!" Tom threw the soiled lint and cotton wool into the bin "you know that time he got spiked by an Emerald Guard with a katana and he needed a transfusion?"

"Yeah?" Kyra remembered the incident well.

"He healed up all right, but there was scarring under the surface of the skin where the katana pierced his abdomen. There was. But when I examined him yesterday, I couldn't feel the internal scarring at all. It just isn't there."

"What the hell is happening to him?" for the first time, Kyra felt truly afraid of Tani "It's just like someone stole his soul and left a stranger in his place."

"I know what you mean." Hideo said.

"Oh and a word of warning...." Tom added "...beware what you say when you're in the same room as him, even if he is quite a distance away. His hearing seems to be exceptionally acute. I was over the other side of the infirmary with my back to him, I was looking in the cabinet for his notes, and I just muttered to myself 'what have I done with the damn notes?' and he immediately said 'right over here on the damn desk, doc'. Freaked me out, I can tell you."

"I'll bet it did." replied a very unsettled Kyra.

"I'm going to run a couple of extra tests...things I don't normally do in your average medical." Tom told them "I'll let you know if anything funny shows up."

"Thanks." Kyra nodded, ushering Hideo out of the infirmary.

Resolving to keep out of Tani's way for the remainder of the day, Kyra went back to her quarters.

* * *

Later that week, she was training some of the new recruits in basic katana fighting, when she was summoned to Tani's office, with Hideo. A sense of dread crept over her as she and her colleague entered the office. Tani walked around the table and thrust a document into the hands of each of them.

"This is your mission plan." he told them "You leave for an assault on the castle at dawn."

"An all-out assault?" Hideo asked, startled, studying the planned strategy.

"With only half our troops?" Kyra was deeply disturbed by this "Sir, you may as well just tell them to commit seppuku.."

Before she could say any more, Tani rounded on her, grabbed her by the throat and she choked as he pushed her against the office wall, anger blazing in his eyes. Terrified, she writhed in his grasp. He let go as suddenly as he'd seized her. She rubbed her throat as Hideo rushed to support her.

"Don't you ever, EVER question my orders again!" he screamed at her.

The rage subsided as abruptly as it had boiled up.

"Go and instruct your warriors, you'll need them to be sharp." he instructed them coldly.

* * *

Once they were outside, in the grounds, Kyra turned to Hideo.

"Fuck that," she said "I'm going to talk to Tom. It's time we got to the bottom of this."

"Damn straight!"

* * *

The CMO showed them the results of the tests he'd done on Tani's blood. Kyra recognised the pattern on Tom's computer screen...it was the double helix of human DNA.

"I take it he doesn't know you've done this?" Kyra commented.

Tom gave her a sidelong withering glance.

"What do YOU think?" he said.

"So...what does all this mean?" Hideo asked.

"I compared this to a DNA sample I already had on file and found a few anomalies."

Tom pointed out base pairs and gene sequences, as he began to explain. It was Tani's DNA all right, but somehow he had been altered. The genes that controlled ageing, he explained, had been tampered with. It was Tom's guess that these genes had been altered to accelerate the ageing process."

"But we've known him for years, and his ageing has been normal, in fact I'm beginning to wonder if he's doing a Dorian Gray and keeping a portrait somewhere," Kyra said "so I really don't understand this."

"That's not all." Tom told her.

His hearing had been genetically enhanced, and so had his memory. However, it was the accelerated ageing that puzzled him the most.

"I don't know how they could have done all this in just the few hours he was unconscious at the Castle, but somehow it's been done. His hormone levels are probably orbital, and no doubt that's why he is becoming more and more aggressive."

Kyra was angry. Count Takeshi had somehow taken the man she admired and adored more than anyone else and turned him inside out by messing with his DNA. Somehow, this knowledge washed away most of the fear of Tani and replaced it with a deep desire to right this appalling wrong that had been done to him.

"Can this be reversed?" she asked Tom.

"I'm not sure..." he said "..our DNA is self-replicating, but if he's been altered once, there must be some way of...well, I'd need to know how they did it in the first place."

"Well, if we want answers we're going to have to go to the Castle to get them." she looked at Hideo "I reckon you and I should go tonight, and take a couple of our more experienced soldiers to keep watch while we sneak in there."

"I don't like the sound of this." Tom said.

"You got any better ideas, now would be a good time." Kyra gave Tom an enquiring look, then turned back to Hideo "Let's cut all the crap shall we? I want Tani back the way he was. How about you, are you up for it? For Tani? For us?"

Hideo grinned.

"Guess I'd better dig out the old camouflage gear." he said.

Kyra grinned back. It was settled.

* * *

Twilight fell, and Kyra met Hideo outside Tani's compound. Takashima and Yamamoto were with him. And one other person....Tom. They were all dressed head to toe in black.

"You're the last person I expected to see." she told him.

"You're going to need my expertise, my dear." Tom replied "If you found anything in there, how would you know what it is or what it does?"

"He's got a point." Hideo conceded.

"Alright, let's go."

"Before we go any further...." Tom interrupted "...I did more tests on the samples I took from Tani during his medical, and the reason he's not showing any signs of ageing is because he's taking some sort of drug....something I haven't seen before and I haven't had time to do a complete substance analysis, but it's some sort of inhibitor. As long as he's taking the drug, he'll age at a normal rate but if he stops taking it, he'll be dead in a year......from old age."

"Fuck me!" Kyra exclaimed "Are you sure?"

"Would I say it if I wasn't?" Tom retorted "And aside from that, this inhibitor drug has side-effects, and is interfering with his brain chemistry, that's why he's becoming so aggressive. It's not just his hormones, it's a wild imbalance of neurotransmitters."

"Neurotransmitters.....you've lost me there." Hideo confessed.

"Chemical messengers.....they're the substances that allow electrical impulses to travel from neuron to neuron within the brain." Tom explained "Serotonin for instance, that's a feel-good substance, but he is Serotonin depleted. On the other hand, his dopamine and noradrenaline levels are excessive. No wonder he's been blowing his stack! He can't take this inhibitor long term, it'll kill him!"

"So if we can't find a way to alter his DNA back.....he's not going to live for very long?" Kyra looked appalled "That IS what you're saying, isn't it?"

"Yes. So let's go find some answers." Tom urged.

They made their way towards the road. Headlights approaching made them shrink back into the bushes, and Kyra caught a glimpse of the car and the driver as the vehicle passed them. Emerging from the bushes, she stared at the others, open mouthed.

"Where the fuck could Tani be off to?"

"Beats me," Hideo replied, "but at least he won't be at the compound to check on us and discover we're missing."

"True enough." Tom agreed.

"All the same, let's not waste any time." Kyra suggested, moving off swiftly.

* * *

Night had crept over the Castle, and all was silent except for the hooting of an owl somewhere nearby in the forest.

"Before we go in there," Tom said, hesitantly "you have, I trust, a plan for getting out again?"

Hideo grinned and nodded towards Kyra.

"She's the boss."

"Let's just say.....I know what I'm doing."

Leaving Takashima and Yamamoto to keep watch at the perimeter, the three colleagues crept around to where they knew there was shrubbery close to the base of the Great Wall. Kyra took a leap and then pulled herself up the wall, making sure it was safe before clambering on top and sitting astride. She held out a hand to Tom. Hideo lifted and Kyra hauled, and together they hoisted the doctor over the wall, Kyra then gave Hideo a hand before slipping down the other side herself. She checked her watch.

"If we can make our way along the Uphill Garden, at this time of night the number of Guards in that area should be minimal, I doubt there will be anyone checking the gate at the top." she whispered "Then from there we can go around to the East Wing, where there's access to the cellars and the dungeons. I reckon that if he has some kind of laboratory in there, that's where we'll find it. Just an educated guess, though."

"It sounds about right. A lab would take up a lot of space, there wouldn't be the room on the upper floors." Tom said "And they'd need a hell of a lot of equipment for what they've been playing at."

"Yeah. I'll go in front, and Tom you stay behind me and Hideo."

* * *

As they got the the entrance to the lower floors of the Castle, Hideo spotted something....a car parked in the grounds.

"Shite!" he exclaimed "That's Tani's car!"

"Shhhhh!" Tom urged.

Kyra studied the vehicle.

"What the fuck is he doing here?" she quickly looked around for any signs of movement "This is getting more and more bloody weird!"

"Are you gonna get this door open or not?" Hideo hissed.

"Keep your knickers on!" Kyra retorted, taking a nail file from her jacket pocket.

"A nail file!" Tom observed, his voice dripping with sarcasm "Oh yeah, that's professional!"

Kyra gave him a very withering glance before sliding off the metal file part to reveal a thin blade underneath.

"You were saying?" she remarked.

"Carry on, Corporal." Tom responded "By all means, carry on."

She slid the blade into the lock and began to manipulate the locking mechanism, as Tom and Hideo kept scanning for the opposition.

"Come on, come on," Hideo hissed again "What's taking you so long?"

"You do your job, I'll do mine." she snapped "This isn't as easy as people think."

Several moments later, she heard the lock click.

"Gotcha!" she said, softly, opening the door with care.

"There should be a stairway to the right" Hideo whispered.

The lighting was dim in the corridor they found themselves in, but Kyra saw the steps and made her way towards them, Tom and Hideo following on. Listening for sounds of activity, she padded slowly down the stone steps, her heart pounding so hard she feared it may actually be audible, wondering what they were going to find down there. Guard numbers would be at a minimum at this time, and they had a better chance of sneaking around undetected. At the bottom of the steps there was a left turn, which Hideo had told her should lead to another corridor. Suddenly an Emerald Guard appeared from the corridor and Kyra found herself nose to nose with him. It was hard to tell who was the more startled.

"SHIT!" Kyra gasped, involuntarily.

Fortunately she recovered from the shock first. Faster than the eye could follow, her fist was launched upwards and there was a sickening thud as it connected with the Guard's jaw. His head snapped back, and he crumpled to the floor. Quite gracefully, Kyra thought, rubbing her fist.

"Fuck me, that hurt!" she muttered.

"Let's have a look." Tom said, examining her hand "Well, it doesn't seem like you've broken anything but you'll have some spectacular bruising later on. Geez, we can't take you anywhere can we?"

"Thanks." she replied, sarcastically.

"What are we going to do with him?" Tom nodded at the unconscious Guard "We can't just leave him here."

"There are some cells down here, we can lock him in one of those." Hideo said "Should be at the end of this corridor. This first room here must be the lab, it's certainly big enough."

Kyra studied the Guard's build and height, then smiled at Hideo.

"I've just had an idea." she told him.

* * *

Hideo locked the cell door with the Guard's keys. He turned around to Kyra and Tom, and looked down at himself wearing the Guard's uniform.

"I feel stupid." he said, shoving his dark clothing into Kyra's backpack.

"Nah," Kyra grinned, then added "besides, no-one will look twice at you guarding the lab door while we're in there."

"At least I hope that's the lab there" Tom commented "Come on, let's not waste any time here."

The door was locked, so Kyra took the slim blade to it again and managed to quickly gain access. Slowly she opened the door, wincing as it creaked, and switched on the lights. Tom stepped inside first. It was the lab all right...he glanced around at the machinery and the usual lab equipment, beakers, bunsen burners, centrifuges, and computer equipment. There were three chambers at the end of the lab, linked to a central control panel....they looked like huge incubation units.

"What the hell is Takeshi up to in here?" Tom muttered.

Kyra was just going to step into the lab herself, when she heard a faint sobbing noise from one of the cells. Hideo looked at her.

"I heard it too." he said.

"Tom...." she beckoned him out "there's someone down here, listen."

Tom heard it also, and pointed to one of the cells.

"Keep your eyes open, Hideo." she patted the other Corporal's shoulder.

Out came the trusty blade again.

"Is there anything you can't open with that?" Tom asked, fascinated by her skill.

The lock clicked and the door opened. She grinned at Tom.

"Not that I know of." she replied.

The cell was dark, and it was cold. Tom passed Kyra his torch, and she shone it in the direction the sobbing came from. A figure huddled in the corner....naked, shivering, weeping quietly. The Corporal and the CMO approached slowly. Takeshi's prisoner gasped and looked up at them. Kyra and Tom also gasped in unison, she almost dropping the torch.

"TANI!!" she ran to him, horrified.

"Kyra?" Tani sobbed "Is that really you?"

"Yeah, it's me, and Tom." she knelt beside him, shocked and perplexed.

"Oh thank God," tears streamed down Tani's face "thank God. Get me out of here, I can't take any more!"

"But..but..how.." Kyra couldn't understand what he was doing there.

"Let me take a look at him." Tom gently urged her to move aside.

Tom took the torch and knelt beside Tani, shining the torch in his face. Kyra saw the cuts and bruises.

"So...cold....so cold." Tani groaned softly.

"I know, I know." Tom replied gently "Just let me take a proper look at you."

Kyra was totally baffled....she'd only seen him an hour or so earlier and he hadn't had a single mark on him, something she commented on to Tom.

"Yeah, but Kyra....some of these wounds are days old." he replied.

"How can that be?"

Tom was pressing his fingers against Tani's abdomen. He looked at her, puzzled.

"That internal scarring I told you about....it's here." he said.

"What?!" Kyra exclaimed.

"Shhh, keep it down!" Tom suddenly straightened up, looking as though he'd been struck by a thunderbolt "Oh my God, I think I know what's going on here!"

"What's going on?" Kyra's wide-eyed astonished stare moved from Tani to Tom "Tell me!"

"Oh my God, now it all makes sense....." Tom was clearly having what Kyra called a 'eureka moment'.

"Tom..!" she snapped "Let's hear it!"

"This man here...this is Tani!" Tom babbled "I mean...this is OUR Tani! The other...oh my God, why didn't I see it before?....the Tani we rescued, the one in the coma.....is a CLONE!"

Tom stood up, his words tumbling out like an avalanche of thoughts.

"That explains everything...the accelerated ageing, the inhibitor, EVERYTHING!"

"Well maybe you'd like to tell me, because I don't understand at all!" Kyra urged.

Tom knelt down again as Kyra drew the trembling Tani into her arms, stroking his hair, compassion flooding over her in waves.

"Kyra.....it wasn't that they altered the DNA of the original Tani...what they did is steal a sample of his DNA, alter the genes which control ageing and the memory and whatever else they wanted, then they created a clone from the altered DNA." Tom explained, sounding agitated "when the clone aged to the same point of maturity as the real Tani, they placed him in a coma. That's why I didn't find the raised neurotransmitter levels, or the inhibitor, in his blood when we first found him and I did all those tests. He only needed the inhibitor AFTER he woke from the coma!"

"And the cloned Tani must have been feeding classified information from Tani's files back to Takeshi all this time." Kyra added, hugging Tani tightly "Not to mention ruining his reputation, and decimating his army."

"They needed to keep the real Tani to glean personal information to give to his clone." Tom said "Geez, what have they been doing to him?"

"I dread to think," Kyra really didn't want to imagine the scenarios "because he wouldn't give them anything willingly."

Tani was trembling violently and obviously very weak. Kyra pressed him closely to her, trying to warm him. His skin was so very cold. She realised that leaving him naked in such cold temperatures was just another way for Takeshi to make him suffer. The thought aroused such anger within her. Then she remembered Hideo's black clothing, and pulled her backpack off, hauling the clothing out. Tom was getting his medical kit from his own backpack.

"Do we just get out of here?" Kyra asked Tom "or do we try to destroy the lab? Suggestions?"

"Destroy it!" Tom nodded fervently, "then he can't do this again."

Kyra gave Tani a bottle of water from her backpack and he was finally able to quench his terrible thirst. He smiled at her gratefully. Tom helped her to dress Tani, then gave him an injection.

"It'll give him a little energy, as well as a few vitamins." Tom said "Don't worry Kyra, he'll be okay."

Within minutes, Tani felt able to stand. He was more alert, more aware. Kyra supported him.

"Let's get to the lab," Tom said "If possible I'd like to learn a few things before we destroy it."

"Alright, but the longer we stay the more chance there is of us being detected, so no buggering about in there." Kyra kept her arm around Tani's waist.

"Yes ma'am." Tom replied.

* * *

Hideo blinked in shock at the sight of Tani in his camouflage clothing. Kyra shepherded Tani into the lab, saying to Hideo:

"This is the real Tani...the other's a clone....it's a long story."

"It would be." Hideo said, coming in and closing the door, but regularly glancing out into the corridor through the glass set into the door.

"I heard....." Tani said, as Kyra sat him down "...that there was a clone. I didn't know whether to believe it."

"Oh believe it!" she told him "But he's not like you really....he looks like you and he's got your DNA, but he's also got a nasty streak. That's why Hideo's sporting a broken nose."

The lab was quiet...there were two ante-rooms but both were in darkness. Tom approached the incubation chambers.....the glass of one of them was misted over from the coolant inside. Pulling his sleeve over his hand he wiped the frost away and gasped audibly as he saw what was inside. Kyra came over and when she saw the adult-sized foetus inside the chamber she immediately stepped away again, appalled, feeling nauseous.

"Who's he cloning this time?" she asked, looking away.

"I don't know, there's no indication here." Tom studied the control unit.

"It'll be in the computer somewhere." Kyra said "Trouble is, if we try to access the files, it might alert someone."

"It could be another Tani clone," Tom pondered "I mean, the present clone isn't going to last very long taking that inhibitor."

"I wonder if the clone knows he's dying?"

"Well they're hardly going to tell him that, are they?" Tom retorted.

"Dying?" Tani asked.

"Sir, they accelerated his ageing so that he'd quickly reach the same point of maturity as you are now." Tom explained "But they had to stop him ageing any further, so he's taking a drug to inhibit the process. But it's playing havoc with his hormone levels and brain chemistry, that's why he has violent outbursts...eventually, the stress will overwhelm his system, his blood pressure will go off the scale and his heart won't tolerate the strain. The drug is killing him."

"Surely they could give him something to counteract the stressful effects?" Kyra looked at Tom curiously.

"Well, they'd have to try different drugs, or drug combos, to see which one wouldn't counteract the inhibitor....it would be a long process." Tom sighed "Besides, everything that the clone has done has discredited the real Tani. So why would Takeshi bother? Whoever he's hired to do all this can simply make another clone when this one's no longer viable."

"That's disgusting." Tani remarked.

"Definitely." Kyra replied.

"Hey!" Hideo butted in "Someone's coming!"

"Oh fuck!" Kyra exclaimed looking round wildly before pointing to one of the ante-rooms "In there, quick!"

* * *

The four of them huddled behind the door in the dark, occasionally peering up through the glass in the top of the door.

"I can't hear a thing." Hideo whispered "Who is it?"

"It's Takeshi." whispered Tom "And some other guy....I know him, I've seen his picture in the medical journals....it's Gunther Neumann...he's one of the leading authorities in genetics. I knew he'd created cloned animals but I never thought his research would have been so advanced."

"What are they doing, can you see?" Kyra asked.

"I think they've gone to check the progress of the new clone." Tom told them "They've gone that direction. Oh hell, they're coming back. Stay down."

Tom peeked furtively again.

"They're right outside the door." he whispered "Oh shit!"

He cringed as he saw Takeshi reach for the door handle.

"Oh shit!" he hissed, through clenched teeth.

Then the lab door opened and Kibaji Tankobo looked into the lab. Tom couldn't hear what he said, but Takeshi turned away from the ante-room, and he and Neumann left the lab. Tom exhaled loudly.

"You can open the door now, Hideo." he said "They've gone."

Suddenly the light snapped on, startling them all. They turned to face....the Tani clone.

"Oh shite!" Kyra exclaimed, her hands clutching at her face in absolute shock.

The clone stood there, katana in hand, glaring at the group. His eyes rested on the man whose DNA he shared.

"So you're the original." he sneered, his voice full of contempt.

Kyra's heart sank....he must have been there in the ante-room all the time they were in the lab. Tani was too shocked at first to say anything in reply. The Tani clone looked him up and down, disdainfully.

"You don't say much do you?" he remarked.

"You don't know him as well as you think, do you?" Kyra felt protective of her general, she certainly wasn't going to stand by while his facsimile insulted him, and just say nothing.

"I didn't ask for your opinion." the clone snapped.

"I don't need your permission to speak." she snapped back.

The Tani clone drew his katana, but Kyra was ready for him and she parried his move, deftly.

"You were foolish to come here." the clone looked round at them all, his expression surly.

"We came here for answers." Hideo replied "We knew there was something wrong with you."

"Really." the clone sounded unimpressed "Back out there, all of you."

They went back into the lab. Tom saw the clone glance briefly towards the incubation chambers.

"Who's he cloning this time?" Tom asked.

"How the hell should I know?" the clone snarled "It's not for me to question Takeshi."

Kyra moved closer to the real Tani, trying to edge in front of him to protect him. The General was still weak and she moved to support him as he wavered a little.

"You're weak!" the clone taunted "I'm strong! The reflection has outgrown the original!"

"I don't think so." Tom told him.

"I heard what you were saying," the clone snapped at him "you're liars, all of you!"

"How could you hear us from in there?" Tani sounded astonished.

"Genetically enhanced hearing." Hideo replied.

The Tani clone moved closer to the General, raising his katana....Kyra pulled Tani close and shielded him.

"No!" she looked the clone right in the eye, defiantly "I won't allow you to hurt him."

"I'm not going to hurt him...." the clone told her "I'm going to kill him. The superior reflection must replace the inferior original. That's my destiny."

"You won't last long enough to replace him!" Kyra retorted.

"LIAR!" the clone's temper flared and he drew his arm back to thrust the weapon at her "LIAR! LIAR!"

Tom and Hideo leapt at the clone, restraining him. They struggled with him for several moments, Kyra glanced anxiously at the door, worried that someone might hear the commotion and discover them.