My new cell was almost comfortable compared to the tube. An appropriate to my size metal shelf and a thin futon style mattress. An oversized prison style toilet that folded into the wall when not in use. A small sink that did the same. About 10' x 10' very spacious for a cell.

  They'd also given me lose fitting clothes. They were somewhat like prison clothes. Oh well, it was good to not have my bits dangling about for all to see.

  On one side of the cell, the metal walls had been repced by transparent plexigss or polycarbonate panels. Right outside was a b. At any given time there were a dozen or more scientists studying test results at their workstations. What were they studying? Me, or at least my blood and other samples.

  A few times a day, robotic arms would descend from the ceiling to take my now purple blood. Or they would inject me with more burning serums or drugs or who knows what. It was infuriating. But I couldn't escape. Yet.

  What really sucked was that I couldn't understand them. Some words sounded like English, some sounded Russian, even others Japanese. And many other nguages I only half recognized. All in the same sentences, like someone had taken all the nguages of earth and run them through a blender. Pour while chunky.

  I guessed my new System didn't help with transtion, more's the pity.

  I'd pyed around with trying to call up my system and it responded intuitively. It didn't seem to matter what I thought as long as I wanted it to come up.

  [ Subject: GhY25d76-Z649

  Species: Hybrid (Human, Night Elf, Protoss)

  Path: Sacrifice

  Css: none

  Level: n/a

  Profession: none

  Level: n/a

  Characteristics: Physical 10 / Mental 12 / Social 5 / Mana 2 / Psi Resonance 2

  Abilities: Locked

  Skills: Hand to Hand 1, Evasion 1 ]

  It seems I lost my name, that's okay. I'm not sure I remembered it anyway. Maybe, I could find a new one.

  My reward for the sacrifice of the two corpses, was an extra point in both Mana and Psi Resonance. They'd both started as 1.

  That was telling, and an incentive for going full murderhobo. Heavens knew, I'd killed people for less, once things had gone to shit back in my universe. Still, I'd like something different than to continue my new life as a walking murder machine. I suppose I'd see if I could hold to that. Power, after all, was ever sweet.

  Seems there was still a human part of me. I couldn't see anything human when I looked down. I still hadn't seen a proper reflection of myself. So maybe it was my eyes. Or maybe it was something internal. I didn't seem any smarter, and I do remember that Elves and Protoss brains were purportedly more advanced than humans. Maybe that was it.

  Once a day, a robot arm delivered a foil pouch of a pudding. The pudding was tasteless and blue. There was something soulless about it. My teeth were sharper than before and my canines had morphed into small fangs. So maybe, I needed some meat.

  Thankfully, despite being far taller than the humans, maybe 8', I didn't seem to need to eat much, as I rarely finished the whole pudding pouch. I recalled that Protoss don't need to eat, they absorbed light and other forms of energy through their skin. Only a few spots on me looked like a Protoss' skin, but it did seem to absorb something. It felt good to stand directly under the lights in my room.

  More interestingly the Scientists had given me small samples of the glowing crystals they'd been exposing me to in the tube.

  There were three in different shades of blue. Two of them tickled my mind. The lightest colored one stirred something in my gut. The red crystal made my skin tingle. The green one made me itch, but not unpleasantly so. The purple one seemed to whisper something in my head, but I couldn't make out the words. A yellow crystal, both warmed my skin and simuted my mind. A clear crystal seem to tug at something inside me, making me sick. I didn't like that one, I threw it in the toilet.

  The more I handled the stones, the more their effects on me seemed to grow.

  I suspected two of the blue gems were Khaydarin crystals, and that the yellow one was Sorite. The other blue one was likely a mana crystal. I had no clue about the origins of the red one. The green one was either nature mana or a corrupted crystal from the burning legion. I was pretty sure it was nature mana reted though. The purple one was maybe death reted mana or spirit reted, not completely sure. I just had to not listen to it, which wasn't as hard as it might seem. I suspected the clear crystal was soul reted. Good or bad I didn't care, I never wanted to touch one of those again.

  The real highlight of my day though was that twice a day, for about an hour each time, they opened a view port on the back wall of my cell.

  I got to stare in wonder down at a pnet, that I knew all too well. Azeroth. Oh how I'd loved to py there in my younger days. Before everything went to shit. It turns out that Legion came out just before an actual apocalypse. I'd barely gotten to experience the glory and terror of being a Demon Hunter, before I was knee deep in literal dead things.

  Though if that really is Azeroth down there, that meant there were plenty of dead things moving about when they shouldn't. And if there were Protoss that implied there were Zerg. Which in turn opened up the possibility of Infested Terrans, oh joy.

  30 years of wading through Zombies to find an escape, only to realize I'd have to face more Zombies. Cssic.

  My chuckle was quiet, but I saw a b tech make a note of it.

  I supposed I should be gd the eggheads hadn't tried to splice Zerg DNA into me. What a might mare that would've been, if I could've even survived the process.

  I shuddered at the thought.

  Bet that went in the report too.

  Hmm. Azeroth was here, the Protoss were here. Since Protoss were only in the Koprulu Sector, That meant Azeroth was smack dab in the middle of the conflict in Starcraft. Important question, who is scarier Amon or Sargeras? I didn't know, but I was going to go with whichever one is closer to you right now.

  And I had no way of knowing where either was.

  From up here, I couldn't tell were Azeroth was in its history. I'd really like to find out. Punt a gnome or two, face stomp a few goblins. Tickle a Tauren, wreck an Orc. Spank a Night Elf hottie, maybe a Blood Elf one too. Drink with the Draenei and the Dwarves. All those wonderful adventures. Across just a small void of space. So close, yet so far.

  Taunting me.

  The station shuddered.

  The Scientists stared to panic. Oh, how fascinating. Poor babies.

  Something hit the station again.

  Arms began to sounds, Lights started fshing. The humans ran around like chickens, seeming to have forgotten whatever evacuation pns they must have had.

  Another hit and several of of the workstations seemed to explode. All the lights blinked off for a second before returning. One of the scientist was yelling and waving, maybe trying to get the others to follow proper procedures.

  My cell door opened. I gathered my crystals, and put them in my pocket. They might be useful for something.

  I stepped into the b. Every human in the room turned to look at me. I smiled. The same smile I always gave to Zombies before I sent them to their final rest.

  That really made the eggheads terrified.

  I wanted to smash them into pieces. But I needed them, they knew how to get off on this tin can. I held up my hands to show I meant no harm. I then pointed to the pnet, and pantomimed running with my fingers. The lead Scientist got it. She nodded to me and pointed, down I hall I hadn't seen. She had her head screwed on right, for a nerd.

  I nodded to her.

  I took off down that hall, she stayed to try and round up her people.

  I hit the wall, when another impact rocked the station. I straightened up and kept going, I didn't look back. Then I felt something call me into a room on my left. Shit, I didn't want to stop but it might be important. Ah, hell. Whatever. Let's check it out.

  It was a workroom, simir to a mechanics shop. I followed the call and found a pair of Psibde focusers. I don't know why or how they called to me but I grabbed them and some leather clothes, probably the Night Elf's. Then I snagged a backpack stuffed full of things. My hoarding instincts were strong. Years of conditioning, to snatch up what I could while I could.

  Then I started running down the hall. I ended up in a dead end room.

  What? Had she tricked me?

  This room had four hatches, oh escape pods. Whew. Opening one, revealed they could comfortably fit about six humans, more if they were friendly. Maybe two of me. I wasted no time getting in and tching the hatch closed. I wasn't going to share. Fuck those guys.

  While I couldn't read the nguage, though the characters were Latin based. I recognized the letters, but not the words. That was something. I'd probably need some nguage lessons, down on the pnet. The big red button however, was pretty self-expnatory. I knelt down trying to brace myself. I wasn't going to fit in the seats.

  I smmed the button.

  Lights fshed and cmps let go of the pod with a shake. The engine spooled up. I'd barely managed to grab firmly onto a seat before the force of the pod's propulsion smmed me backwards.

  Straight toward Azeroth.

  "Yeehaw! Express elevator to hell, going down!"

  This was pure adrenaline!

  I hadn't seen what was attacking the station, and I'm sure I didn't want to. Even if I was happy to grasp the opportunity.

  Now, could I steer this thing? There was a control stick. I used my thumb and pointer finger to gently move it. The pod responded. Good. Okay, lets try to judge where we're going to enter the atmosphere. We were coming in at an angle, the pod seemed to autocorrect for safe entry. So I'd best not mess with it until we'd broken through.

  Yup, there we go. Streams of fire started streaking past the viewport. I didn't know if this pod relied on its materials or had some kind of shielding to resist the heat but I seemed to be fine. I paid close attention to the entry process. I might only have a minute before we hit the ground, so I'd have to try to aim for the best location I could get to.

  With a shudder the fire stopped, I stared hard at the nd below. Kalimdor, I think. Aim for the north. I had a better chance with the Night Elves, than anyone else. Hopefully, I don't end up in Felwood.

  Ah shit, the stick broke.

  Nope, not good. I'm pretty sure that's Un'goro carter we're headed for. Dinos and bugs. Oh my. Whelp, I'm fucked.

  Right toward Fire Plume Mountain, lovely. Depending on the Era, that's either instant death or slow roasty death.

  Then the air rippled in front of my pod, and it struck something invisible. The random hand of fate, strikes again.

  The pod was deflected towards an isnd I didn't recall, south west of what I thought was Silithus. Fairly rge too. Something new? Interesting. Well, riches, glory and death await. Let us meet them with a smile. Preferably in that order.

  Retro thrusters on the pod started firing. Slowly us down rapidly The surface grew closer, It looked like the pod would hit just off the coast of the isnd. A bit of luck. Hopefully, it wasn't full of hungry trolls. Or worse.

  When the pod crashed into the waves, I was ready. I'd grabbed my stuff and an emergency bag I saw to one side. There were five others but I'd have to come back for them, if I could. I popped the hatch and jumped into the water.

  Cold. Almost freezing. Odd, weren't there semi tropical isnd on roughly the same titude? A very rge fin poked up out of the water. The dozens of yards to the shore felt very far away all of the sudden and I put every effort into get there as fast as I could.

  I made it to the shore and turned around. My watery nemesis, breached the surface. Gring at me. I understood, I cheated it of a meal. That said, it was a horrifying beast of a shark. Red skin glowing green eyes. Oh right, probably Demon corrupted. Which possibly meant I was in big trouble.

  The Pod and its contents could remain were they where. I don't think I'd be going back out in those waters anytime soon.

  I prayed that this unknown isnd was safer.