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Screams, shouts, and cries of panic filled the air around squad leader Tarven Denarik. Dozens of research personnel pushed hurriedly past him as his squad of six advanced towards the scene of the commotion. Their weapons were lowered, they had not the slightest idea what was going on. His squad had been called to action to investigate a disturbance that had been reported in Beta Labs. No clear information was given by security command regarding the predicament they were running into. For all he knew they could be running into the mouth of hell or simply restraining some looney medical patients who had skipped their daily dosages.

"Squad leader," a smooth, feminine voice sounded through both of his helmet's speakers; "Permission to raise weapons?"

Aliyah's overly-cautious nature seemed well-founded this time, as some of the scurrying scientists and staff had blood-stained clothing. Something bad was definitely going down.

"All weapons up, do not engage without my word," he spoke into the mic embedded in the mouth-plate of his helmet, transmitting to all active squad members. "Command, we are proceeding forwards."

"Roger that, Tarven. Try and not harm any civilians if you can help it, these personnel are vital to the experiments being carried out in Beta Labs. We are tracking your progress via security cams and helmets trackers. All eyes are on you in case you need backup."

The squad leader sighed, he hated walking into the unknown. Still though, he had a damn good gun in hand and a damn good squad covering him. He found his courage and marched onwards through the thinning crowd.

It had all happened so fast: The evacuation alarm had sounded while Sharon Lefenil was studying genetic samples taken from the various sea life which inhabited this area of the Draevus Rift, she had had no time to pack anything or secure her equipment. All of it was simply left out, much to her chagrin. She had emerged into the hallway, hearing a multitude of footsteps and cries of anguish as the door slid open. People were screaming and running down the hall, heading towards the bulkhead which sealed Beta-lab off from the rest of the facility. She gasped as she saw many of her colleagues bearing hideous, oozing wounds as they sprinted past. At the time, she thought that perhaps there was some sort of chemical spill, but the radiological alarms had not sounded. If a deadly chemical, viral, or pathogenic outbreak occurred then the entire lab would be sealed shut until hazmat teams could be brought in to determine the fate of those imprisoned within. It was a grim fail-safe, but it was necessary to keep the rest of the base safe. This seemed to not be the case. She walked out into the hall after everyone had passed her mini-lab. Aside from the blaring alarms, she could hear nothing else. But there was something that steadily became louder, coming from where all those people had fled. It sounded like slithering.

And then there it was, emerging around the corner at the end of the hallway, like a living shadow snaking across the floor, lights dully gleaming from thick, dark blue scales. It spotted her and let out a guttural hiss, traveling close to the floor despite its hefty bulk. Sharon's mind could barely make sense of the thing closing the distance with alarming speed. She had had the good sense to make a quick decision before she paid dearly for her moment of utter confusion. She took a step back and pulled the emergency lockdown lever to her right. She turned her head again and let out a terrified cry of alarm, the monstrous serpent now within a dozen feet of her. How could it have been so fast? It let out a ululating roar and coiled its body for a second, springing directly towards the closing door less than a second later.

Time slowed down for Sharon as adrenaline flooded her system, it was during this time that she saw the numerous details of the serpent's body. As she recoiled backwards in fear, her scientific mind marveled at the being before her. It's head structure was similar to that of a crocodillian, with slitted eyes and a long, broad muzzle. Its hands were wide, each containing six fingers, all ending in vicious scythe-like talons several inches long. Powerful muscles flexed under its scales along its torso and biceps, confirming her immediate theory that it could easily overpower her. Various fins and spines covered its sides, tapering down along its serpentine lower half, each quivering and twitching with spasmodic movements, each oozing some sort of semi-translucent green fluid. There seemed to even be patterns of lighter blue stripes along its back, from what she could see at her current angle. Its muzzle opened slowly, strings of saliva pouring down multiple rows of glistening, shark-like teeth. To her surprise, a large pair of fangs unfolded from the roof of the soft palette, only adding to its already deadly appearance.

It seemed to glide towards her, traveling in a downward arc as it sought to make it under the door before it fully sealed. Sharon began to panic, doubting that the door would fully close in time to protect her. With her life within moments of ending in agony, she did the only thing she could; Sharon jumped back as far as she could, not caring where her trajectory landed her.

'Anywhere would be better than here,' she thought, hoping that she would land on top of a desk or chair. She had never bothered to memorize every little aspect of the lab; maybe it would cost her dearly today.

She wasn't moving fast enough, she realized, as an elongated arm reached under the door, the scything talons grasping for her. She screamed out as one of the scythes found her calf, the tip hooking into the fabric of her pant's leg, easily digging through to her soft flesh and splitting it downwards. Blood spurted and poured from the wound as the claw slipped free, strands of flesh clinging to the black keratin. While inflicting a gruesome injury, the creature was about to receive one far worse.

Unable to withdraw its arm fast enough, the hard metal of the vertically sliding door slammed down upon the exposed limb beneath. The creature let out a yowl of anguish, dark red ichor spattering the floor as the closing door split scales, sliced muscle, and finally, cracked bone. The one entrance to the lab locked into place with a click, a severed, still twitching arm lying before it.

Sharon hit the top of a desk hard, the force of her impact tipping it over as she slid off. Papers floated around and vials crashed into the floor as the desk tipped backwards, emitting a loud thump as the metal rim collided with the tiled floor. Sharon blinked several times and winced, staring up at a blinding light fixture on the ceiling. She let out a loud gasp as an immense, burning pain in her right calf flared up. She rose up to a sitting position, still jarred from her backwards crash. She shook her head several times, trying to shake her double vision; the burning wound felt like it was actually emitting heat, though Sharon knew that whatever toxin had coated the serpent's claws was causing her nerves to fire off in a most agonizing manner. She needed to find medical aid, immediately.

Tarven and two of his five squad-mates stood directly in front of the sealed bulkhead, staring at the only means of entering or exiting Beta Labs on foot. Strobing red lights painted the scene crimson, pools of unknown fluids reflecting the various lights. Tarven highly doubted they were composed of water, opting to report this to Command. He tapped the transmission button on the side of his helmet and spoke.

"Command, this is Tarven. We are standing directly in front of the bulkhead leading into Beta Labs, it doesn't look good. There is blood everywhere and this bulkhead is sealed tight. Can you open it for us?" Tarven waited a few moments for a response, the com in his ear crackling to life as a grizzled, tough voice addressed him.

"Squad Hydra, this is general Acturn; I'm going to have one of my specialists guide you through this area. All the cameras and wall-mounted coms are down in Beta Labs, cause unknown. We've had almost no contact with the security forces inside the contained area, so we have no way of knowing what the status is of any remaining personnel or equipment."

"General," responded Tarven enthusiastically, "Its good to have you with us. What kind of intel, if any, do you have for us regarding the distress calls and lockdown?"

"Yes soldier, it is good to be working with you all again. Unfortunately, its not under better circumstances. We had some odd visual and audio anomalies occurring right before the localized blackout. Various levels of electromagnetic distortion it seems, but for the life of me I have no idea how. No EM-tech is used for experimentation in Beta-labs. The calls for help started coming in shortly after the EM disturbances and cut out after when the communications equipment failed. The entire area behind the bulkhead is dark, so my specialist is here to assist."

Aliyah scowled behind her helmet, she did not like that man. He was hardened, a little too much for someone who was human, but just enough to be somewhat relatable still. She accepted that Tarven and the rest of her squad highly respected him; she was the only one who would actively voice objections to his orders. She still didn't know how she'd never gotten a reprimand before, maybe the general liked her. The feeling wasn't mutual.

"Thanks for the heads up sir, can your man upload a schematic of Beta-Labs to our mapping projection systems?" Aliyah noted how giddy her commanding officer seemed to be right now, chalking it up to some odd father-son relationship the two shared on a level she didn't understand. Whatever the case, she would just have to bite her lip and go with it.

"Certainly, you should all be receiving the floor and room layouts in a moment or two. Are you ready to proceed through the bulkhead, Hydra?" The question was a rhetorical one, they would be going through even if they were pissing their pants.

"Affirmative, sir. Can you tell me what the evacuees are saying before we go in?"

"Not much, at least nothing that really makes sense," replied the general. "Many of them are saying that others are left inside and others are babbling about monsters dragging people off into the dark."

The entire squad paused and looked at each other, unsure how to proceed. "Did you say 'monsters', sir?"

"Indeed. We still don't know what caused their wounds, we have medical staff examining them as we speak. I would like to say that they are crazy, but insanity has a way of manifesting itself when you least expect it. Bottom line..." There was a long delay before the general continued, Aliyah half expected the com to have malfunctioned. "Be prepared for anything in there. If there is some kind of experiment running amok in there, I need you to contain it and assess the damages. Save anyone you can and learn what happened in those labs."

None of this sounded standard to Tarven, and he had seen his fair share of best laid plans gone awry. Still, he had one final question before they walked into what was likely a death trap. "Sir, if I may, who gave the order to seal the bulkhead? Those only seal automatically under certain outbreak conditions, and this doesn't look like a contagion containment protocol."

There was an odd several seconds of scratchy static on the end line before the general responded. "Unclear, all we know is that it was sealed from within by unknown personnel. Disabling lockdown now, good luck Hydra, Acturn out."

There was a loud hiss as the pneumatic seals began disengaging from their locked positions, the onboard software signaling all safety measures to cease. Tarven ran his index finger over the trigger of his TR-34 Rumbler, a powerful automatic assault rifle that specialized in close range engagements. The rate of fire was a bit slow, but the higher caliber rounds ensured that less ammunition needed to be expended to achieve a kill. The Rumbler had seen him through many engagements alive and wiser, he intended this mission to turn out no different. He turned towards his squad-mates, who stood aptly at attention.

"Hydra, this is a live-fire situation. We have no idea what we are going into, it could be the gates of hell for all I know. I do know that we are walking back out of this bulkhead alive and well, maybe a little worse for wear. You know I'm not much for these big heroic speeches, so just give me results. Stay in tight formations, don't wander off, and watch each others asses at all times. Ready to eject some fucking brass?"

"We are the fangs, we will strike at their hearts!" they all echoed in unison, raising their weapons high. Tarven couldn't help but grin, these were his men and women, ready to lay down their lives to ensure the safety of others. He wouldn't fail them today, he'd see them back home safely. Still, he had this feeling at the edge of his steely confidence, a razor-edged doubt skirting along his resolve. In his heart he knew something terrible had happened in the Beta-Labs, and part of him was afraid to walk into that potentially deadly unknown. But he was a soldier, walking into dangerous places was second nature to him.

He turned around as the bulkhead began lifting slowly, immediately raising his weapon, his squad matching him. He clicked on his underslung flashlight, his eyes set on the gleaming metal retreating into its hatch. Finally the path was open, Hydra's flashlights the only source of illumination aside from dim red emergency lights that flickered along the corridor. The cones of light swept over everything, but revealed nothing except more blood and some green viscous fluids pooled on the floor. No bodies, no immediate threats, only an unsettling silence.

Derek spotted something along the walls and called out to the rest of his squad, "Tarven, sir, look at this!" He approached what he spotted and pressed an armored finger along the deep indentations as Tarven came up behind him. "Sir...these look like..."

"Claw marks," the leader of Hydra squad chimed in, his eyes following along the deep grooves that had been sliced into the thick metallic surface. Each cut was at least an inch in diameter, only serving to raise more questions about the fate of those still left within Beta-Labs.

"Lots of blood but no corpses," observed Aliyah, "whatever came through here was big." She shined her light along the floor, noticing an odd sheen along it. "Sir, this looks like some kind of trail."

She knelt down and studied the slime, noting its thickness and pungent odor. The smell was quite similar to rotting fish, making her nose crinkle. "This is a solid trail, these aren't tracks, but it will have to do."

Tarven swept his light in a full arc around the corridor, making sure nothing was hiding in the many shadows which shrouded the narrow area. Satisfied that nothing was an immediate threat, he raised his left hand, curled it into a fist, and thrust it forward. His squad filed in behind him in a tight formation, staying exactly an arm's length away from each other. As one, Hydra began advancing into Beta-Labs, imagining the horrors they might find within.

General Acturn sat with his arms folded across his chest, watching security footage from a particular camera stationed inside Beta-Labs. He observed what unfolded with a cold emotional detachment, his personal feelings would not alter what had already come to pass. A young female intern, likely in her late twenties, was busy recording notes in her PDA, her back towards the only entrance and exit into the room. All was quiet save for the gentle hum of various server hubs stacked together. The lighting was dim to say the least, apparently faulty bulbs were to blame. Footage from this particular recording had been tweaked with higher contrast and brightness, allowing the general a greater degree of visibility for the entire room. The woman was bathed in the light of several monitors, casting shadows against the far walls. A flicker of movement caught Acturn's eye, over in the farthest corner of the room. Neon lights reflected off of thick scales, as whatever it was uncoiled itself from behind a server shelf. The lighting was far too dim to fully reveal the creature, but a separate infrared recording was readily available, and Acturn vowed to watch it after, no matter what was about to unfold. The serpent seemed motionless, watching the woman intently. Acturn could only make out a general outline, noting its bulk and size. This one seemed larger than the others, it was disturbing how easily these things could stay hidden.

It advanced on her slowly, keeping itself close to the floor, flicking out what seemed to be a prehensile tongue. It rumbled, causing the woman to turn and stare into the darkness confusedly. It was now four feet away from her, laying motionless and halting its breathing entirely. The intern would need a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the sudden shift from the extreme brightness emanating from the monitors, then she would see how dire her predicament was. Before she could spot her inhuman stalker, she turned her head and shrugged, immersing herself back into the data on the screens. Even if she had seen the beast, the situation would have played out almost identically.

The creature appeared to tense, no doubt debating on whether or not this was its moment to strike. Suddenly, the woman began talking to herself, whispering something Acturn could not comprehend. She steadily began increasing the volume of her voice, to where her words were clear but their meaning was still lost. She was rambling, spouting incoherent gibberish and trembling. This was a documented side effect of the contained artifact, one that had only begun to manifest recently. Her eyes began to bulge, as if some massive pressure was building behind them, and she spoke through gritted teeth. Her hands were clenched into fists, the veins on her neck visible. To an outside observer such as Acturn, it looked like the woman was possessed. The glow from monitors flashed many different colors, like a slide-show set to maximum speed. The intern gripped the sides of the desk, her entire body shaking as she lowered her head down to the monitors, studying something the general was very sure he didn't want to see.

Saliva began dribbling from her open mouth as she stared slack-jawed at whatever was flashing before her, any semblance of free will having vanished. Acturn did not like what he was seeing, this was complete mind-control. The serpentine beast slithered up behind her, eyeing what the young woman was staring at. Its muzzle was so close to her neck, its serrated teeth visible. It could tear her throat out in an instant, Acturn was sure, but it didn't. The two of them stood silently, watching the monitors. Then, without warning, their heads turned toward the camera. Acturn felt his skin crawl and his stomach churn; even though this was footage from several days ago, he felt that they were looking specifically at him. Their ungodly, withering gaze bore into him for several seconds before a screen of static enveloped the view, blocking out any details for what Acturn counted as seven seconds. When the footage resumed, the woman and the serpent were gone from view. The general's eyes quickly scanned everywhere in the room, finding no trace of either. Nothing seemed out of place or disturbed, which unnerved Acturn to a greater degree than if the two had remained staring at him when the footage resumed.

To his knowledge, the young woman was labeled as a missing person shortly after her disappearance, though everything was soon covered up and she was said to have simply transferred to another part of the submerged research base. There were many variations of that story for a longer list of missing personnel, one that had grown unusually quickly in the span of a few weeks. No one was enthused with what they were doing, but the orders from those above were crystal clear. The lab was to be contained at all costs, outgoing communications were to be closely monitored and edited, and the recovered artifact was to be experimented on further and observed.

The general sighed and sat back in his chair, he could have definitely used a drink now if he hadn't sworn the stuff off two years ago. No, he needed a clear mind if he was going to guide Hydra through this shit show without tipping them off to what was actually going on. He needed to send them into the heart of this madness, to where the artifact's containment was first breached. Now, he just had to hope that these serpents and whatever else lurked in those labs wouldn't be a match for this elite squad. It had to be Hydra who went into this, only they could be trusted with what they would find. A larger incursion into Beta would only risk a greater chance of sensitive information being leaked, which in turn would cause a mass panic or worse. This was how it had to be.

Acturn closed his eyes and rubbed his face, not at all surprised that he was sweating again. The whispers would begin shortly. The general wondered what they would say to him this time, still remembering every word of what they said to him last night.

"Buried deep, forgotten by all. Older than everything, the first born. Stars withering, worlds crumbling, galaxies exploding. It will come again, from depths unremembered. The oldest empire will rise, and drown the universe in blood."