The room seemed to quiet down, and everyone took a breather as the floating disks were no longer a threat for the moment. York smiled through his mustache, amused as usual. "Well, that was a bit more hazardous than I had hoped." he said. The next move from Neil was sudden. As if Neil's arm was being used by some unseen force, his elbow shot back and struck York in the chest, sending the man skidding across the ground. 

Sparks shot out from Neil's tattoo, and he blinked, anyone in his line of sight could see that he had somewhat regained control of himself. "What?" he mouthed, confused as to what was occurring. He didn't have time to continue however, because suddenly his body began to spasm and contort, and he fell from his standing position to being curled up on the ground. The soldier's trained their guns on him, superstitious fear evident in their eyes. 

"Hold fire!" York declared, gathering himself up and and dusting off his vest. Those that were physically closer to Neil could hear his seething breathes of pain. It was a new sound. He had been hit, thrown around, cut, and even shot, and he had never made these kinds of agonizing noises. It was as if something was touching and stretching his very nervous system. Sweat began beading off of his arms and what part of his face people could see through the thrashing, and a shoulder 'popped', though whether out of place or back into place, no one was certain. 

And then the pilot slumped into the floor, limp and motionless. The marines held their rifles up, but they relaxed a bit after moments of no movement. Taya turned and buried her face into Sayeeda's shoulder, unable to process what where they were or what was happening. Saxon gave a guttural chuckle. "It looks like his luck had finally run out." he rumbled. Woods and Sven gave him a sideways glare, though for different reasons. Woods for romantic plans foiled, and Sven because logically, Neil was their best chance for escape. 

It was fortunate for everyone that Neil groaned moments later, and a few gasps were heard as he drew himself up to a sitting position, looking more or less his old self. "Fuck," he breathed, scratching his head and blinking, as if to get used to light his eyes weren't used to. "That hurt more than I thought it would." 

Woods and Junebug both looked relatively relieved, though it would only be if one looked close. Taya instead ran to him and gave him a hug. He hugged her back, appreciating that was always going to be the one with her heart on her sleeve. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he repeated to her questions of what happened and how she believed him to be dead. York cleared his throat and stepped forward, inclining his head. "It is good to have you back as yourself, my boy. What exactly did happen?"

"Just me having 2 million years of Alien knowledge uploaded into my brain." Neil said. 

"Bullshit." Woods said, eyeing him. 

"...Yeah it is. Well, mostly. I do know the layout of this place better, and its function." he said, getting to his feet and stretching. He continued to explain at York's insistence. The men lowered their weapons with a wave of Wood's hand. "I was being whispered to in my mind." Neil explained. "Echoes in my head... I did see images. Images I never thought I would see. Places in the universe I had never been to. Monsters I had never seen. Science beyond ours...I even saw early man. I don't know. But, what I mostly saw was the history of this facility. And I know it's a fail safe facility, against the God Machine near the equator." 

"Where do we go now?" Junebug asked. 

Neil pointed down the leftmost corridor. A lowlight hall with hexagonal dimensions that never quite closed into shape, defying the eye's expectations for what was meant to be and what was. Neil cleared his throat. "The rest of the facility is that way. The other three doors go to living stations, or have collapsed." He said. The air through that tunnel did smell more fresh than the stale, recycled air that permeated the room they were currently in. 

"Let's move out!" Woods called, and the men hopped to, moving into Delta formation and keeping their rifles trained on their 9 and 12s, though they visibly blinked and shifted every time their eyes passed over the strange proportions of the hallways interior. Neil strode at the front, walking through and speaking about the things he garnered from his brief entrancement. "You know, it's pretty wild they developed their civilization two million years before we invented the written word. I think they began their first interplanetary travel with Muon-catalyzed fusion, like we did."

"Neil?" Junebug asked. He zipped his lip and looked at her, expectantly. "You said this place was a failsafe, as well as a research facility." 

"Yeah." Neil said.
 
"Failsafe how?" 

"By Decimation." a voice said behind them. They all turned in an instant, guns trained on something they least expected. One of the Old Ones stood there, though it was not flesh and blood. It was a hologram. Sven immediately scanned the apparition, and confirmed it as an A.I. system, albeit a bit rudimentary for the heights of technological advancement this race could usually achieve. The hologram continued. "The chosen one is correct, it is a failsafe. Something to be activated in only the most dire circumstances." 

Junebug gave Neil a questioning look. He nodded. "In other words, we're standing on a star system sized bomb."
[@Penny]