Chapter 56: The Doctor

*

He turned his head and looked at the creature that hovered above the floor and stared at him. At least he assumed it stared at him because he had no proof that it actually did that. It had no eyes which could rest on him, so it was hard to tell for him if it was really looking at him. Nevertheless, he was certain it was seeing him due to its magical abilities. It regarded him as one piece of armour after another was put on him.

The servants of the light treated each piece of armour with extreme carefulness because they didn't want to drop, scratch or damage it. They put on his shoes, greaves and his upper thigh armour first. They continued with the vest and coat of chain mail which were also golden like the rest of his armour.

The man lifted his left hand and signalized the servants to stop. They obeyed but gave him irritated looks before they looked at the creature next to him. "Is the chain mail really necessary?" he asked the sentient ancient being which was still watching him.

"It is. The light might have chosen you but that doesn't make you invincible. You need the right armour and the right weapon to defeat your enemies. OUR enemies." The creature's voice was warm and very high. It was pleasant to hear and soothed him.

"Alright. I will wear the chain mail if you wish, Z'eru," he said.

The ancient being didn't respond to him. It remained on its spot, some of its fragments rotated around the rest of its body. The humans, blood elves and draenei continued to put on his new armour. The breastplate and shoulder plates were the next pieces of armour that were put on. His upper arm armour and his gauntlets followed quickly. The only piece that was missing was his helmet.

He turned his head, looking at the tall male draenei that held a helmet in his hands. Like the rest of his armour, it was also golden. Small runes were engraved in the visor and the skull cap. The draenei walked behind him and lifted the helmet above his head. He slowly lowered it and carefully placed it on top of the man's head.

The man closed his eyes as he felt the power rush through his body when the armour was finally complete. He wore all pieces of the legendary armour of the previous Chosen. He felt so powerful. He felt as if he could crush mountains with his bare fists. He felt better than ever.

The power made him self-confident. Nevertheless, he remained calm. He knew he was neither invincible nor unstoppable. He knew that his gifted power didn't make him the strongest creature in the universe. His power was not unlimited and he had to use it wisely.

The man regarded his gloved hands for a few moments before got up from the throne-like chair. His golden eyes fell on the sentient energy being. "What do you want me to do first, Z'eru?"

"You need to retrieve the remains of the sword your predecessor swung. We need to reforge it but to be able to do that you have to find all three pieces."

"Where do I find them?" he asked.

The energy being didn't answer him immediately. It waited until a female draenei had approached the curious man and handed him a golden splinter. "This is a splinter of the sword's blade. Use it to find all three pieces."

The man nodded. "As you wish, Z'eru.

*

---

Sylvanas walked from one corner to another and then back to the first. She was nervous and worried. Very worried. A week had passed since Raesh had told her that Kelrian left to meet Exadius. That was the last time Kelrian had been seen. She had no idea where he went nor did she know what he had seen in the vision. She feared the worst. She didn't want to imagine what could have happened to Kelrian in the meantime.

She hoped he was alright and would return to her soon. She would never lose hope, no matter how bad the situation looked. She had faith, knowing that Kelrian was very strong. She knew he could take care of himself but she was worried nevertheless. She was always worried about the ones she loved.

Sylvanas walked back to the other corner of the room, turned around and looked at her sisters who regarded her, the worry in their eyes couldn't be overseen. They sat on chairs and regarded their middle sister since they had entered the room. They knew that Kelrian's disappearance really troubled Sylvanas. It was not the first time he had vanished but there was still reason enough to worry.

The last time Kelrian had vanished, he was gone for four years. These four years had been very difficult for Sylvanas. Living without Kelrian had been a real torment for her. She had hated every day where Kelrian had not been there. She had struggled with depressions then and only her thirst for vengeance had motivated her to keep going.

She had been so happy when Kelrian had returned but now he had disappeared again. Like the last time, she had no idea where he was. The Alliance had only one clue but Exadius' whereabouts were not known to her. Not even Exadius' children knew where he went. They were investigating his and Kelrian's disappearance and but they had not found anything yet. They were Sylvanas' only hope.

Alleria got up from her chair eventually and walked to Sylvanas, stopping in front of her. Sylvanas tilted her head a little and raised an eyebrow, looking at her curiously. "You need to calm down, Sylvanas," Alleria said quietly.

"Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down when Kelrian is still missing? He could be anywhere and anything bad could happen to him. How am I supposed to calm down when I don't know how he is doing? I don't even know if he is still alive."

Alleria took a deep breath. "Kelrian is a tough man. He is much stronger than we ever imagined. I'm sure he is able to deal with any threat."

"He is not immortal nor is he undefeatable. He might be strong but he is just a mortal and not a god. Even he can be defeated."

"Unfortunately, we have no idea where he went with Exadius."

Sylvanas' eyes narrowed as she heard that name. "I'm asking myself if trusting that demon was a mistake. Maybe we should have taken a much closer look at him before giving him military information. What if Exadius kidnapped him?"

"We don't know much about him but we know that Kelrian trusted him. I don't want to be prejudiced against him but... He is a demon and we know that demons would do anything to achieve their goals. They lie, manipulate and kill to get what they want... What if..." A thoughtful look could be seen on Alleria's face.

"What if Exadius behaved nicely in front of us to gain our approval? What if he manipulated Kelrian to trust him? What if Exadius is just one of these fel-sucking bastards who pretend to be our allies but are in truth our enemies?" Sylvanas was more worried than before.

"I always told you that I have my problems when it comes to trusting demons and working with them," replied Alleria. "I told you that I do not trust Varimathras and that the same counts for Exadius and Balnazzar."

"Varimathras... Since I discovered that Balnazzar is still alive, I doubt his loyalty from time to time... He may have killed his brother when I gave him the order but the newest discovery puts everything in a different light. He killed his brother knowing that he would not really die, and he even withheld that information from me..."

Alleria put a hand on Sylvanas' shoulder. "You should be careful who you trust, sister. I will never judge you, keep that in mind. I care for you, so I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I'm worried that Varimathras might do something bad one day."

Sylvanas gave her a small nod. "Seems I need to have a serious conversation with Varimathras."

"You should talk to him."

"But first we have to find Kelrian. I will not rest until we found out where he went."

Alleria sighed. "I don't want to sound pessimistic but..."

Sylvanas raised a brow, a frown appeared on her forehead and an upset expression could be seen on her face. "What?"

Alleria swallowed. "Well, except for Exadius, we have no other clues which we could follow. We have no idea where we should start looking for."

Sylvanas didn't look pleased. "I know that already. You don't have to tell me that again."

"I'm sorry, Sylvanas. I didn't want to annoy you or make you upset. I'm here to comfort you."

"You have been doing a terrible job so far," hissed Sylvanas and turned around, walking away from Alleria.

Alleria frowned. She was aware of Sylvanas' mood swings and her lash outs when she was angry or stressed. She had gotten known to her undead sister over the past years, so she knew that she could be happy one moment and very mad in the next moment. Her mood could swing dramatically in a matter of seconds.

She was a really complicated person and dealing with her was a real challenge sometimes. Helping her sister was not always easy but Alleria always did everything in her power to support her sister and make her feel better. So did every other member of their family. As Sylvanas' older sister, it was Alleria's duty to take care of her and comfort her. Sylvanas could be insufferable from time to time but Alleria always stayed calm and tried to bear Sylvanas' mood swings as best as she could.

"I'm sorry that I'm not able to comfort you, Sylvanas. I try my best but it is not enough this time. I'm sorry."

"I don't need your comfort," hissed Sylvanas. "I need hints about Kelrian's whereabouts. I need to know if he is alright. That's all I need."

"Unfortunately, we don't know where he is," muttered the Regent Lady.

"All we can hope for is that Exadius' children find out where they are," said Vereesa.

Sylvanas turned her head to look at her younger sister. "If Exadius betrayed us, I doubt his children will give us any information."

"We don't know yet if he kidnapped Kelrian. We shouldn't accuse him before we have any proofs. His children gave us useful information about Whitemane, Illidan and Kael'thas. We checked these pieces of information and it turned out they were right. Whitemane is planning an offence against us and Kael'thas tried to use the Cipher of Damnation to subjugate the elemental lords of Outland. If it weren't for them, Kael'thas' plan would have been successful. Thanks to Xatorious' information, we managed to track him on Outland and destroy the Cipher of Damnation. He may have escaped but at least he didn't strengthen his army."

"You are right about that, Vereesa. I forgot about that in my anger. I'm sorry," replied Sylvanas.

"Have you ever considered the possibility that the mad king kidnapped father?" Raesh asked. Sylvanas turned her head to look in the direction where Raesh's voice came from. He was standing near the entrance of the room and regarded his mother and aunts curiously. She had not noticed him entering the room.

"Of course we have," said Vereesa. "We even smuggled a few spies into Tempest Keep but they didn't return yet..."

"It's very likely that they are dead," replied Sylvanas.

"Don't say that. They could still be alive."

"They would have already reported to us if they were still alive. I would not count on them, Vereesa."

Vereesa sighed. "I still have hopes that they are still alive. Maybe they just didn't have the opportunity to leave Tempest Keep unnoticed."

"Maybe... It seems we have to put our faith in the hands of these dreadlords which you seem to trust," said the Banshee Queen.

"I do not trust them. I just said that they provided us with useful information. Without them, Kael'thas would have succeeded in enslaving the elemental lords. Imagine what a threat he would pose with them by his side."

"That would have been a problem indeed," Sylvanas said quietly.

"Since we started working with the draenei, we are making progress in forcing back Kael'thas' forces. As you know, he is still in conflict with Illidan Stormrage and large portions of their forces are constantly clashing. He cannot send all of his forces against us, which makes our chances of victory higher. If we win more battles, we might get very close to Tempest Keep and then we can assault it and confront Kael'thas. If we capture him, only Illidan remains. We have to take care of him too," said Alleria.

"I can't wait until we dealt with the threats on Outland so that we can finally focus on our main problem again. The Scourge is still active in the Plaguelands and their numbers in Northrend increase with each passing day. They are getting stronger and stronger while we have to spend valuable lives and resources to deal with these traitors," replied the undead elf. "But first, we have to find Kelrian."

"You will see your loverboy soon," said a cold voice. "I know where he is."

Sylvanas turned around, a curious look could be seen on her face as she looked at the woman who had just entered the room. A small amount of hope could be seen in her crimson red eyes.

Danara stood in the door, looking perfect as always. Her blood-red hair was made in a ponytail, her golden-red armour was undamaged as always. Her fel green eyes rested on the Banshee Queen.

"Where is he?" Sylvanas asked impatiently. For the first time of the day, she seemed to be positive and her voice didn't reflect coldness or frustration.

"He is in Tempest Keep."

Sylvanas' eyes widened but she was not the only one who was very surprised by the news. Vereesa, Alleria and Raesh had similar expressions on their faces. They had not expected Kelrian to be there.

"As an undercover agent or as a prisoner?"

"Unfortunately, as a prisoner."

Worry appeared in Sylvanas' eyes. "But how... How did he get caught? Did your father..." She didn't finish her sentence.

Danara shook her head. "My father didn't betray us if that's what you think. I have no idea why but it seemed that they went to Tempest Keep and got caught there. I suggest that they heard of the Cipher of Damnation much earlier than us and wanted to stop Kael'thas before he could use it.

According to those loyalists I kidnapped and interrogated, Kelrian and Exadius had not been seen until they confronted Kael'thas. They probably sneaked into the fortress but were caught somehow. I didn't find out how they got in there but something tells me that they had help by someone. It's possible that the same person betrayed them. Unfortunately, I didn't find out who accompanied them."

Thoughtful looks could be seen on the faces of everyone. Sylvanas was the first who stopped looking thoughtful and started looking determined instead. "If he is there, we have to free him before Kael'thas corrupts him. Who knows what he is capable of?"

"Nothing good, I assume. As you already know, Kael'thas allied himself with the Burning Legion which has a great interest in putting my father back under their control. It's not unlikely that they will try the same with Kelrian," told Danara.

"We have to rescue him and stop Kael'thas before it is too late," hissed Sylvanas.

Danara nodded. "I will bring those remaining demons, who serve my family, to Outland and assist your forces there. Let's hope we reach Tempest Keep before it's too late."

---

His ears were buzzing, his head was hurting and his skin was tingling uncomfortably. Sometimes his vision was clear, sometimes it was blurred, It changed from moment to moment. Kelrian had no idea what Lord Sanguinar had injected him but he assumed it was nothing good. He felt uncomfortable, very uncomfortable.

He spotted someone out of the corner of his left eye but he was not able to see enough of that creature. He saw a red sleeve which could belong to his father's robe but it could also belong to any other loyalist who wore a red robe. The creature near him didn't have to be his father.

Kelrian still couldn't believe that everything had gone down the tube. He had had his doubts before the beginning of the mission but he had trusted Exadius, so he had gone with him and his traitorous son. He regretted that he went with Exadius without informing Sylvanas first. He should have told his family about their mission. He shouldn't have gone with the dreadlords to Tempest Keep without reinforcements. He had blindly trusted Exadius and that had been his doom. His blind trust had brought him into his current situation.

He couldn't have known that Xertus would betray them. He had fought by his side for months against Kil'jaeden's agents. He had saved his lives a few times and Xertus had saved his one time. He had established a relationship with Xertus and even considered him a friend. His betrayal really hurt Kelrian but he had other things to worry about at this moment.

He had no idea what his father would do to him. He assumed that he wanted to bring him on his side by corrupting him or brainwashing him. He had no doubt his father would try everything to break his mind. But Kelrian had promised himself to stay strong. He will do anything in his power to resist his father's attempts to get him on his side. He had no idea if he would succeed in the long run. He could only hope that someone will rescue him. Until then, he had to hold out but that was easier said than done. The pain which had been inflicted to him had been bad but not too worse. He knew they could make the pain much worse if they wanted to.

The creature, Kelrian had seen out of the corner of his eye, finally stepped in his view. They were blurred at first but then they became clearer. It was a female felblood elf with ashen grey skin and bone-white hair that reached to her shoulders. Her deep green eyes rested on him. She wore a pair of glasses, her robe was crimson red. She carried a clipboard and a pen in her hands and gave Kelrian a curious look.

"How are you doing?" she asked. Her annoying high-pitched voice rang in his ears.

Kelrian didn't answer her. He just stared at her, his eyes were narrowed eyes and reflected anger. The woman raised a brow. "I asked you something," she said with a strict voice.

Kelrian refused to answer.

The woman sighed. "We can do it the easy way or the hard way. It is up to you."

Kelrian remained silent.

The woman sighed again. "Seems we have to do it the hard way to make you speak." She turned her head and looked in a certain direction. Kelrian was not able to turn his head, so he was not able to see where the doctor was looking. He guessed that someone else was in the room.

"Delrissa would you come and aid me with the patient?" asked the felblood elf.

"As you wish, Doctor Sivallah."

A six-armed female demon came in Kelrian's sight. It was a shivarra with light purple skin and red-golden armour that covered her knees, her lower legs and most of her upper body. Her arms, her belly and her upper thighs were uncovered. So was her beautiful face. Her green eyes were glowing brightly, her red lips were pressed together.

"The patient refuses to communicate with me. You know what you have to do, priestess," said the doctor.

The shivarra put two of her six hands on Kelrian's head. Nothing happened in the first seconds but then his temples started to hurt. The pain got worse and spread quickly until his whole head hurt. The pain was bearable at first but it got more and more intense the more time passed. After a while, Kelrian had the impression that his head would explode at any moment. Fortunately, it didn't. Kelrian was still able to bear the pain somehow, so he didn't give in. Delrissa removed her hands eventually and looked at Doctor Sivallah.

"Do you want to talk now?" the felblood elf asked.

Kelrian's head was still hurting, even though the shivarra had removed her hands. The after-effect was much worse than Kelrian had expected. He was barely able to concentrate but even if he wouldn't feel any pain, he would not answer the doctor. He knew that nothing good would happen if he would allow the doctor to do what she was planning to do to him. He had no intention to cooperate with her and speak to her.

"I think he is still dazed from the pain I inflicted to him," said Delrissa.

"Alright, we'll give him a few minutes. If he won't answer again you can repeat the procedure."

"As you wish, doctor."

Kelrian didn't hear what they were talking about. Their voices were unrecognizable and drowned out by the pain which got worse after a while. Delrissa was torturing him again. He heard voices but they were much quieter this time. He was able to hear his own heartbeat. It was very fast and extremely loud. He had no idea why it was so loud.

He passed out at some point.

When Kelrian was conscious again, he realized that he was not wearing any clothes. He was not able to lift his head, so he could not examine himself to see if they had done something to him. His body felt numb at first but the more time passed the more parts of his body he was able to feel again. He was able to move his feet a little, his toes and even his hands and all of his ten fingers. He was able to turn his head a little to the right side, spotting Delrissa who was standing in front of a table. Unfortunately, he was able to see what was on the table.

He turned his head a little to the left, spotting nothing. Doctor Sivallah was nowhere to be found. But the doctor was not missing for too long. She came into the room after a few minutes, a satisfied expression could be seen on her face. She looked less tense than before, almost relaxed. She wore a different robe whose colour was much darker than the first one. She stepped to Kelrian and licked her lips as she regarded his nude form from head to toe. "Now I understand why the Banshee Queen couldn't get enough of you. You have a wonderful body indeed. I almost feel bad that I have to ruin this perfection of a body but I have my orders."

Doctor Sivallah stepped closer to Kelrian and put a hand on his chest, running her hand over his muscles. "You don't have to worry, my prince. You will be perfect again as soon as I'm done with you. Lord Kil'jaeden will make you stronger than you could have ever imagined. You will crush our enemies in his name and no one will be able to stop you."

"I will never serve the Legion," Kelrian hissed. "Not in a million years." Kelrian's eyes were narrowed and reflected determination.

Doctor Sivallah raised an eyebrow, a small amount of surprise was visible in her eyes. "He speaks. What a surprise. I almost thought you were mute."

The doctor looked at the shivarra. "Did you think he would talk willingly, Delrissa?"

"No, I didn't."

"I'm glad he did. That way, I won my bet against Lord Xertus. I really wanted to have that necklace. It matches perfectly with my hair."

"You tortured me for a damn necklace?" Kelrian shouted outraged.

Doctor Sivallah's lips formed a sadistic smile. "I did. It's just a common necklace which has no useful abilities but I like its look. I wanted it but he didn't give it to me, so I asked him to make a bet with me. If I manage to make you speak within three days, he gives me the necklace."

Kelrian's eyes narrowed. "You can't be serious."

The doctor chuckled. "I am serious. I love torturing people, especially arrogant pieces of shit like you."

"I'm not arrogant," hissed Kelrian.

Soft laughter escaped the felblood elf's lips. "Oh yes, you are. You thought you could sneak into Tempest Keep and destroy the Cipher without being seen. If that's not arrogant..."

"That has nothing to do with arrogance. I knew we could do it but we couldn't know that this bastard would betray us," replied Kelrian. He sounded very angry. It was clearly visible on his face that he was furious.

Doctor Sivallah shrugged. "If you say so." She looked at Delrissa who gave her a curious look. "Do we need any information from him?"

"I already extracted all the information the master needs, doctor."

Doctor Sivallah smiled. "Perfect. Now I can begin with the transformation. Ram the tip of the hose into his aorta."

The shivarra took a hose through which a green substance was flowing and rammed the tip into Kelrian's chest. A sharp scream escaped his lips but the pain faded quickly. The substance made him feel better but also sleepy.

Doctor Sivallah held a clean, fel green scalpel in front of his face. "Don't worry, you will not feel any pain during the procedure. You will fall asleep soon and only wake up when I'm finished."

"You...will...pay...for...this," were Kelrian's last words before everything around him became dark.