Michael Samuelle's Story

As for Aoi, while he watched the others get their prizes, he also got his own. It was a rather interesting pair of items, one was a glove, and the other a Satchel. He was not really sure what to do with all this at first, but when he put on the glove he immediately realized its effects. After all, anything that would influence sonic waves he would notice immediately. Whatever this glove was, it appeared to be able to use the same powers as him, and could also act as an amplifier for those powers. It might even help reduce his recoil, though he was in no rush to test that yet.

As for the Satchel, when he reached into it, he could feel...well, infinity. But not only that, he felt something he could pull out. He went and pulled it right out, and it was one of his Blink grenades he designed. He reached in again, and this time pulled out a goo grenade. That said, he wanted to make sure they would work all the same.

He tossed the blink grenade, and it landed on the wall he threw it at. It seemed to attach itself, and then Aoi appeared right there on the wall, standing and holding the blink grenade.

"I see....this will be very useful indeed" he commented, deactivating it and jumping off the wall. Since he didn't know the full extent of the mute, he had no plans on using some of the more experimental grenades, but since this reward was given by the Dungeon, he guessed he could use them then, or at least any he could pull out of here.

Well, he would still probably limit what he used all the same, since it would be bad if it had an adverse reaction to the Dungeon in some way.

"So then, shall we move forward?"

He decided to try and keep everyone moving and occupied, before anyone got into another fight with each other.

"Yes, and if we do, we should get a marching order in place," Havasikaji said. More irate than usual, she'd mentally assimilated herself to the co-leader of the group, along with Casren and Aoi. The others could take a trip down the Styx.
"I, Casren and Blue Boy here will lead. We're all fairly adept at combat so we should be fine. Soldiers, senile wizard dude, talking snowman and demon chick, you're all in the middle. The rest of you all are in the back.
"Now, I don't want to even here a peep of a complaint out of any of you. If anyone so much as says 'I don't wanna be in the back!', or 'Since when were you the leader?', I will hellblast you right where the sun doesn't shine.
"Now let's get a move-on. I'm tired of waiting on you children." Havasikaji then continued down the hallway, regardless of whether the others followed her or not.

Temperance approached the wristlet and snatched it, looking it over. Deeming it suitable, she placed it into her bag. In complete disregard of Havasikaji, Temperance quipped, albeit in her own tongue that Havasikaji likely would not understand.

Meo Meow-Meow MeStic, OwStic Meow.

(I don't recall anyone making you the leader, Terran Girl.)

Temperance would then follow everyone else. Perhaps there was treasures to gain. She had to make sure no one else got to her bag.

As he heard himself get called little boy blue, although he did shrug it off...he totally did...he definently is not forcing himself in any way, it did remind him of something.

"For the record, my name is Aoi. Aoi Azul" he said...hoping no one realized both his first and last name actually were the words for blue...but then he turned towards Cryoface. "...and also, I am a boy, not a girl".

Cryoface had reffered to him as a female earlier, so he also had to clear that up...and he was really hoping that Cryoface was the only one who had made that mistake. After all, he looked very masculin. He was sure of it. He definently was not short, not very tough looking, and so on...he definently looked like a boy!

While hiding all that inside his head behind a carefully trained poker face, Aoi continued to move forward as well towards the next challenge. He forgot to question why he was in front though and Cryoface was in back, given you usually wanted the faster people in the middle so they could react quickly, and the tougher people in front to take any damage from surprise attacks and traps though. Totally not because he was secretly flustered by some comments. He was very professional.

Well, he was, otherwise he wouldn't be here and wouldn't have been the first to solve the riddle, granted thanks to some actions that others took to give him those final clues.

Each of the five Aschen took their artifacts, strange magically imbued bracelets, they inspected them, turned them over, and then placed them in satchels attached to their armor.

Marlene was the only one who didn't take the bracelet, and put it in a satchel, she also was the only one that brought her attention to the strange woman who began barking orders.

"You have neither the qualification, or the leadership to command me, or my men." Marlene commented, staring at Havasikaji. "If you attempt to order me, or my men again..." The blonde said coldly, as she approached the demon-woman.

"I will gut you like a fish, before displaying your entrails from the nearest precipice." She said, the Aschen standing, with a rather imposing stance.

She didn't take her eyes off the other woman, but with a simple hand gesture, she motioned for the others to gather around.

"Let's proceed." Marlene ordered, and the flashlights came on once more.

Dorant swiped a hand about and called out to the aschen leader. "Oh hush now child, your acting petulant and foolish. Honestly threatening people with fish guts and all? If your going to be so immature then I'm afraid I'll have to contact your parents." He wagged a finger at Marlene before turning and nodding at Havasikaji. "After you young lady. Since you seem to be the most coordinated of us here, I'd be happy to have you escort me through this place. After all, If I were to wander on my own, i'd probably get lost. And then i'd be late for dinner." The old man grinned at his own jest, stepping into place behind Cryoface.

"By the way" He said to the large ice creature "Are you alright? I'm not sure if your maintained by magic or not, but if you are, the lack of power back there couldn't have felt good for you. Do you need some juice?" He started rummaging through his satchel, before pulling out a small kids juice box. "I have apple, grape, pomegranate, something called tomato puree?"

Havasikaji smirked at the haughty Aschen woman as the old geezer called her out. At least someone appreciated her take-over.
Reining in the Aschen would be tough. Not only were they a bunch of holier-than-thou bastards, Lady Peroxide over there probably meant it when she said she'd gut Havasikaji like a fish, despite the wizard's reassurances. She'd have to find someone to keep an eye on them.
As she scanned over her group, she realized exactly who would be able to pull it off.
"Hey, Blue Kid," Havasikaji whispered to Aoi as they walked down the hall. "Mind keeping an eye on those soldiers? If they start acting treasonous or doing any sort of suspicious behavior, just give a 'shout', if you know what I mean." The cambion winked, referring to Aoi's apparent ability to generate high levels of sonic energy with his voice.

Akio was the last one to retrieve his artifact: a navy blue kimono with a golden fabric belt. He waited for everyone to go on ahead before he changed clothes. There were children present after all. And no...he was not just referring to the blue-haired boy.

"These people," he thought aloud, definitely out of earshot from them (well, except Aoi), "They only care for themselves. Which wouldn't be a problem if they didn't feel the need to constantly try and prove themselves better than one another."

He sighed as he tied a knot around the front of his kimono with the golden belt in front. He already felt the comfort of the new article of clothing was far superior to the old faded blue kimono he was used to wearing. It wasn't rough or rugged, but soft and silky. And something told him that it carried special properties of it's own, not unlike the other artifact the rest of the group had received. He would find out what uses it carried later.

He glanced at his katana, "I can't ask you all for guidance while I'm in here. That would defeat the purpose. But I don't believe I'm on my own."

He looked ahead towards the group that was heading to whatever awaited in front of them. "I am supposed to have these people to help, utilizing their own pasts and expertise to navigate through these trials while providing my own. That's what I think this cave wants us to do."

He glanced back at Southpaw Sentry, who had once again taken it's place in front of the hallway. The Impervious Door had shut behind them. No turning back now...

"I hope I can rely on them," Akio muttered as he jogged to catch up, "Because I fear if we can't work together, we're not going to get very far."

"Okay, first, I'm sorry I called you a girl," Cryoface sighed at Aoi as he put the crown of ice on his head, instantly standing up straighter as his powers were returned to him with interest. "Second, you're right. We have to organize ourselves effectively. The reason those Aschen are operating independently is they're used to working with each other and ONLY with each other. Plus they don't think much of Terrans. And to answer someone's question earlier, yeah, it was hard, but I was able to deal with it. I knew I didn't have much time before melting away, however...so glad everyone figured it out."

He idly reached for the massive icy broadsword on his back, but thought better of it. That would just be asking to take a disruptor blast to the face. "Come on. Let's see what else they got. The sounds of battle from outside are getting dimmer...sounds like the decisive moment has arrived. I only hope that it ends in Terran liberation. I really don't want whoever they were fighting against come in for a backside hit on our group."

As Havasikaji and the group continued to walk along the corridor, there was a great rumbling, as if one thousand feet were running down the long hallways.
Havasikaji held up a hand to halt the group. "Stop. Do you hear that?" The cambion turned to look behind her.
And her jaw immediately dropped. For charging down the corridor towards them was an entire army of men wearing black hoodies. Exactly like the one from the guy who had died earlier, when the golem farted.
Havasikaji was usually very brave, and didn't like to stand down to a little opposition. This, however, was not a little opposition. It was a lot.
"RUN!!!" she shouted, and took off down the corridor as the army of hooded men began to reach the group.

Dorant turned to look at the army of black hooded individuals rushing towards them, a smile on his face. "Why hello there young men, will you be joining us on this.... hmm, Would any of you suppose it to be a quest? I rather like the idea of this being a quest. Yes... Yes I do believe this counts. Will you young men be joining us on this quest? There are rather a lot of you.."

Dorant turned with a bit of a jolt when Havas shouted for the group to run. "Oh what? Where then, wait don't run off like that, you'll tire yourself out!" He called, following her at an ambling jog. "Damnit wait! I can't keep up with these confounded robes tying up about my ankles! Wait I said!"

Questrios City, Seven days since Admiral Montrose's disappearance.

Kathryn's investigation was long, filled with twists, and turns. There were many dead ends, but questioning one of Montrose's security staff from prior to the Magi Games brought some actionable intelligence on Kathryn's part. A Strange Reptillian-Xeno was the last person that had been seen with Admiral Montrose.

They happened on the apartment door, the buzzing hall lights were a slight annoyance for the pair, both of whom were dressed in dark trench-coats, black tactical BDUs, and armed with all manner of equipment.

"We tracked him here after the games." Kathryn said quietly, as Michael drew his disruptor pistol carefully, watching for anyone approaching. The hallway was clear.

Kathryn quietly set to work on the locks, with a set of lockpicks, she worked on the doorknob, picking at the tumblers delicately, before twisting the doorknob and unlocking the door. The deadbolt fell much the same way, through careful picking, the deadbolt was retracted, and the door was quietly opened.

Kathryn worked on the chain next, with a small laser pen, she worked on the links in silence, only a subtle hiss from the molten metal, and sparks emanated from the chain. The moment the chain was severed, the door opened quietly, Kathryn kept her weapon pointed inside. The room was clear, and the sound of running water echoed in the distance.

"Running water, occupant is in the shower most likely." She whispered, before slowly pushing the door open.

Michael covered, slowly shutting the door behind them, and re-locking the locks. Through a subtle hand gesture, Kathryn moved deeper into the apartment.

With Michael immediately behind her, she started towards the bathroom, where she grasped the doorknob and nodded back to Michael, who produced a small metal collar, an antimana collar.

She turned the knob, and slowly opened the door, taking great care to not let it make noise, steam wafted past her face, as she quietly holstered her weapon.

With a few brief hand gestures, Kathryn pulled a flash-bang grenade from her trench, and quietly rolled it into the bathroom, then slowly closed the door.

With a brilliant flash, and a deafening crack, Kathryn threw the door open and rushed into the bathroom, the room was filled with a thick smoke, and the woman moved, almost like a ghost towards the shower, throwing the door open, and lunging towards a (hopefully) Disoriented Demor.

Demor's humming stopped as soon as the flash-bang started to roll along the floor - he'd heard that. "What th-" BANG the grenade went off and he covered his eyes with his arm, widening his stance as lightning sparked around his body, the water from the shower likewise stopping its normal flow and surrounding him as he sprung into a defensive frenzy with no where to run. His ears were ringing, and he couldn't see a damn thing. He couldn't hear the door of his bathroom or his shower open, but he could smell the presence of two others in his apartment, and one of them was right next to him now.

Swinging with his arm, Lightning sparked around his forearm, forming a claw of lightning around it as he swung blindly, his tail likewise lashing out in front of him, aiming to slam into the body, or anything, of the person he could smell right next to him. Whether or not he was able to hit was dependent on how fast Kathryn was actually moving, and how quickly she could react to a Terravolt Claw and his tail lashing out at the same time.

His tail was seven feet long and beneath those pitch black scales was nothing but pure muscle. To get hit with that would be like getting hit with a sledgehammer, though with the adrenaline of fight-or-flight running through his body, it was more akin to getting hit by a car now.

Regardless, though, with his arm swung and his tail extended, he was now off-balance, on the slippery tile of his shower, and his neck was exposed to that collar. The fact that he was caught unaware and nude of all things didn't help to his poor reaction. But then, the Aschen were masters of doing this, so no matter he was caught so easily off guard.

Kathryn wasnt expecting Demor to fight and his attacks came somewhat unexpectedly forcing her to improvise, so she abruptly ducked, and rolled abruptly to the side as he swung some kind of electrical claw in her direction, then his tail moved towards her, but she kicked off the shower wall and rolled backwards, and out of the way.

As momentum took over, and the Drachini began to loose his footing on the slippery tile, Michael moved in with the collar, hands deftly snapping the metal collar around his neck. The moment the collar snapped, it emitted a powerful anti-magic feedback pulse, with the intent of subduing Demor on a physical, and magical level with sudden, intense, and overwhelming pain.

Hopefully the pair wouldn't have to physically subdue him, but they positioned themselves as such, waiting only a brief moment to see if the collar would do it's job.

Demor's heels slipped and he began to fall, scrambling wildly to not to so, his blind but open eyes widened when he felt the person he'd lashed out against right against him, attaching what felt like a collar to his neck. His hands, no longer covered in lightning, were lightning quick to try and grab onto Kathryn's arms. Their grip would be tight if they met, and he would try to stop her from securing the collar, but would inevitably fail.

Pain surged through his body and all his magic stopped. The flow of water naturally returned to normal in the shower and his hands then moved to his neck as he tried to pry the collar off, his breathing heavy and extremely strained as he held in his scream of pain, closing his eyes tightly as he finally fell to the floor, tail thrashing wildly out, slamming against the wall and floor, cracking both as it whipped about.

"F-fuck!" he screamed out finally, grabbing at his head - that's where it hurt the most apparently, or at least, where he was least used to taking pain. His body was extremely fit and showed scars of previous battles, and like his tail, was mostly entirely toned muscle, strong and capable of enormous amounts of strength.

His vision started to come back and his ears had stopped ringing by then, and he opened an eye as he leaned back against the corner of the shower, breathing extremely hard through gritted teeth as those richly dark green Draconian eyes stared at the two in front of him, tears welling up from the pain in his eyes.

"Wh-who are you!?" he growled. He was quick to learn that using his magic would only cause more pain for himself, and his body started to shake in the aftermath of the trauma caused by the collar.

When Demor reached out he wouldn't find Kathryn's arm trying to secure the collar, but Michael's. The muscle was toned, and powerful, and despite the tight grip, the collar was secured.

The pair of IIA Agents backed off a moment to allow the Drachini to regain his composure.

"The more you fight it, the more pain you will feel." Kathryn said, her voice smooth, distinctly female, and lightly accented with an Aschen accent from the Caprica area.

Michael reached forward, and attempted to pull Demor to his feet, his grasp firm as he attempted to wrench the other to his feet, and press him against the tile bathroom wall. A pair of metal binders would secure his hands behind his back, and the pain would subside so long as he was compliant.

"We're going to conduct the interrogation here, K, secure the front door, I'll secure the prisoner, and prepare him for questioning." Michael instructed, and Kathryn nodded, starting out of the bathroom.

Demor grunted as he was pulled to his feet, and pressed into the wall, his tail twitching in annoyance before moving to turn off the water. Might as well not waste water. His arms would resist, but the pain made him headbutt the wall in pain, grunting, slowly complying, but making the man work for it regardless. Once his hands were secure, his tail lashed out, aiming to slam into the man's gut and push him away with the force of a sledgehammer again before promptly subdued again by the collar's pain projector.

"God... fuck... dammit." he growled, struggling against the cuffs that had his arms bound behind him. "What do you people want with me?!" he winced, still in constant pain from the collar. A single bolt of lightning sparked off of his shoulder and his leg gave out from the pain, making him growl in pain again.

The reaction was almost instantaneous, Michael grunted slightly as the tail impacted his gut, and Kathryn seemed to run up to Demor, shoving the end of her disruptor pistol against her cheek, hard enough that it was likely Demor could feel the tingling sensation of the magnetic focusing coils.

"You keep fighting so help me I'll blow your gods damned brains out, right here, right now." The woman hissed, before moving to bring the butt of the disruptor pistol across Demor's cheek.

The pair of IIA Agents hefted Demor up after his leg seemed to give out, and they moved quickly to find a chair to sit him in, Kathryn moving around in a circle with rope, fastening him to the chair as best she could.

Grabbing a rolled pouch from inside his trench, Michael approached a table, and began to lay out the pouch, unraveling it to reveal surgical tools, pliers, screwdrivers, scalpels, corkscrews, and all sorts of assorted instruments for the torture of a prisoner.

Kathryn placed another device on the kitchen table, assorted wiring, a laptop computer, and electrodes, her hands working quickly to set everything up.

"We want information." Michael said calmly.

Demor's Draconian slit of a pupil focused hard on Kathryn, a predatory glare in his emerald green irises as she threatened him, before flinching as she brought the butt of the pistol against his cheek, stunning him ever so slightly, allowing them to pick him up and carry him off before he regained full consciousness again, and groaned in discontent.

"Can I at least put on some pants?" he said before being secured to the chair, his tail proving either to be very difficult to tie down, or eluding capture all together, in which case, it would almost immediately begin trying to untie any knots that secured Demor to the chair. "Guess not..." he said as Kathryn finished tying him up, idly flexing an arm against the rope to see how tight it was. Typically, it was tight enough to prevent him from moving.

Demor looked to the pouch of torture tools, and then looked at device that Kathryn was setting up, tilting his head. "All of this to ask questions?" his eyes trailed to Kathryn proper, looking her up and down slowly before returning his gaze to Michael. "You could have just asked me over a nice dinner." he said, a cocky smirk on his face.

Kathryn frowned ever so slightly at Demor's attempt to flirt, as she unraveled a well worn burlap satchel on the table, where a rusted piece of rebar sat, duct tape wrapped around one end, and old blood, sweat, and rust gave the other end of the rebar piece a somewhat nice patina.

Michael quietly stood back, keeping his hands resting firmly on his weapon, as Kathryn walked around Demor, bringing the rebar swiftly across his right knee, it would make a sickening crack on contact. "I don't have time for your mouth, you'll keep it shut, and speak only when spoken too, and maybe; just maybe you will be spared a painful execution." Kathryn commented, before she brought the chair around so it would face the table, then she tossed some photos on the table, an attractive middle aged redheaded woman was on the photo, wearing a neatly pressed uniform, the flag of the Aschen Empire placed behind her.

"Do you recognize this woman?"