RPG project GODHEAD

[Jeremy]

[SIZE="1"]The sky was dark violet, and the clouds were black. Rain hammered upon the earth as waves crashed upon the rocky shore of Mainland. Save the stormy weather, all was normal on the coast, just as usual. Anora knew peace, and it knew it well, but that was about to change in a major way.

Just when the sea was at its roughest, the violent froth of waves carried forth something that the people of Anora would call the work of a devil; an ALW vehicle surged through the water towards Mainland, ignorant of the consequences of being spotted by naive eyes. The two men on board the vessel, fortunately, had escaped their island prison without being followed. After an hour of being violently propelled through raging waters, they made their rough landing on the shore among rocks, sand, and other things. The men, Zev and DeMeeko, quickly scrambled out of the wrecked vehicle, sure to gather all of their equipment before moving away from the water's edge. Their suits were soaked. Their bags were drenched. They didn't care though; they were just glad to be free from that god-awful facility. No longer would they have to be injected with foreign chemicals, no longer would they be forced to train beyond their limits, and no longer would they stay up at night wondering if that was the night they would be dragged into pit to endure horrid tests. No, they were rid of that life, and now was the time that they would lay low from everything, for they didn't know anything. Daphner Run was the only thing that really made sense to them, but one thing was sure: they knew how to survive near anything. They were built for this kind of predicament; they would thrive in this dilemma.

The two men hadn't said a word to each other since they'd escaped, and they remained silent as they created a makeshift tent among the trees. Their equipment was, thankfully, still in fine condition, even though it had been through hell and back from the rain. DeMeeko took a small laser tool from his belt and somehow managed to build a fire while Zev finished tying off the roof of the tent. They would go without food tonight, and would sleep sitting against the rough trunks of palm trees. Would these men ever speak to each other? Perhaps words would come from their mouths with the rising of the suns. DeMeeko passed out with his laser tool still in hand while Zev fell asleep, unsurprisingly, with his hands resting on the butts of his pistols. They slept in peace, and the storm died off. Within a few hours, the sky would be pink with the coming of the dawn.[/SIZE]

[Dragon Warrior]

[size=1]When the sun peered over the endless horizon the following morning, DeMeeko found it hard to sleep any longer. His night, like Zev's, was short due to an abundance of excitement and adrenaline from their escape rushing through their body. Not to mention they were trained under little sleep. A few hours sufficed. The two almost awoke in unison, stretching a bit to relieve their tired muscles and lightly patting their clothes for the remaining wet spots.

DeMeeko was first to stand and stare at the shoreline. With a smile playfully painted across his face, he flashed a toothy grin in Zev's direction. "Look at it. Didn't think I'd ever see it like this." Zev remained quiet as he silently packed his things back into his bag. His face showed a lack of expression, however it also suggested a pattern of thoughts running through his mind. DeMeeko winked at him and shrugged his shoulder. "I mean, we've got such a view here! The water never looked so good."

Zev paid the man no mind. Taking down the tent, he selected his own provisions from the equipment and settled them in his bag. He left DeMeeko his own. DeMeeko stared blankly at Zev with the same dumb smirk on his mug. "I can see we aren't goin' to be talkin' much." Zev strapped the bag to his back and finally awarded DeMeeko with a casual glance.

"We better start moving. They may be out searching for us and see the ALW on the horizon." With that, Zev started to traverse down the beach toward the grassy hills shaded by palm trees. DeMeeko scrambled to shove his equipment into his bag and hurry after.

"You spoke! That's got to be some kind of miracle! Do you think that'll happen often or is it just a one time thing?"[/size]

[Orcus]

[INDENT][FONT="Palatino Linotype"]Allastor sat on his throne, pondering in silence. Something was wrong, he could feel it. Not only in his bones, but in the system. He had combined his cryotube?s system with the machines created by his father, and so, therefore, could link up to the system every so often. It was, indeed, only every so often- the process would be tiring, and draining, and left him at about 70% efficiency. He didn?t enjoy being at anything less than peak physical performance. He merely brushed off the feeling, still knowing something was amiss, but also feeling entirely sure that whatever it was, he could take care of it later.

He gallantly floated down from his throne and paced the room, not from nerves, but simply to occupy himself. He did this only momentarily- just as soon as he started, he stopped, and resolved to walk around the ?abandoned? castle. He grabbed his mask of the desk, staring at it with mild disdain before placing it on his face. Instantly he felt the familiar electromagnetic pulse flow through his hair and into his vocal chords, causing his hair to flow down and become silver, and for his voice to become firm and assertive. He looked over to the sole object in the room that wasn?t a machine; the mirror. He looked himself over himself briskly and smiled from behind the mask.

?Hmph.? He had felt inclined to speak, but had deemed that doing so would have been irrelevant and useless. He didn?t need to test the voice augmenter, it was surely working. He looked over his attire and became mildly frustrated once more. Having to where those people?s barbaric and primitive clothing was irksome, and he particularly detested his God Bot armor; it was thick, heavy, and entirely unnecessary, but it did well to invoke fear. [I]I will always be feared![/I], rang the voice of his father in Allastor?s head. Allastor frowned deeply, remembering his father?s erratic behavior and obsession with having others fear him. Allastor wore his father?s armor now, to perpetuate notion of a timeless, deathless emperor; one more akin to a force of nature than a mortal being. Allastor quickly discontinued his thoughts, having become severely bored, and exited the room.

[CENTER][U][I]In The Castle?[/I][/U][/CENTER]

Allastor stood on a balcony of the abandoned castle, overlooking the surrounding ocean. To be quite honest, it was beautiful? But that was far from the reason that this spot had been chosen for Daphner Run. That had been practicality and pragmatism. It proved an insurmountable task to venture into these waters for the extraordinarily unsophisticated technology of this time. However, for this moment, Allastor truly only acknowledged it for it?s splendor, it?s magnificence. The guards below occasionally glanced nervously up at him, both frightened and in awe. Allastor, upon noticing them, found himself immediately overcome with an urge to wave to the two soldiers, just to see what form of horrified reaction he might garner from them. They would probably think that he was waving goodbye to them, signaling their untimely end. He laughed sourly to himself, and finally gave into the urge to think aloud, but low enough that the guards wouldn?t hear it over the crashing of the waves.

[B]?I?m not so bad- really. I?m simply misunderstood, and charged with the daunting task of undoing the mistakes of my father. The experiments? Yes, they happen. They?re necessary. I need to cure her. I can do so much with these experiments. I can sure you all. I can free you from death, from illness?from weakness.?[/B] He shuddered profusely as those words caused his mind to regress back to the traumatizing years he had spent alone and afraid in that cryotube. He would cure these people of that ailment. They would someday know no fear- even if it meant killing, torturing, and fundamentally changing millions of innocent. It didn?t matter. They would all thank him one day- and he would be loved, no respected, renowned, revered with fondness. Someday he would no longer need ? The God Bot?. But for know, it was his necessary evil. And it was too late to turn back now. Once his father began his work it was too late. To quit, to release the prisoners and his secrets, would be to throw the world into turmoil, and, eventually, watch as it consumed itself. A page from his mask retrieved him from his mind.

[B]?Sir! Sir! Emperor God Bot! Something has occurred in the holding facilities. Please come immediately!?[/B] Allastor sighed with relief, much to the surprise of his subordinate on the other end of the line. Allastor responded casually.

[B]?I?ll be there momentarily.?[/B] The voice thanked him and disappeared. Allastor grinned once more from behind his mask. [I]Now I can take this dreadful iron maiden off?[/I] At one time, he had thought his nickname for the suit amusing, as it constantly pained him to have to wear his father's remains. Now, it truly was like a million agonizing needles pressed into his body. He sighed once more, once again with relief, and made his way into the underground facility.[/FONT][/INDENT]

[Vicky]

[SIZE=1]No one likes the dark. It's an uncomfortable mistress that brings fear and loneliness into the hearts of even the bravest men, tearing them a part in its silence. People live in hope that the light will come, arguing that light travels faster than anything... but they're wrong. No matter how fast light travels it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.

Anika didn't really like the light. It hurt her eyes, made the implants sting a little and caused discomfort. She preferred to stay in the dark - she could see everything and no one could see her. No one could see her eyes, her intentions, the scars on her face... but she could see every little part of them. You can only hide in the dark if your enemy wasn't born in the darkness itself.

The room was, as expected, pitch black. The lights had been removed long ago, or smashed, no one was actually sure. No one was actually sure what this room was; it was empty for a long time and if anyone wanted to find Anika they'd know exactly where to look - the darkness.

She had taken a collection of small and non important knives from the underground's stock and was throwing them at the wall. Each time she threw a knife she stepped an inch to the side and threw another, attempting to line them up beside each other, and doing quite well. The knives stuck deep into the concrete and would be difficult to remove, but that wasn't Anika's job, nor her concern.

When Anika was finished training she really had nothing to do with her time. Although, she didn't get much time between training sessions. If she did she would probably do [i]more[/i] training. How sad. How pathetic. But quite deadly to say the least.

Anika's hand froze in the air when she heard the door handle click behind her. She glanced over her shoulder with her implant eyes and stared suspiciously at the light that came through the door. Dropping the knife to her side, she turned to the door, a silhouette hidden in the frame, shadowed.

[B]"Come with me."[/B] Was all it said.

And like a good soldier she obeyed.[/SIZE]

[Kre]

He sat there. On the stone cold bench that was the only friend in the room he lived in. He was hunched over, his elbows resting on his knees as he twiddled his thumbs. It was an interesting feeling. The silence that is.

Kasa enjoyed the silence. It was peace in the middle of chaos. It was the eye in the middle of the storm. It was nice. He heard the rhythms of his breathing almost in unison with his heart beat.

He looked up now, his hands moving to the firearm at his side. It was a Glock 22, the magazine recovered by the officials so he wouldn't be a hazard. His hands played with the trigger, grip, and pulling back the bridge. His peace was interuppted by the sound of footsteps. He could tell it was two men coming. When they arrived, the door opened and found a man sitting there twiddling his thumbs.

The first man was dressed in a uniform and held an AK-47, pointing it at Kasa.
"Come on, you're needed."

After no movement, the man aimed the gun closer. Kasa sprang, he grabbed the AK with both hands, one hand removing the clip and then twisting it. The man's hand on the grip was let go , but he still held onto the rifle with his other arm as it was twisted behind his back. Kasa then pushed him into the wall, still holding his arm. His free hand on the man's back to make sure he wouldn't move.

"Don't worry, it's not anymore experiments."

Kasa looked at the scientist outside the door. Slowly, he released the man from the hold and followed both of them out, and down the hallway.

[Darth Vectis]

[SIZE="1"]The streets were dark, the sun had just dropped behind the horizon. This was the optimal time for most predatory creatures, when the darkness covered the eyes of those who were always fleeing for their lives. But, the predators weren't always hunting the prey, some were hunting the more vicious predators. A figure steadily creep through the darkness, staying close to the walls to avoid the lamp light, behind the figure several more figures followed. All of them doing as the first did, moving through the darkness to their destination. When they came to a tavern they entered in small groups at different intervals of time, to avoid arousing suspicion about what they were doing. They all acted casual at first, some sitting at tables in large groups, others sitting at the bar and the rest stood on walls pretending to be uninterested in the world.

This was all just a ruse, not very clever, but since it wasn't obvious what these people were doing it didn't matter to the scant amount of soldiers and loyalists sitting amongst them. Soon enough, the large group started conversing with one another, it was a wide variety of men and women. Some of them were young, others were older, all of them were there for the same reason. Sometimes, soldiers tried to approach the women, but men would act quickly and put their arms around them okiss them to force the soldiers to retreat. They always did it with a grumble, and an oath under the breath that they would do terrible things to these people if they caught them out in the night. Soldiers started leaving, and common people who weren't with these people soon departed to their homes.

When the groups were left alone, the all quickly head to the back of the tavern. The owner of the tavern was leading them to where they needed to be, his keys jingling as he walked through the halls that narrowed so that only a few people could walk through side by side. He eventually came to a dead end, he knocked on the door three times in rapid succession and then twice more slow intervals. He then back away from the wall and a piece of the wall slid open, a pair of eyes looked into the dim hall way.

[B]"What is the single law of the land?"[/B] The guard said through the door.

[B]"Justice comes to all."[/B] The tavern owner replied
[B]
"What happens to all who try to avoid justice?"[/B] Said the guard

[B]"Darkness falls on them with a swift diligence."[/B] The guard slammed the slot closed and then the wall began to recede and it opened up into a wide corridor. The guard was a large man with a weapons belt across his waist that held a crescent moon axe, short sword, and a mace with a spiked head. He had another sword strapped to his back, several knives and daggers and a few throwing knives on his forearms and a hard look on his face.

[B]"You may pass, the others wait for you."[/B] The guard said with little words, he raked his fingers through his blond hair and kept a steady gaze on the people who passed by with his clear blue eyes. When the last person had passed he closed off the entrance and secured it, he then followed the people, keeping an eye on them. When the group of people arrived to where they were needed to be they found themselves in an underground hallway, one that must of been made long ago for some reason. It was now being used for a different purpose, the large group soon saw that there were several more people here. Over a hundred people stood in the halls, waiting for the event to begin. The large stone support columns towered over the people and the stone working around looked as if it had been carved just the day before. It was an exquisite sight, the walls were lined with ancient tapestries that remained in good condition.

Each depicted something different, one showed a bloody war being fought. The gore being shown with bright reds and the dismembered parts scattered on the drawn out battlefield. Another one showed a little town being over run by monsters, things that would claw their way out of your nightmares and the deepest pits of the underworld to rip you apart. Several more depicted serene scenes of happy people and of forests and rivers and lakes and water falls that would make you smile if you saw their beauty with your own eyes. The people were so drawn in by these tapestries that they barely noticed when everyone was cheering for the mysterious man to appear. Soon enough, he did appear, a small group of men escorted him out and then disappeared into the crowd. The man walked on to a platform that had been erected for this purpose. He had his wrapped in a blue and red scarf to hide his face, all you could see were his eyes and the scar under his right eye.

He stood tall, he had a muscular build and was much bigger then these people though he would be.A thick frame seemed like it would impede this man form moving, but it did nothing but add to his terrifying look of already being masked and his eyes that seemed to know everything and see everything. Everyone cheered as he looked out at them, observing their reactions to his coming. He raised his hands to quiet the crowd and they followed obediently, he once again took a few moments to look into these peoples eyes an gauge their feelings. He took a few breaths through the scarfs, trying to relax himself as he remembered the words he was suppose to speak.
[B]
"My fellow people, I am the one so many of you have heard whispers about. The one that has attacked so many camps of our government, I lead those raids on the God Bots men. And for that, I am wanted, they know not my face or my name and because of that they ask you people to be the one to turn me in." [/B]He clasped his hands behind his back and kept his steady gaze on the crowd, he stepped down from the platform and started walking among them.
[B]
"I know this sounds like a tempting offer, I myself have found it to be a pretty significant reward. But, I can't very well turn myself in for that now can I."[/B] He heard a few small laughs through the crowd, he let out one himself, the smile was able to be seen through the scarfs.
[B]
"But, that is also a temptation for you. All of you are tempted to do as the God Bot asks, who can blame you. You are all so comfortable in your ways, in your routine and I use to feel the same. I enjoyed the mundane and the trivial, it was all I needed in my life to keep up the illusion of nothing being wrong with this world. With this God Bot and his ruling, but that all changed as I became more educated. As I steadily began to open my eyes to the world around me. And what I saw horrified me, it left me in a state of such disgust and anger." [/B]He looked at the peoples faces as he paused in his story, he stopped walking when he was in the middle of the crowd. He let his arms fall at his sides.
[B]
"I saw people who didn't care, I saw people who were so willing to let their loved ones and family just disappear and not do anything about it. And I also fell into this sort of thinking, they weren't my family, I didn't need to bother with worrying about them. That was a foolish move on my part indeed. You know what they say, what you do always comes back to haunt you."[/B] The man let a sad grin crease his lips, a tear slid down the side of his face.
[B]
"My mother and younger brother were taken, they just vanished, and when I asked the people if they knew what happened, then the most surprising thing happened. They all acted as if she and my brother never existed, that was the most terrible thing I had ever experienced. When you see people you knew from boyhood years suddenly turn their backs on people they loved and cared about. You know what it means to be evil, you understand what evil looks like, when others refuse to fight for life, they become part of the problem."[/B] He stood tall as hardened his voice and the determination people could see in his eyes.
[B]
"You are all the ones you can see far more then those people could, you are willing to do so much more to free these people. You are their saviors, you are the light in the darkness. We will be the hand of justice in this broken system, we will be the voice of the righteous. The government, the loyalists, the soldiers and the people who refuse to see will hear our powerful voice ring though the earth they stand on. No one can silence us, we will be the force that shakes the very foundations of this entire world!"[/B] The people cheered as his fist went up in an instant, held over his head, everyone followed suit and cheered loud. Praising him for speaking such truth to them, none of them noticed the single man walking through their ranks moving closer and closer to their leader in the middle of the group. He drew a small knife from under his clothes and focused his attention on the red and blue scarfed man. When he finally broke the final circle around the man he screamed at the top of his lungs.
[B]
"No one will bring the God Bot down! You will all die! All hail the God Bot!"[/B] He lifted his knife high into the air and began to bring it down, everyone watched horrified as they saw this assassins knife coming down. Everyone gasped as his knife made contact with another blade, the steel of one of the guards that had escorted the man out. The assassin looked to the guard who blocked his knife, and his eyes opened with shock. He was staring into the deep blue eyes that penetrated his very soul, and the scar under his right eye. He wore a hood that covered his muscular build, but he still remained compact in size, several inches shorted then the man in the red and blue scarf. His sword came up swiftly and severed the hand that held the knife, the man screamed for a just a second before the sword made the trip back down and cut the man in two, right down the middle. The man sheathed his sword and then removed his hood, showing the face of the true leader. The man in the scarfs removed them and showed his blond hair, he ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head to let his hair air out.
[B]
"My people, I apologize for the deception. It is entirely necessary that the enemy knows not what I really look like, I trust you all to remain quiet about my identity. But, I am the real Karazhan Drasheen. Many call me Kara for short, I trust each and everyone of you now. You have all been inducted into the resistance. And together, we will prevail!"[/B] The crowd cheered again, the body of the man was dragged out by to large guards.[B]

"All of you must know, that every time someone else will be talking to you. Each of them will look like me, some you be able to tell the difference, others you might not be. It is yet another measure I must take to protect myself and the cause of this resistance. Guards."[/B] He said in a commanding tone, all of the guards that had escorted the decoy out removed their hoods. People gasped in awe as they saw all of them looked like him, some taller, some a little bit shorter, some with black hair, some with blond, others with the same brown as him. All had the same facial structure and the same penetrating blue eyes, and all had the same scar under their right eye. They all bowed to him then hooded themselves again and disappeared into the crowd.
[B]
"I again apologize for this, but the deception is require to maintain this resistance."

"How do we know your the real Kara?[/B]" A man yelled from the crowd, mumbled agreement through out the crowd.
[B]
"That is the point, you don't know if I am the real Kara. Anyone of those men could of been the real Kara, but, you must trust me on good faith. If anyone of you suspect I am not the real Kara, the enemy will be confused as well."

"How could you ask these men to do such a task for you? This makes you no better then the God Bot and his mask that hides his identity."[/B] Kara let out a sigh inside, he showed no emotion on the outside.
[B]
"I did not ask these men to do this, they volunteered for the duty. My lieutenant, that many of you met on the way in, suggested the idea. I have thousands of people willing to die for me, and I live with the burden of having to send them to fight one day. Now, we have more important matters to attend to."[/B] He walked through the crowd, to the platform and stood before the masses again.
[B]
"All of you must return home now, the sun will be rising within a few hours and you must all go about your daily lives. I will send word to you when we are to meet again. Go in peace my friends, for today, we have rooted the resistance into the very soul of this world, and it will take more then an army to tear us out."[/B] He turned away form the people and hooded himself again, the guards appeared and he melded into the group, lost to their conformity. They disappeared into a room and the people left in a hurry, eager to get to their beds after a night like this.

Once they had entered the room, all of the men removed their disguises and revealed the weapons they wore. Kara removed his as well and revealed the armor he wore and his gauntlet on his hand and his sword at his side that had just moments ago removed an assassins head. He seated himself at a table and gestures for his guards to sit as well. They all took their places and waited patiently for the lieutenant to appear, several minutes later he walked through another door and stood before the table, he saluted then looked to Kara.
[B]
"There has been news of something happening and Daphner Run, we won't know until the morning."[/B] Kara nodded. He stood from the table and looked around the room.
[B]
"All of you get some rest, we'll need it if we are going to continue with our efforts." [/B]The men stood from their seats, saluted and left the room without saying a word, Kara's lieutenant came and sat beside him. Kara relaxed in the chair, his lieutenant leaned forward on the table and placed his face in his hands. Kara looked to his lieutenant, and let a small grin crease his face.
[B]
"Its been interesting, hasn't it Benjimin. Almost lost a man today to an assassin, god only knows when the next will strike. Or how many make it through our ranks, and god only knows how many remained hidden today. It is such a hassle to change locations so often."[/B] Benjimin just sighed.
[B]
"Well, not much we can do. We have to just keep moving if this resistance is going to work." [/B]Kara let out a chuckle.
[B]
"Get some sleep Benjimin, we have a lot coming our way."[/B] He said has he stood from his chair and walked out of the room. He stayed up that night, sleep was difficult for him. He watched the rain fall, and the sun rise. All he could do was wait, and see if something would come his way to change their luck.[/SIZE]

[Orcus]

[FONT="Palatino Linotype"]Allastor casually treaded into the castle and overlooked it’s ancient, decrepit architecture. He appreciated the design and beauty of this building, and was quite fond of reading the Anorian literature in its halls. He ascended the stone stairs, until he was at the very top of the castle, where there was one, lone room. It appeared barred, as wood and concrete seemed to be plastered over it, and the door handle was missing. He smiled as he walked up to the door and slid his hand over it in a seemingly random, but precise, serious of motions. A loud clock-like tick could be heard, then a grinding of gears, though the door itself looked unchanged. Allastor gallantly took a step forward- and through the door. He was back in his room, back in the only place he felt truly comfortable in Daphner Run. He stripped off the uncomfortable armor, placing it back in its compartment, then walked over to control board in the middle of the room. He pressed a sequence of buttons, and the room lights flickered, slowly at first, then faster. They stopped abruptly, then glowed with a dazzling brilliance. Once the lights had gone out, he was in the central hub of Daphner Run.

What seemed liked teleportation was an elaborate series of events that made teleportation seem possible. The flickering lights automatically drew away the attention of the user as the machine he activated sprang to life. The faster lights signaled that the machine had loaded in entirety, and that the user’s mind had been breached somewhat in confusion. When the user was suddenly blinded by light, the light caused the brain’s functions to momentarily seize as the user was rocketed miles underground to the central hub. Once there, and still in a dreamlike trance, the user absent-mindedly steps off the platform, it ascends, and then the user recovered consciousness. The machine no longer affected Allastor, but the genius of it continued to strike him. He straightened out his clothing, and began walking towards the Experimental Department, where project GODHEAD was being performed.

Daphner Run, admittedly, was an interesting place. It was akin to an underground nation- which it was, in essence. In entirety, it wasn’t an experimentation facility. The people who worked in the labs, on the technology, they lived down there; unable to escape, as that would disrupt the outside world. Some where resentful, some merely accepted their lifestyle, others, even, enjoyed and reveled in there work and situation. But all obeyed the “God Bot”. He was greeted by respectful bows and salutes by all. Personally, he wouldn’t have minded if they openly resented him, or lashed out against them. He understood their suffering, their sorrow. But for them to leave him be, they, too, must have understood his cause. Understood why they were confined to this underground, cybernetic civilization. And for that reason, these people were held in the highest respect by Allastor.

He approached the door that led to the science departments, and mentally unlocked the door. Compared to other tasks that required a mind link to the mainframe, this one was relatively un-trying, and thus, he did quite frequently. He passed by all of the basic level development sites, checking in on every scientist and even engaging in small talk. He knew that he had been called down on the account of an emergency, but he felt it would be disrespectful to not personally greet every individual who helped to keep Daphner Run online. Eventually, he made it to his destination- the highest level of restriction of Daphner Run. Allastor hated the secrecy of this department, but he knew it was necessary. Once again, he activated his mental link, then descended further into the bowls of the underground society.

This area was at the highest stage of development, utilizing each and every one of the most advanced technology known to the colony. The had made miraculous breakthroughs here- cures to various human and Anorian diseases, they had developed a system that allowed their technology to be self-sustaining energy wise, and, most importantly, they had produced numerous body augments- like those that kept Allastor’s body young, as well as enhancing his physical make-up. He glanced proudly at the cryotubes that held the Anorian captives as they were turned into super soldiers. He couldn’t help but be proud, really; he was building a race of superior beings, those un-plagued by the horrors of life, those who would be better adapted for anything. A voice called out to him, the voice of project GODHEAD’s head scientist. Allastor looked over to him to see what he needed, but not before gazing over to the hallway leading away from project GODHEAD; a room that contained his greatest mistake. The head scientist, Dr. Eckhart, began speaking.

[B]“Thank you for coming down so quickly, sir. I’m sorry to have disturbed you, but…there appears to have been a breach in security.”[/B] Allastor assumed the God Bot persona, and became deceptively concerned.

[B]“Someone breached the system? What did they steal? How did they get in?”[/B] In all honesty, he truly didn’t care. Had any one person made it in, they had probably gone mad, and drowned their delusion in the ocean outside. Dr. Eckhart’s answer, however did surprise him.

[B]“No sir… No one made it in… Two soldiers escaped… And they brought weapons with them.”[/B] Allastor felt something odd overcome him, a feeling he unfamiliarly could attribute to a combination of rage and fear. How could this have happened? Were the guards on watch? How could they let them through? Would all of his hard work come to naught because of these two misguided escapees? Allastor calmed himself quickly, so that he could convincingly take up the God Bot persona once more.

[B]“Is the situation being dealt with?”[/B] Dr. Eckhart answered with a little more confidence this time.

[B]“Yes sir. We’ve dispatched two of your highest soldiers to go in pursuit of them.”[/B] Allastor nodded in approval to the doctor, turned on his heel, and made his way back towards his room. The two soldiers would most likely be enough. He knew that. They would be going after men less battle proficient then them. Intellectually, they were probably at an advantage as well- the two soldiers escaped before their intelligence was enhanced. However, he wasn’t satisfied. His work, his dream, the people’s happiness and safety had been threatened, and it was up to him to keep any harm from befalling his people.

[CENTER][U][I]Back in his chambers…[/I][/U][/CENTER]

[B]“Aaaah. Much better.”[/B] Allastor slid a two short swords into the sheaths at his sides, then gazed at himself in the mirror. Ninja garb, was what the Anorian people called the outfit he was wearing now. He gazed over this outfit, an outfit he had donned numerous times to go out into the world, then gleefully pulled off the mask, his hair raising back to it’s normal state. He always felt a bit relieved and nervous when he started playing the role of himself- but he did enjoy partaking in a normal life every once in a while. Now though, he was putting his face back on with the intent of keeping his mask, and all it stood for, alive forever... Or... was he? He shook off the thought, slightly disturbed by the fact that it had appeared at all. Allastor pulled up the collar of his ninja shirt over his face, wrapped a black, thin shawl-like scarf around his shoulders and face, and fled the island.[/FONT]

[SIZE="1"][B]OOC:[/B] Kinda lame ending, but oh well. Anyways, here’s a pic of [URL="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/Reizou/ff11-dark-knight.jpg"][I]his God Bot armor[/I][/URL],[URL="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/Reizou/Genesis-Artwork.jpg"][I]his Daphner Run clothing[/I][/URL], and [URL="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/Reizou/yu-assassin.jpg"][i]half of the mask he wears[/i][/URL][it’s the best picture I could find, just imagine the other half of the mask look s like what’s shown.] I also changed [URL="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/Reizou/1349505018_cc08dbb91f.jpg"][I]his appearance[/I][/URL]- though it looked more appropriate. His hair, however, is still as I described- black fading to grey fading to white.[/SIZE]

[Jeremy]

[INDENT]After an hour or so of walking through the deserted fields, the sun glaring down on them, Zev and DeMeeko finally arrived at what looked like a small village; people of different genders and races walked to and fro, some of them stopping at merchant?s stands to trade or buy items or food. Life for these people was apparently very simple, as was their technology. Zev took out a pocket telescope and scanned the area; not one electrical device did he spy. How these people could survive with such equipment he did not know. They seemed oblivious to the fact that electricity even existed, which was absurd. No one could be so naïve!

Zev looked at DeMeeko, ?Have you noticed how primitive these peasants are??

DeMeeko stared ahead, obviously observing the villagers, ?I have, and it just doesn?t make sense. I don?t even know what to make of it. It?s like we?re in a different world, Zev.? He pulled out a GPS system and pressed a few buttons. ?We?re only about ten miles from Daphner Island though. ?

Zev sat down in the grass as DeMeeko followed suit, ?Yeah, but there?s only one way to find out what?s wrong with these folks, and that?s to talk to them.?

?You don?t think we?ll scare them off or something??

Zev smirked at this, ?Well that is an option, but not what I had in mind. I was thinking we could disguise ourselves as one of them and, you know, walk amongst them for a little while; just to find out what?s really up.?

DeMeeko looked up into the clear blue sky in thought, and then said, ?Hmm. Well where are we gonna get disguises??

?Wait here,? said Zev as he stood up and walked cautiously towards the village. Soon he was lost from sight and DeMeeko laid down, his mind wandering. Birds and bugs alike filled the air with their calls, and the grass swayed steadily with the gentle breeze. Life outside of Daphner Run was incredibly refreshing, and for the first time since he could remember, DeMeeko felt truly alive.

Fifteen minutes later, as DeMeeko was just drifting off to sleep, he was awoken by a cloak landing on his face. He sat up and held up the cloak, Zev standing over him. ?I?m guessing you stole these??

Zev, who was wearing a hooded white cloak of his own, nodded. DeMeeko wrapped the cloak around him and tied a rope around it for a belt, and then the two of them picked up their leather bags and walked towards the village, their guns hidden under cloak.

As they entered the village, they kept getting strange stares from most of the villagers. Apparently this small village was pretty tight-knit, and so a couple of strangers coming out of nowhere may be cause for curiosity. Zev and DeMeeko kept their pace steady as they walked through the village searching for an inn of some sort; they needed a place to rest and nourish themselves, as well as relieve themselves. [/INDENT]

[Dragon Warrior]

[size=1]Things seemed calm amongst the patrons of the tavern. The locals gathered in what assumed to be their normal crowds, guzzling forms of alcohol through dirty glasses. The conversation, if understood, was fairly primitive but unthreatening, nevertheless.

Zev and DeMeeko seated themselves at a table in the far right corner, an area that was uninhabited. The two couldn't make out why until a rumble could be heard from a chair nearby. A drunkard awoke from an intoxicated slumber and noticed for once in his life someone was seated in his presence. He smiled a toothless grin and stumbled towards them. "Strange nights here in Hogwheel," he said. DeMeeko stared strangely back while Zev kept a composed expression. The two could only imagine he was referring to this particular town. "You two aren't from Hogwheel."

DeMeeko was about to speak, but Zev didn't trust what he'd say. "No, and that's all you'll know, old man."

The drunk smiled as though this was a compliment. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone where you're from. I have bigger fish to fry. Speaking of which..." The man then attempted to snack on the free stale bread in the middle of Zev and DeMeeko's table. Green began to pour from it, and the two escaped soldiers decided it was best not to join.

"What do you want of us?" DeMeeko asked. "You're not a prostitute, are you?"

"I don't know what a prostate is, but can't a feller have some good company every once and again?" He began to chew more bread and spoke through mouthfuls. "Name's Gillenbo."

DeMeeko smirked back. "I'm DeMeeko and--"

"Not to be rude, old man," Zev interrupted, "but we do not want to draw attention, so if you would please..."

The drunk laughed. "Draw attention? I'd say you do a pretty good job of that on your own! The moment you fellers sat down, everyone in this tavern never let their eyes leave you. Whether you like it or not, you've got attention." He waved his hand as to gesture Zev and DeMeeko closer. "Just between me and you fellers, this tavern isn't the best place to be stayin' now."

"Where do you propose we go?" Zev inquired.

"Woah, no need to use big fancy words on me," Gillenbo said, sitting back in his chair. Zev and DeMeeko looked confused. "Still, I know a place." He took another bite of moldy bread and laughed. Zev and DeMeeko were unsure of what they had just committed to.[/size]

[Jeremy]

[SIZE="1"]The drunkard Gillenbo stood up in a drunken fashion and stared strangely at Zev and DeMeeko. They stared back, waiting for the man's reply of where he could lead them. After an awkward silence and no answer from Gillenbo, DeMeeko finally spoke up, "Sooo, are you gonna tell us where we can go? If not we'll find a place on our own; either way, I don't think it wise to stick around this dump much longer."

Gillenbo rubbed his chin as if in thought and looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping before he leaned in close to the two men and said, "Okay, listen up. I'm gonna lead you to the Secret Place, and once there me and my brethren shall explain where you should go from there."

Zev and DeMeeko looked at each other in astonishment, and then Zev replied to the man in a hushed tone, "What the fuck. Who are you, old man? We have no time to be playing games with a group of drunken lowlifes."

Gillenbo grinned. "Heh, telling you who I truly am would be unwise on my part, sir. And don't worry, there will be no games played. Simply follow me and you will be in good company."

DeMeeko sighed, "Look, Gillenbo or whatever your name is, I don't know what you and your 'brethren' have got planned, but I can assure you, it would be unwise to try and rob me and my friend, or whatever it is you're plotting."

Gillenbo's face was grim. He tossed his bread aside and put his hood up and turned to walk away. "Follow me if you know what's good for you. I have no time to wait around." And with that Gillenbo began to make his way to the door.

DeMeeko stood up, "Come on Zev. I think this guy may be for real."

Zev looked at DeMeeko as though he were a bit loopy before he replied. "You can't be serious! This man is---"

DeMeeko cut Zev short as he grabbed his arm and pulled him to follow. Zev reluctantly kept pace with DeMeeko as they tailed the man out of the tavern and into the bright sunshine of the outside. Gillenbo was a good ways ahead of them, and not once did he glance back. Zev and DeMeeko upped the pace so that they were beside Gillenbo in a matter of seconds, though they did not say anything; they merely followed in his trail: down a few alleys, across a few busy streets, and finally outside of the village and into a little forest.

DeMeeko glanced at Zev as they made their way over ferns and shrubbery, "Okay, maybe you were right Zev. Why the hell is he leading us into the forest?"

Just as DeMeeko uttered the last word, Gillenbo came to a halt in front of them and turned, "Alright, gentlemen. This is where our treck ends. Follow me into the Secret Place." He then proceeded to perform odd movements with his hands above a small pool of water, which then opened up and made visible a ladder, which the three took the liberty of climbing down until they were once again on solid ground, surrounded by the dim lighting of torches and candles.

They made their way cautiously down the damp tunnel until they came to a large room full of a few other elderly men sitting around on odd-looking chairs, and they were smoking, drinking, and even playing instruments that Zev and DeMeeko had never seen the likes of before. Once the three were in the room though, all of the old men looked at them, and the music had come to a halt. One of the men seated across the room, who wore a white cloak and a beard to match, spoke. "Gillenbo, what have we told you about bringing strangers to our home?"

Gillenbo sighed, "These men are different Olwe. They are foreigners, and they were attracting quite a bit of attention up above. I figured they would be safe here, and that we could let them stay for a while."

The man called Olwe looked down at his feet as he replied in a grave voice, "Strangers, do you know who we are?"

Zev replied before DeMeeko could, "We do not. But we are certainly curious."

Olwe drew in on his pipe and exhaled, a grin upon his countenance. "You are amongst the Protectors of Devon. We protect the scriptures and works of the Old World, before GodBot took over our land. If he knew about us we would surely be slain and all that we keep here would be burned without a thought. That is the reason we do not like strangers here; we don't know whether you are spies or not. Do you understand?"

DeMeeko's eyebrows were raised as he said, "Yes, and I personally think that that's a very bold thing you're doing. It takes a lot of spirit to go against the grain."

Olwe stood up, slowly. "Well, I suppose you should introduce yourselves now? And you can hang up your cloaks over here. Make yourselves at home, and then I will show you the precious things that we hold dear. You may find it quite interesting."

Zev and DeMeeko looked at each other uneasily. To remove their cloaks would mean to reveal what they were carrying. They stood there and did nothing, thinking of what to do. Olwe looked at them curiously, "What's the matter?"[/SIZE]

[Dragon Warrior]

[size=1]Zev and DeMeeko gave off the slight impression there was something amiss in the room. This group was untrustworthy, and the two soldiers were trained not to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, particularly a bunch of old men in robes plotting a revolution. Zev decided to take things into his own hands.

"Nothing. I am Zev and this is..." Zev looked to DeMeeko for some help, who quickly picked up the slack.

"DeMeeko."

Everyone stared queerly at DeMeeko, who nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Everyone looked at each other around the room until Olwe's eyes rested on those of Gillenbo. Though his attention was not towards Zev and DeMeeko, his speech was directed to them. "I can only assume you are not of our land, as Gillenbo has stated. Please, enlighten us."

"We are from a land far away," Zev said flatly. "We cannot say anymore."

The old men nodded in understanding. "We see," Olwe said, fiddling with a quill on the tabletop. "You cannot trust everyone you meet. This is a fact. If you do, then you are a fool. But be careful who you make enemies with by trusting the wrong sides. We, the Protectors of Devon, do not trust anyone but each other, as you two seem to trust nobody but yourselves."

Zev and DeMeeko looked to each other. "I do not trust him," Zev said of DeMeeko.

DeMeeko nodded. "Yeah, same here. He snores awfully."

Olwe stared queerly at DeMeeko for the second time in the past few minutes. "I think you're missing the point. Cast a shadow over a flower, and the vines will envelop you."

Zev nodded, while DeMeeko gave a blank expression. "What?"

Olwe sighed, realizing what spot he has been put in. "Forget it. You are primitive. However, possibly some use." Olwe's eyes glistened as he smiled towards the two soldiers. "You need not wear your robes, strangers. We are aware of the weaponry you carry. They are most certainly foreign to us. We have a powerful sense on these sort of things, which you will learn of later. Either way, it's distinct you have come far, therefore we can trust you more than those among us."

Gillenbo stepped forward as Olwe seated himself again. "You see," Gillenbo began, "we, the Protectors of Devon, have been plotting a great mission to unravel the threads of GodBot, and restore the Old World back to the land. We cannot do it alone. But who can one trust in these times? We could always take ignorant travelers for a sacrifice, but where will that get us? But if we found someone unfamiliar with our situation from somewhere distant and strange, perhaps we could find a new way about things." Gillenbo smiled at them.

"So we're your ignorant travelers," Zev said.

"Not quite," Gillenbo replied. He then stepped towards a lever on the wall disguised as a torch and pulled it downward. A passage gradually opened in the root-laden walls and he looked back at the two. "Perhaps this is something we need to show you rather than tell."[/size]

[Orcus]

[FONT="Palatino Linotype"][INDENT]Allastor made it on to the main island completely unnoticed by the guards, and began to creep his way through the thick forest that the shore led into. He was swift about it, wanting to get to the main town as quickly as possible. He needed to find Kara. If he let Kara know that two men from Daphner Run had possibly escaped, Kara would send all of his men to the find the escapees. With Allastor?s men, Kara?s men, and Allastor himself trailing after these two escaped soldiers, they would surely be found rather quickly. That wasn?t the important thing. The important thing was, that if anyone aside from Allastor or his men found them, he would have to keep that person from seeing their equipment by any means, even if, regrettably, it meant killing them.

Though it had rained only a while ago, Allastor could catch glimpses of scattered twigs and oddly arranged wood- to anyone else, it would simply look as if a wild animal had come through quickly and knocked things into disarray. But he knew differently. The escapees had been through there. That did little for him, though, as they had cleverly shifted much of the scenery around to make it seem as if they could have possibly gone in a number of directions. He ignored all of their tracks and, sure he was far enough in not to be seen by random eyes, ran at a strikingly quick pace through the forest. The augments made to his body allowed him to travel the distance the soldiers had traveled in half of the time, maybe even faster. Once he hit the edge of the forest, he stopped abruptly, causing a ferocious gust of wind to travel past him and into the open field.

Allastor growled openly, slowing his pace to that of a normal human being as he ran over the plains. He attempted to smile and appear as if he was enjoying himself, should some passerby catch sight of him. And, as if on cue, a wagon wheeled by, and a man inside of it hailed him over. The wagon stopped, and Allastor cheerfully ran over to it, leaning along the side of it, and breathed heavily, pretending to be exhausted. One of the men smiled and leaned towards him.

[B]?Hey there, neighbor. Noticed you hiking along by yourself and I thought you might like a ride into town.?[/B] Allastor looked over the men quickly, and his smile broadened. [I]Bandits?[/I] He nodded and hopped in, keeping up his cheery facade.

[B]?Thanks guys! I appreciate it. So, where are you gentleman heading off to??[/B] The man who had spoken to him earlier spoke again.

?Well, we travel from town to town. We never settle down for too long.? Allastor pretended to be puzzled, and spoke in a quizzical manner.

[B]?Why??[/B] The man?s grin changed instantly, into one of conceit and vanity. He drew a long dagger from his side and pointed it at Allastor?s neck, as did the man sitting at his side, and the man at Allastor?s side stuck placed his blade into Allastor?s ribs.

[B]?Well, because we?re thieves. It?s no good to stay in one place for too long. Can?t afford to leave any tracks. So, why not start by giving us your blades? Those look like they could fetch quite a bit of money.?[/B] Allastor pretended to appear frightened, and, shaking, reached for his blades.

[B]?Yeah, sure, but please don?t---?[/B] And with that, he swiftly drew his left blade and beheaded both men opposite of him, and head butted the man to his left, knocking him out of the wagon. The man driving the wagon slowed it to a stop and jumped off the front to go and help his friend, but before he could make it past the door, a blade pierced deep into the side of his head. Allastor growled and pulled the blade from the man?s head, then jumped out of his seat, glaring down at the remaining bandit. The man was paralyzed with fear, and could nothing but shake violently. Allastor lowered his face to the man?s and looked him dead in the eye.

[B]?Your friends died to quickly to hear the rest of my sentence. What I was going to say was, ?but please don?t stain my blade?. Think your blood would stain it??[/B] The main nodded his head furtively, finally coming to his senses and attempting to fumble away. Allastor frowned and looked at his swords, then sheathed them, walking towards the man again, and kneeling to face him.

[B]?Hmmm? You?re right. And I don?t want to take that chance.?[/B] The man smiled shakily, until Allastor grabbed the man?s blade and examined it. He stabbed through the man?s chest and whispered into his ear.

[B]?Looked dirty enough as it was. You should?ve kept you sword cleaner.?[/B] Allastor left the man, and his sword, in the dirt, walked over to the recently killed driver, stole his sword, then cut free one of the horses with it. He jumped onto the horse, tossed the sword away, and rode towards town.

[CENTER][I][U]In the town?[/U][/I][/CENTER]

Allastor threw open the door to the local pub and casually strode in, walking straight to the counter. The barkeep looked over to him and smiled, walking over and taking his order.

[B]?What can I do you for??[/B] Allastor smiled and shrugged.

[B]?Anything?ll do. I just need a drink.?[/B] The barkeep laughed and filled up a cup, placing it down in front of Allastor. Allastor gave the guy some money and smiled at him, grabbing his cup and instinctively walking to his usual seat in the back of the room. His smile broadened when he noticed that someone was already there- a familiar face. A friend. Allastor couldn?t help but smile when he saw him- the man was versed in the ways of war, but he didn?t look a day over twenty, and he was always smiling. It was? surreal, discerning and somewhat amazing all at once. Allastor and him had slaughtered numerous of ?the GodBot?s henchmen together, but as soon as the battle was finished, he was smiling again. A sincere, infectious smile that made you feel warm inside.

[B]?Hey there, friend.?[/B] The man looked up at Allastor, and though his smiled remained unwavering, his eyes got brighter with recognition. But he had to be cautious, he couldn?t allow a spy in disguise to discern his identity. He merely pulled out the chair and looked, unflinchingly, at Allastor.

[B]?A seat? You look tired.?[/B] Allastor nodded and casually plopped down, as if he truly was exhausted. They sat for a couple minutes in silence, both of them merely gazing off into space. Finally, after taking a drink, Allastor spoke to the man again.

[B]?Why the smile, buddy? Especially with all the rain??[/B] The man looked over at him, having noticed that Allastor initiated their secret code. He shrugged non-casually and took a swig of his drink.

[B]?I just have a feeling it?ll brighten up soon.?[/B] Allastor grinned and raised his glass to his friend.

[B]?Well, it is always darkest before dawn.?[/B] The man laughed and tapped his glass against Allastor?s.

[B]?At least it always seems that way once you?ve had a few.?[/B] They both laughed and took a drink. Allastor put his glass down and clasped his friend?s hand.

[B]?Zimmer.?[/B]

[B]?Allastor.?[/B]

They both nodded, finished their drinks, and had a couple more rounds before they left. Zimmer left first, giving Allastor a ?tip? to stay at a local inn nearby, and then walked off. Allastor ordered one more drink after that, chugged it down, and headed out, paying the barkeep and giving him a tip. Allastor waved goodbye to the barkeep, and, in surprisingly good spirits, headed for the inn. He was glad to be himself again- he had grown tired of being the GodBot. [I]If only he would?[/I] Allastor shook off the thought, too happy to trouble himself with worries. He pushed open the doors to the inn and walked up to the counter.

[B]?I need a room? Would you happen to have one without mirrors or windows??[/B] The attractive female behind the counter feigned curiousness, just as he had earlier.

[B]?And why is that sir??[/B] Allastor smiled.

[B]?So that I can see everything.?[/B] She smiled and handed him a key. Allastor bowed in approval, walking to the end of the hallway, to the very last door on the floor. Once in, he opened up the dresser in the furthest corner in the room and stepped into it, and suddenly he was falling. He quickly reached out, catching a ladder dangling directly in front of him. He held on for a moment, without moving, listening to the groans and moans of those below who had fallen into the abysmal pit. He climbed up the ladder all the way to the attic of the inn, and was met by both Zimmer and an even more familiar friend. Him and the man instantly grasped hands an embraced. Allastor pulled away and spoke.

[B]?Kara, I have news for you.?[/B][/INDENT][/FONT]

[Jeremy]

[SIZE="1"]Olwe and Gillenbo led the two supersoldiers down the dim, damp hallway that seemed to last forever. Olwe spoke as he walked, "What you're about to see is the Treasures of Devon. Once you see this you may understand why we are so determined to have a revolution." Olwe stopped and turned to face the two strangers. "This room contains paintings and scriptures from Lord Devon himself, explaining what has happened and what must come to pass. Please, do not touch anything."

Olwe unlocked and opened the door and led the men into a very large and spacious room, which was only visible after Gillenbo had lit all of the torches on the walls. DeMeeko and Zev looked around, and DeMeeko expressed his surprise, "Wow. Wow. This is a lot of stuff!"

Gillenbo smiled, "Yep, and it's all extremely valuable."

Olwe's face grew stern, "It may be very valuable, but we would never dream of selling any of it. It is far too important. But come over here and let me show you the scripture that tells of GodBot."

The three men walked over to where Olwe was standing. He was standing in front of an enormous illuminated manuscript with gold leaf on it. In the ancient tongue was it written, and thus Gillenbo was unable to read it, and Zev and DeMeeko couldn't read it without an electronic translator, which they weren't about to pull out. Zev spoke up, "I don't think we can read that."

Olwe grinned before replying, "Not to worry, friend. I will narrate this prophecy for you. Listen up. [I]And on that day, Anora will know peace for one century. This time will be known as the Age of the Swan. The swan, which was killed by the tiger, comes to an end. The Age of the Tiger will then come, and it will come in the form of the reign of a terrible man. This man will come from far away, and with him he will carry things most foreign; what he wields will grant him great power. He will use his power aggressively on the people. Many will die, just as the swan died. This time will last for an unforeseeable amount of time. To end this reign of evil, fire must be fought with fire. The evil man is not invincible. Once the tiger's reign is over, a new swan will reign, and peace will be. So it is. -- Devon of Anora[/I]"

After the story was told, there was silence. Finally though, Zev spoke, "Fire must be fought with fire. Hmmm..."

Olwe answered, "Yes, meaning that the GodBot must be fought with his own power. This is our dilemma, Zev. We must find people that have the power that GodBot wields. You say you are foreign, so we can only imagine that you carry weaponry that this scripture speaks of."

DeMeeko and Zev looked at each other uncomfortably. They knew that Olwe was only making an educated guess about their weapons, but he had no clue how powerful they were or what they were capable of. They still didn't really trust these people. DeMeeko spoke, "Look, we would love to help, but we've really got to be on our way."

Gillenbo spoke, "I thought you said you had to lay low for a while."

Zev brushed his hair out of his face, "Our business is none of yours'. We really do need to head out. Thanks for the hospitality though. Can you show us out?"

Olwe smiled. "Do you seriously think we can just let you leave after what we have shared with you? Oh no, my friends. That's not an option."[/SIZE]

[Dragon Warrior]

[size=1]The atmosphere of the room took an abrupt shift and tension rose. Zev and DeMeeko realized the situation, however were unable to unleash their weapons. "We do not need weapons to fight," Zev warned.

"Nor do we," Olwe smirked. "This is your final warning. Join us or perish."

Zev looked to DeMeeko, who shifted in place once or twice before quivering his lip and returning a glance. "Can we think about that?" DeMeeko inquired.

"It'd be wise to accept Olwe's offer," Gillenbo suggested. "Join us and we can bring this world back to the Age of the Swan."

"Yes," Olwe agreed. He stepped toward the scripture and looked it over with great admiration, as if it was the first time he'd ever laid eyes on it. "We can bring back Lord Devon's vision of a better world. But we need you to do it."

"I'm sorry," Zev shook his head. "We cannot."

Olwe closed his eyes and placed a frail hand on the wall beside him. A light sigh escaped his humbled frame and he gradually drifted towards another torch. "I am sorry you feel this way. May Anora have mercy on your souls." With a flick of his wrist, Olwe turned the torch, much like the one before, and suddenly sand began moving below Zev and DeMeeko's unsuspecting feet. The floor opened up below then and down they fell, unable to avoid the fall; the gap was far too large.

The fall had to have been nearly thirty feet before they finally landed painfully on a hard stone floor. The floor above them--which was now a ceiling in their perspective--closed just as quickly as it had opened and the two supersoldiers were left in the dark. Moans and cries could be heard in the darkness. Zev stood up.

"Where are we, Zev?" DeMeeko asked. Zev ignored the question, finding it meaningless to ask considering neither of them knew the answer. "Zev?" DeMeeko stood up as well and reluctantly turned on a flashlight of sorts. The room lit up to reveal a murky, damp dungeon, crawling with small underground animals.

"It's some kind of prison," Zev said.

"Great," DeMeeko said sarcastically. "We just escaped jail."

The moans echoed around the cave corridors once again causing DeMeeko to almost trip over himself. "Let's move out," Zev commanded. "It's very possible this place could get a lot worse."

The two made their way through the cave dungeon, dimly lighting their way with small devices. Figuring they were alone, Zev took the time to check one of his gadgets. "According to this, we're somewhere below those woods still, but not far off that town."

DeMeeko wiped away a glop of slime that oozed from the ceiling onto his cheek and wrinkled his nose. "Yeah? Does it say anything about a crazy cult in the forest worshipping some dead dude and a bird?"

"What's that?" Zev said, placing a hand on DeMeeko's chest to halt him. DeMeeko perked his sensitive ears to hear the moans.

"Those? We've been hearing those since they got here. What about them?"

Zev paced a few steps toward and listened again. Then he turned back to DeMeeko with a fairly stern expression. "They're growing louder."

DeMeeko made a face and turned towards where they came from. "Whatever it is, if it comes closer, it's getting its ass blown to pieces." Suddenly, DeMeeko was tossed into the wall by a large extended arm. Getting up, he joined Zev to see a creature of some sort materialize from the darkness. It was at least three men taller than both of them and its long arms were longer than the creature itself. Not to mention its ugly face accompanied by several rows of sharp jagged teeth didn't exactly suggest it'd win any beauty pagaent.

Zev and DeMeeko stared for a moment before tossing off the robes and gearing up their weapons. "I think we found our moaner."

DeMeeko smirked before strapping on goggles and readying a weapon. "And it ain't over 'til the fat monster sings."[/size]

[Jeremy]

[SIZE="1"]Zev instinctively pulled the lightweight laser blaster from his back, ready for a fight, "I have no intentions of making this thing sing. It'll be too busy choking on its own blood."

DeMeeko was wielding one of his favorite knives, a twelve-inch blade with a lot of teeth, perfect for causing a blood mess and a slow death, "I love it when you talk like --"

DeMeeko's words were cut short by a crash of the beast's arm between him and Zev. The blue, scaly arm was so large that it blocked Zev's view of DeMeeko entirely and could be mistaken for an organic wall. As the beast was so gargantuous, it moved quite slow. Before it was able to withdraw its arm, DeMeeko took his chance and jumped on the arm and jammed his blade into the rough flesh while Zev fired blasts at the creature's face.

Zev maneuvered all over the place in order to hit every angle possible, "This thing isn't going down too easy. It seems our weapons are only an annoyance to the beast!" As Zev continued firing blasts of intense beams, the creature, which seemed very agitated now, flung its arm around with DeMeeko clinging on for dear life.

DeMeeko, with great effort, finally pulled his blade free and tried using it to climb closer to the beast's face. "Ya think? It's barely phasing it!" Just then, the monster lashed its tongue out at Zev and did something neither of the men expected; it wrapped Zev up in its tongue and picked him up into the air. Zev's right arm and gun were pinned to his side under the immense muscle that was a tongue, but thankfully his left arm was free.

DeMeeko was slung off of the monster's shoulder and thrown to the ground with a loud thud. The drop caused him to land on his blade, which penetrated three inches into his side, "Fuuuuuck!" He slowly got up and withdrew the blade, and as he held his side with one hand, he used the other to ram the blade into the monster's gigantic foot.

Suddenly the monster roared and slung its tongue around, though it still held onto Zev. As Zev was flung upside down in the air, his knife in his boot fell out and he caught it; he then jammed the blade into the tongue of the creature, which then released him, but no, he did not fall to the ground. Zev held onto the creature's tongue and with his other hand fired blasts into its mouth rapidly. The monster screeched and screeched, finally drawing in its tongue with Zev still hanging on, and the mouth closed. Zev could be heard yelling from inside, as well as rapid shots of his laser rifle, but the beast did not open its mouth.

DeMeeko, who didn't even notice what had happened, was scurrying around to avoid the monster stepping on him. He was about to stab the monster again when he noticed it had stopped moving. The creature's eyes grew very wide and its stomach expanded, right before exploding guts and slime in every direction; down fell Zev from the creature's now opened mouth.

Zev and DeMeeko watched in awe as the monster fell down beside them with a massive crash, its eyes rolled back into its head. It wasn't moving, not at all. The life that was the monster's had been extinguished. DeMeeko looked at Zev with curiosity on his face, "What. the. fuck."

Zev grinned and held up a few grenades, "At least we know these things work."

DeMeeko smiled and sheathed his knife. Zev strapped his gun to his back and the two of them wiped the slime off their shoulders and continued their trek through the dungeon, "Let's just hope that's the only one of those fuckers."[/SIZE]

[Dragon Warrior]

[size=1]The depths of the dungeon seemed limitless and before long, DeMeeko found himself bored of the same redundant scenery. Everything from the rocks to the dripping water collecting to the roots seemed so monotonous to him that he began playing a game; he'd randomly shoot small rodents.

The first shot startled Zev, who turned and scolded his counterpart. "Don't do that! Who knows what's down here."

"C'mon," DeMeeko whined. "I'm bored out of my head. I'm going crazy!"

"Well, that's a short trip."

A few moments later, Zev found himself turning around to yell at DeMeeko yet again after hearing the sound of a small critter screaming in agony from being shot in the ass by a laser. "DeMeeko, I swear to the highest power that I will not hold myself back from shoving one of my small lasers up that armor-plated ass of yours if you do not cut that out."

"Zev, you know what the problem is with you?"

"Oh, here we go..." Zev began to walk away, but DeMeeko followed closely behind like a shadow.

"No, hear me out. You're way too uptight, man. I think all that military training really got to you. You need to loosen up. Take things one step at a time."

"Leave me alone."

"Zev, I don't know why you're like this, but I'm guessing Godhead turned you rigid."

"I'm guessing Godhead turned you stupid."

"See? You're always blocking me out." DeMeeko shot his gun at the wall to get a rise out of Zev, but instead got a fist from him. In seconds, DeMeeko was on the ground nursing a bruise on his cheek. He lifted a hand to his face, then looked up to Zev, who was fuming. "Really, Zev? Really?"

"If you weren't such a threat to this world, I'd leave you behind, but unfortunately for me, I have to drag you along." Zev turned to walk away again, talking as he did. "It sickens me how foolishly optimistic you are."

"I'm just positive," DeMeeko said, standing up and dusting himself off.

"You're just ignorant."

"You didn't have to punch me."

"Well, why the hell did you shoot the wall? You're going to wake something up here."

"Please," DeMeeko said cockily, swinging his gun in his hand. "We can handle anything in this cave." He fired his gun at the wall again, but this time it moved. "Since when do walls react?"

"DeMeeko, you frickin' idiot..." And so, the boys once again had to prepare for something to attack them. "When I get out of this cave, remind me to shoot you."

"Well noted."[/size]