2160/Here Comes A New Challenger!/The Audacity of Hiei!

Here Comes A New Challenger!/The Audacity of Hiei!
Date of Scene:	04 May 2015
Location:	Prohibition Chicago <PC>
Synopsis:	A new power arrives in the Multiverse and decides to go after a hidden facility, however by attacking here-- it grabs the attention of several defenders.
Cast of Characters:	222, 627, 664, 687, Duke, 749, 772

---

Vega (749) has posed:
     PROHIBITION CHICAGO

     ALPHA LYRAE SHIPPING AIRFIELD

     Alpha Lyrae Shipping is a recent player in the era of gangsters and tommyguns. On the surface, it's a completely legitimate airfield, a transit point for a lot of legal commercial goods both trans-atlantic and trans-continental. Police searches, already uncommon in this era, revealed nothing but exactly what it appeared on the tin. It's a bit out-of-the-way, with some radical and modern art deco design, but it's not...illegal.

     Of course, the only way one could possibly access the illegal bits is normally through a hidden computer panel that won't exist for several decades, disguised by a series of hidden panels that also won't exist for several decades. Normally.

     Right now, that isn't the case. There's a hole clean through the wall. It's the source of the police sirens, whch are not, in fact, linked to the police in any way, shape, or form. No, these sirens are multiversal sirens, because the real owner of Alpha Lyrae Shipping is the sort of man who firmly believes in having other people do his work for him if he can get away with it.

     In that secret, hidden sub-basement is a sprawling base, stretching out far beyond the constraints of the airfield. Metal, futuristic, and most certainly ill-fitting of the era, the base is full of red-armored soldiers brandishing laser rifles, zoot-suited men with laser tommyguns, computers, flashing lights, laser turrets, and an ominous skull with wings emblem on the floor and the wall. This base does not belong here in the 1920s.

     But there is someone who also does not belong in this base.

Hiei (772) has posed:
The first one to enter is a tall, hulking beast. The man formerly known as C. Jack. His skin is entirely brown, his muscles have torn through his top and left him in a pair of white dress pants and brown boots. Somehow his gloves have survived. But the odd thing about him other than the ridiculous build, is his hat. One can't see his eyes, but there's a large eye opened in the front of the hat where his forehead should be, and a single horn ripped through the fabric right above said eye.

The man looks anxious, but from behind him is a significantly shorter man. Hiei, holding a green glowing orb, steps around him to casually walk into the hole. His own third eye is exposed, and the first few men with guns are quickly mentally overwhelmed. "This will do fine." he decides, assessing the base.

The eyes of at least five of the gun wielding mooks roll back into their heads, and they turn around in jerky, forced movements. But rather than shoot at the other mooks, those men seem to just start -falling-. In fact, many people fall as if dropping dead. One with some sort of spiritual sight could see the souls ripping out of them and flying directly into the green orb in Hiei's hand.

But the people lower in the base haven't quite been reached yet. So he simply continues a casual stroll, not quite prepared for the more powerful people who could show up at any moment. "You." he says as he looks back to the former-man. "Stay here and kill anyone who chooses to follow me. You five as well." he orders the five mooks, then continues on deeper into the base as if he has all the time in the world.

Regina of Borg (222) has posed:
     They may not match the decor, but when the sirens go off, the owner of the airfield and the demonic creatures pushing inside might be surprised when a phalanx of 20 Borg tactical drones materialize inside the base in front of Hiei. Most stand over 6 feet tall, all wear gleaming black armor, and all have one arm replaced by a prosthetic one full of weapons. Their grey skin and the hoses running from the backs of their heads down to their shoulders and backs makes it even more clear that these are cyborgs.

     And, judging from the cold, emotionless stares and the optical implants painting the intruders with red laser beams, they are not the friendly kind of cyborgs. Every drone in unison raises his or her weapon arm, then in a syncronized chorus of monotones they say, "We are the Borg. Lower your weapons and defenses and surrender. We will add your biological, technological, and magical aspects to our own. Resistance...is futile."

     Then...they stop. As if giving the intruders a chance to turn and run. But, despite that, the high pitched whine of energy weapons charging can be heard from each drone.

Duke has posed:
The Multiverse sirens go off and that is what gets Duke's attention before he goes to step out. Thanks to being around Alexis and her giving him access to things to help him associate better with the Multiverse, he tracks down the call for aid and quickly makes his way out.

Leaving perhaps only a simple note behind for her and Doran: 'Emergency call. Unknown possible threat. Keep food warm.'

And this was suppose to be a day where he was to take his training easy in his Ultimate form...

The Warp gate opens and out comes with a leap an armored humanoid figure that resembles almost a knight. White chrome armor, with gold trimmings and red plates. His metal, armored feet impact down on the ground as his red cape gentle moves as the Warp gate closes behind him. His gold eyes scanning over the area, locating the source of the problem.

Sometimes when things are not marked clearly as to who is attackers versus who are the defenders, it takes a moment to analyze the situation. As such, the best Duke can do right now, is continue to make his way to the source with a brisk jog and put things together by observation-- or when someone decides to out right attack him. That always works too.

Ark Line (687) has posed:
Ark Line, Agent of LODESTONE... isn't here. He has no reason to be in Prohibition-era Chicago; he has, by his own words, 'bigger fish to fry.'

However, Caster of Steel, his Servant, is. The man has made contact with the local Confederate forces setting up shop in the city, having been present during one of the operations against the locals, and since then has more or less kept to himself. He blends in with the local populace astoundingly well. If it weren't for the fact that Heroic Spirits all appear to be legendary figures rather than contemporary ones, one might suspect he came from this kind of background.

Perish the thought.

When the alarm goes off, Caster is forced to abandon his pleasant afternoon and move back to the base. He comes in from behind the intruders, approaching from the hole in the wall and stopping when he gets sight of the people who busted in. He's been working up an appropriately dramatic proclamation for a while now. It's what he does, even if fighting... isn't.

"--" is the sound of a man inhaling and getting beaten to the punch by the Borg drones. He closes his mouth and frowns, adjusting his hat a touch self-consciously. The moment has passed. Lacking a laser gun, he reaches into his pocket for what is most probably a smoke.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji happened to be on site already. He blends in well, wearing a professional suit and holding an ornate cane in his hand, topped with an expensive-looking headpiece. Those observing the Murasame heir entering the airfield might assume he was simply an envoy from China for some form of more prosaic smuggling, like opium.

Souji does not deal in drugs. His wares are much more immediately lethal.

At the alarm and explosion, Souji looks up towards the commotion with a frown. Who would be so foolish as to attack this Shadowlaw base so boldly? The corporate heir steps from the plane hangar where he was doing his business, and looks over the damage from a distance. He frowns, and begins walking towards the commotion when he sees others also arriving. He turns and smoothly ducks into a doorway to let the cloaked knight pass before he is seen.

There is a narrowing of the eyes as his glasses display information from the Confederate databases on the identity of the being passing him on their built-in HUD.

Something of note has cone up.

Souji waits several seconds, and then simply slips out of his position, following Duke at a short distance. They're all going the same direction anyway.

Archer of Brown (664) has posed:
         Five minutes ago:

     "Thought we didn't work pro bono, Al."

     "We don't. You're assuming money is the only way to pay for something."

     "So, what? I show up, get my ass shot off, and you come around later asking for favors?"

     "That's a very blunt way of putting it. I'd prefer to say that, down the road, I'd remind him of former contributions to his assets, and ask if he'd mind making some contributions of his own."

         Now:

     There's a BSA Sloper tearing down the streets of Chicago, bearing a rider in dark clothing--period appropriate, of course. The rider's necktie flaps in the wind as the cycle speeds towards the source of the alarm. For a moment, Archer is reminded of bygone days, but the contraption brings him to his destination too quickly to indulge in further reminiscing. He pulls the bike to a stop about a hundred feet away from the blaring alarm, then continues on foot, sprinting. He can just make out the hole in the wall from here. Someone or something wanted in there, bad. The Servant narrows his eyes as his patent leather shoes thud against the asphalt.

Hiei (772) has posed:
"Interesting." The men Hiei have already taken turn for a moment to face the Borg, but he shakes his head. "Pay no mind, continue guarding the entrance." he orders, and peers directly into the mind of one of the Borg. This is, well... not a -great- idea?

His eyes widen when he realizes -just- what he's tried to do, falling to one knee. He immediately tries to remove his mental will from the mind of the Borg, though this may not be as simple as he'd like, and his will -is- quite strong, but there is a limit... a Borg Collective is along the lines of what one would call a limit.

Thankfully C. Jack, "Sergeant Cactus!", the Youkai now named Sergeant Cactus is still in a great position to defend the entrance. Becoming something else entirely, a twisted and darker version of yourself, some aspects of a personality can become... exaggerated.

He slams one foot onto the ground, and Sergeant Cactus holds a hand up to his hat in a salute. "Men! Get in formation and prepare for battle. We've already got an enemy in sight." He walks around, finding a metallic pole sticking out of the ground. Then he grabs it... and -pulls-.

He lifts the pipe attached to the chunk of concrete, looking up at it while he appraises it with his single weird hat eye. Then he swings it a few times, testing it like a baseball bat.

When Caster makes himself known, Sergeant Cactus wastes no time, effortlessly swinging the concrete end of the pipe toward the man's face. "I love a bat with some weight to it! Men! Go outside and shoot anything that moves. Anything that moves is -probably- trying to get in here. Extra commendations for squirrel shots!"

That's when the five men all turn to the entrance of the last few men entering, and basically open a relentless torrent of fire, going for kill shots.

Vega (749) has posed:
     Absolute chaos erupts inside the Shadowlaw base. The Shadowlaw soldiers are not really much more than mooks; C. Jack was the guy with real power and real authority. The appearance of the Borg, of the Caster, of the god damned dinosaur-thing, of Hiei, and of the mutant C. Jack? That's a bit much for them. Laser fire erupts through the base as they try and contain some of the damage, to exactly no avail.

     The return fire from the others knocks them clean out. Shadowlaw armor is apparently made to withstand Shadowlaw guns, which is probably a good thing for them, but laser and bat impact are never good things.

     In the distance, a limousine is pulling up.

Regina of Borg (222) has posed:
     The Borg drone chosen for the mind probing flinches at the intrusion, and Hiei finds that...this drone is an individual in a sea of other voices, all connected, all sharing everything at the same time. And when he pushes into the Collective consciousness, they push back, attempting to probe his mind in return. The voices are just whispers, but thousands to millions of whispers is going to be loud. And, one voice is able to rise above that whisper and speak clearly even through the muddled, possibly mind-numbing masses. A silky, sultry voice.

     Of course, none other than Hiei would be able to hear those voices. In the physical world, the drones begin firing. Searing bolts of green plasma fly through the air at Hiei and Sergent Cactus and their commandeered soldiers. The Borg line forms a veritable wall between Hiei and the paths to deeper sections of the facility. As they fire, the front line of the Borg drones starts to march forward, attempting to close in on Hiei and C. Jack.

     "We are the Borg. You will be assimilated."

Duke has posed:
Duke continues to follow the disturbance into the building. This will lead him to probably the line where everyone is and unaware he is being followed by someone who probably love to just back stab his metal digi-chrome body. Though this partly due to the fact that things get pretty crazy pretty quickly.

The Medieval Dukemon watches several men take aim and his gold eyes go wide before he materializes a double edge axe halberd from the air with formation of data into a material object. As the bullets begin to fly, he quickly spins up the halberd in order to generate a wind wall shield, though a few bullets do clip across his armored body as he generates up the sped in order to manage this.

Whelp. He wanted to know who the enemies are, that becomes then pretty clear. He also recognizes the borg-- he has met their Queen once before on peaceful terms, including her Shinki... though its hard to tell if these are /her/ Borgs or someone elses. After all, this is the Multiverse. However-- there is a problem between him and them, along with their own possible true threat. These guys with the bullets.

Once the bullets stop flying, he shifts his weight and then in mid spin, he swings the halberd low with an upward cleave, sending a wind blast across the distance between himself to the mob in order to attempt to knock them upside, before stepping more in and then sending out another wave of wind.

Ark Line (687) has posed:
Caster gets his hand of the way out of his pocket before the concrete-and-pipe bludgeon gets swung his way. He takes a step back, moving with speed and agility that defies the rather... well, /nerdy/ look that he's got going on. He does not look the least bit like a combatant. He looks like he should be pushing pencils around a desk.

The pipebat goes wide past his head. While not striking the behatted man, it is not without its casualties. A pack of cigarettes are struck out of his hand, crushed from the impact and sent limply flying away from Caster's grasp. He tracks them with his icy blue eyes, a frown growing on his face. He has managed to save only one.

Caster produces a book of matches (the Zippo hasn't been invented yet, and he wouldn't rob this world's Blaisdell of that) and irritably lights the survivor, shooting dirty looks at Sergeant Cactus while the rest of the reinforcements come in behind him. "You know," he says, "I feel it is my prerogative to answer an unkindness with an unkindness."

Caster flicks the still-burning match at Sergeant Cactus. He makes a gesture with the flinging hand that is very dramatic, very obvious, and looks very arcane. It may cause the cactus some alarm.

With his other hand, he smoothly draws the .38 revolver he looted from the mob the last time he was here, and shoots the Cactus three times in the chest.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
The Borg are present. In fact, a large number of people are present to actually assist Shadowlaw. Souji is not too concerned about the repulsion of the invader, though the behavior of the Shadowlaw minions are odd. they are being obviously controlled, but by whom? And how?

The mysterious metal man is another matter. Who is he and who does he work for? This could cause a problem with the local base if they are not stopped. There is a flick of Souji's hand as he forms a spell, the Pattern shining bright for a moment. "Float." He calls out, and there is an explosion of feathers around him as he begins to hover in the air. With a lunge, he drives past Duke as he blasts the mooks into the air. Souji leaps up onto the cracked wall and rebounds, driving the cane he holds into the flying, controlled Shadowlaw troopers in quick, sequential hits with loud accompaning CRACKs, landing on the opposite side as Suke performs his follow-up. Each of the minions have been struck solidly on the back of the head, presumably ensuring they will be knocked out.

But now that the interlopers are out of the way, Souji attends to business. He turns and steps before Duke, looking the Digimon over. "You should not be here. Identify yourself." He says, simply.

Archer of Brown (664) has posed:
     Armed guards. Archer's eyes, being the fabled eyes of a master marksman, easily discern that distinctive red armor. They're Vega's guys, so maybe killing them wouldn't be so great to earn a favor from the man. There's a thin line between breaking into a place to save it and breaking in to rob it, after all. He jukes right, evading the first volley of laser fire, but airfields don't have a lot of cover. At least... not on the ground. He looks up, still running towards the hole, to spot a sign denoting the hangar's number. A laser bolt blows past and grazes his arm as it rises with his gun in hand. Damn, that burns. Deep breath.

     There's the screws holding it in place. Four of them, either side. The pistols fire off four times, and with a groan, the sign comes crashing to the ground. Being made of wood, there's not much it can do against laser bolts, but that's not the point. It's big and square and obscures his form long enough for him to make a mad leap for the side of the building not currently sporting a hole. Lasers punch through the wood, obliterating it just as he clears the remaining few feet and rolls. Getting to his feet, he pats the sleeve of his flaming suit until the fire dies out.

     A little prana replenishes the four shots previously expended, bringing him back up to twelve. When he peeks around from cover to open up on the guards (hey, he doesn't know they're mind controlled, just that they're shooting at him!) his pistols appear to be... quite outdated, even for this time period. Two Colt Navy ball-and-cap revolvers. It's kind of like the difference between a musket and a repeating rifle. /Especially/ considering we're dealing with lasers here. But... when he levels those gleaming silver guns at the guards, they seem a little bit more than that. Of course, being that a Digimon has knocked them on their asses with a gust of wind or two, and a man with a cane's gone all Preston Brooks on them, there /are/ no guards to shoot, and Archer's glad of that. The only thing he shoots at the present moment is a glance, aimed at Duke and Souji.

     "Don't know about tin man, but I aim to get me a favor from the man in charge."

Hiei (772) has posed:
"I will be..." Hiei strains, then tries to force some mental clarity as he uses this split second to draw a katana from seemingly out of no where. Just as the Borg begin firing, he stabs himself in the hand, sticking roughly half his entire sword through his palm.

Blood drips down to the ground, but he manages to use this to pull his mind from the collective. One of the shots hit him and sends him flying to the ground, but soon after he pulls the sword from his bleeding hand and quickly vanishes.

When he appears again, he's trying to take the drones at close range. His immediate thought is to try and cut at least three of their gun arms off in the span of about a second. But with so much chaos to keep track of and the unusually quick projectiles, fighting the Borg is no easy task.

Cactus is shot three times in the chest. It's bloody, it actually does real damage and causes him to step back, shocked. "I am the current commanding sergeant of this location, and you have the nerve to shoot me?!" he asks, and suddenly flexes that huge girth of a torso. He doesn't heal, he's still bleeding, but his sudden and massive flex causes the blood from his wounds to fire the bullets -out- of his wound and toward Caster himself.

Then the Borg fire reaches Cactus, and that sends him to his knees, already hurting from the chest wounds. He breathes heavily, holding himself up with the pipebat. "Attacked from all sides, huh..."

Hiei sticks his sword into the ground and -holds- when Duke starts sending gusts of wind through the area, but the mooks go flying, and soon Souji successfully knocks them unconscious. This causes the Youkai to start looking around. Should he get more... they're proving rather useless. "Heh, this situation seems beyond salvagable." he decides, finally standing up straight with his sword hanging down, blood still dripping from his self-inflicted wound. "I suppose I have no choice but to slaughter you all and wash my hands of the situation. Oh well."

Vega (749) has posed:
     OUTSIDE

     TWO MINUTES AGO

    The limousine pulls up through the airfield's gates and comes to a stop. A man in a tuxedo and bowler-hat hurriedly stumbles out of the driver's seat, moving around the car to open the door with almost indecent speed. With a click and a thump, the door swings wide.

     As the cape disappears into the airfield, the door is hurriedly shut, and the tuxedo'd man tugs on his tie nervously. He disliked being this close to the action. Safe distances, that was the ticket. Especially when the Master was personally involved.

     INSIDE

     RIGHT NOW

     Long before he ever appears comes a feeling. Even those not spiritually-aware, those whose sense of the arcane is blunted or dulled or flat-out nonexistant, can feel this feeling. There is nothing subtle, nothing subdued, nothing /stealthy/ about this feeling. It is a presence, a presence that seeps through empty space to fill the room like a liquid, like air, like space itself.

     And it is one-hundred percent /Evil/.

     The owner of that presence emerges mere seconds later.

     The man in charge has arrived.

     Just there can be no doubt that the presence is capital-E Evil, there can be no doubt that this man is the Man In Charge. Everything about him - from the way he seems larger than his physical appearance would allow to the red cap on his head and the vast black cape rolling about his body - suggests that he is The Man In Charge. If that wasn't enough, the symbol - the skull with wings - is emblazoned on his golden belt buckle.

     The Man In Charge is unhappy.

     A frown is set into his rocky face as he enters the room. He strides forward, a purple haze swelling about him as he walks. A grandiose gesture later, and Shadowlaw minions are flung against the wall with force and purpose, hurled bodily and without much care for their survival. Another motion of his hands rips the weapons from the downed men, dragging them together like so much chaff. They are crushed into a ball as the Man In Charge moves forward, smashed to bits in mid-air by the power of his mind.

     Duke and Souji are given a single glance. The Borg are spared another. The Servants a third.

     But it is C. Jack who receives the full brunt of the Man In Charge's attention.

     With an imperious gesture, the ball of scraps hurls at C. Jack at speeds that can best be described as "cannonlike".

     And then, in a voice as liquid Evil as his presence, the Man In Charge demands:

     "A sitrep, /if you please/."

Regina of Borg (222) has posed:
     The Borg continue moving forward. A few are hit by laser fire, but after 5 shots their adaptive shields remodulate to the energy pattern, and it is like the possessed mooks are shooting spitwads. Each time a Borg is hit, a shield flares, negating the damage, and they fire on the one who fired on them.

     The Borg facing Hiei are not so lucky. It is pretty much impossible to adapt to kinetic energy, so those three slices do indeed slice off a few Borg weapon arms. The problem after that? The other arm. Losing an arm hardly seems to slow the Borg drones, and they close in before attempting to grapple Hiei. If successful, they grab for his throat. Even one getting through would be enough to potentially cause problems. Twin needle-like tendrils fire from the drone's other arm, near the wrist, and attempt to lodge in Hiei's throat.

     If he is succeptible to such things, what would follow is a searing pain, then a numbing sensation which slowly spreads from the injection point. Like the venom from a viper, the nanoprobes go about their task, attempting to hijack Hiei's body. If that fails, they would truly take up the job of venom, attempting to destroy him from the inside.

     As the Man In Charge arrives, he gets...no response from the Borg. At least, visibly. But, in his radio receiver, he would get their syncronized voices. "Situation Report: This installation is under attack by an unknown entity. The Borg have responded and are providing defense from further infiltration. The two attackers seem to be contained for the moment."

Duke has posed:
Once the mooks are out of the way, thanks to aid from a stranger who arrived from behind and in a combination aided to take down the trouble forces. The Knight Digimon was quick to move as he speaks, "Thanks..." However when Souji gets in the way, the much taller humanoid looks down at the young man, as his gold eyes narrow faintly.

That voice...
Oh him.

This is unexpected...

It seems on one hand, Souji doesn't recognize him. On the other hand--- Duke /does/ recognize him and thanks to being in this form, sounds far older, with a much deeper voice and not some kid. Probably closet he'll ever get to who he once was--- even if he doesn't remember those details yet.

"What are you doing? We don't have time for this and there is a threat to everyone here in this facility. I came because of the alarms to assist." Duke explains to Souji, motioning over to where Cactus just blasted bullets back out from his chest and that crazy sword man was. His gold eyes glance then over to Archer of Brown and gives him a nod, before he looks back at Souji.

"Now move aside and let me assist, we already made a formidable team." Duke can hear Hiei make his decree of slaughtering them all. "...and I think tactically speaking right now, it may be in all of our best interests."

Then there is a feeling that grabs the air with a high presence of authority and those gold eyes look in the direction, to meet the gaze of who casts the aura as they arrive and easily throw people aside whom get in his way and then move like a cannon for the much larger figure known as Cactus. Though Duke's gaze does not linger long, as they return to Souji, "What will it be, sir?"

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
When Archer of Brown comes in to assist, Souji simply glances at him and nods. He is a known quantity. "Very well. Please, assist with containing the incursion. The 'man in charge' will be wanting to meet whoever is responsible for this, I assume." He steps aside for Archer to proceed to face Hiei and his converted minion.

In the meantime, Duke tries to argue his case. "You seem to lack an understanding of how things operate here. I asked for your identity. This is not a place for the idle tresspasser, no matter their... motivations." He replies.

As the seething, oily, oppressive presence of Evil arrives, it demands Souji's attention. He bows his head in deference to the powerful dictator arriving on scene. This is his place, it would be unwise to not acknowledge such a thing. Souji seems unconcerned as Vega uses his fallen, turned minions as a telekinetic weapon, instead keeping his focus on Duke. "Identify yourself. I have no time for the foolishness of masked men."

Hiei (772) has posed:
Hiei suddenly turns as the large Evil man enters. He blinks once, almost exceptionally slowly, his expression unmoved. One would expect that he had something profound to say, perhaps defiant as he just declared his intent to slaughter the room. But instead, the thing he says to this larger than life man who towers over his 4'10 form? "I find a disturbing amount of comfort in your presence."

Cactus is unfortunately dealt with quite swiftly, though he still seems to be very monstery. Perhaps one can probe Hiei for answers, or maybe their own medical research team! But right now Hiei himself seems to be the only threat.

He's distracted enough for the Borg to grab him and stick that needle into his throat quite effortlessly. When it's done, he falls to the ground on his hands and knees, dropping his sword. "What is this... Insects, reproducing and trying to take over my insides. Disgusting..." He seems stuck there on all fours for a long moment, and then his body heat starts to rise, and he seems to just sort of... burst into flames. His body is still very clearly visible, but the flames around his body only grow hotter and hotter, trying to raise his body heat to a ridiculous degree.

His intent, obviously, is to try to destroy the nanites by bringing them well beyond metal destroying temperatures. These aren't regular flames, this is the innate manifestation of his youkai energy. Similar to ki in some twisted way that Dictator may be able to detect.

He is, however, still prone on the floor. "What exactly do you intend to do with me? If you let me live, I'll bathe in the blood of everyone you love, and then kill every single one of you, very slowly. Your pained cries will lull me to sleep at night."

Ark Line (687) has posed:
The gun half-empied and his opponent still standing, Caster of Steel takes a step back, apparently deciding that it's best to be out of immediate reach of the concrete bat. He keeps the weapon trained on Sergeant Cactus the whole time. Caster seems to be considering just how to answer that question.

"Yes, that's about the sum of it," he finally says. He starts to raise the gun some, bracing himself -- and then, of all things, gets shot by his own bullets.

The expelled projectiles' remains hit Caster off-center. One hits him in the midsection, though off to the side; a second clips his shoulder. The last one misses, but barely, tugging on his jacket as it passes him. He stumbles back from the surprise retaliation, looking incredulously down at his fresh wounds (lesser than he'd expect, though he's hardly normal now) and at the cactus.

"Ah," Caster says. He nods his head. "A reasonable response, considering the circumstances. I was hoping," he starts,

BLAM BLAM BLAM

Caster continues to pull the trigger, but it doesn't do anything but make a sad clicking sound, over and over again. He isn't even sure if Sergeant Cactus is down, or has moved. He's staring into the middle distance. Something else is here, and it's arrested his attention. Something /evil/. Something...

...familiar?

No. It must be his imagination.

Vega (749) has posed:
     The Sitrep from the Borg sparks over the Man In Charge's communicator. The Dictator nods a nod of assent and acknowledgment as he draws his power back into himself. The show of force was solely to establish control, to demonstrate power. He *is*. Vega *is*. He does not let other people run his house. He does not allow people to imagine that they can. It isn't necessary to demonstrate anything more than that.

     Souji receives a polite nod of assent, as well. Manners were an affectation that cost Vega nothing.

     "You will be compensated for your assistance," Vega informs Archer of Brown in that same tone, his eyes fixated on Hiei. It is entirely possible that people will notice that Vega's eyes - the windows to the soul - are completely, utterly empty. He has no color. He has no iris. He has nothing, nothing but blank whites.

     It's probably just a little bit creepy.

     If Hiei's passing familiarity and comfort is noticed, it's impossible to tell. No emotion flickers across that stony face but anger as Vega's head turns to stare at the catcus. It takes him a moment to register. He has a lot of underlings.

     His hand flicks outwards at Archer of Brown, Caster of Steel, Souji, Duke, and the Borg. "Restrain that man immediately," he orders, in a tone that suggests he is not someone who frequently *asks* people for things, "Secure him before he does further damage to my base."

     Then his head turns back to Hiei.

     The looming giant considers the little man for a long moment, exactly as a giant might consider a dwarf. "Are you the one responsible for this?"

Archer of Brown (664) has posed:
     Archer nods at Souji, stepping quietly past him and Regina both to observe just who started all of this. What he sees, aside from Vega and Caster, of course, is a man on all fours lit up like a cheap cigar. Considering that, being on the floor and on fire, he isn't so much an immediate threat, Archer places his back against the wall to observe everyone. He knows the Dictator's presence, not because they've met, but because he's felt that kind of evil, seen it in the eyes of men. The difference here is that this is organized, directed. Cruelty with a plan, not just for its own sake, not just the petty, spiteful meanness of the frontier. "Much obliged, Mister," he says warily.

     Archer levels his pistols at the flaming man on the ground--mind, with those threats he just made, he'd much rather aerilate the motherfucker, but he gets the feeling the Man In Charge wants him for... a personal project. One barrel aims at the side of Hiei's temple, the other at the base of his spine. They remain leveled with unerring precision as the Servant waits for someone with more... prisoner friendly capabilities steps up to plate. "Move and I'll knock you flatter than hammered shit."

Regina of Borg (222) has posed:
     "We are the Borg. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your resources will be adapted to service us." Hiei gets the basic Borg response to anyone asking 'what will you do?' sorts of questions. When Vega speaks up, the Borg fan out, and five of them step forward carrying some sort of technological staff. They move into a five-point formation around Hiei as he burns away the nanoprobes, then set the staves down. They lock onto the ground and begin to pulse before a force field barrier forms around Hiei. It is quite strong by their standards, but they do not usually face spiritual beings.

     "Target restrained." the Borg report, then step back and bring their weapons to bear again.

Duke has posed:
Duke eyes narrow sharply at Souji as he continues to stand in the way, his free hand flexes for a moment before he tilts his head faintly. "Turning aside help is foolish, no matter the form or presence... as for who I am, I am Medieval Dukemon--- a unaffiliated warrior tied to no man or no group. As I said, I came to assist."

Those gold eyes watch as the man bursts into flames after the Borg tried to subdue him. Things are escalating and honestly far as the Knight Digimon is concerned, he doesn't need Souji's permission to join into the fray, at the same time, creating a battle on a two way front would not aid /anyone/ here. Not by what he was sensing from the intruder.

While the man was perhaps on equal level, there was something about him that had Duke on edge, abilities, strength that could maybe be costly if wrongfully handled. "He is dangerous, but that is obvious."

However when Vega calls to their presence, to handle Cactus, Duke looks to the man's motion then back to Souji, "Now again, what say you... because seems we were both just motioned at to handle the large brute."

His fingers flicker with a bit of fire around them, because right now his patience was starting to wane and he didn't need the permission of a man when it seems the one in charge already made the order obvious.

Hiei (772) has posed:
"Yes, I am the one responsible for your current unhappiness." Hiei states with a hint of mockery in his nonchalant tone. "For a moment I was lulled into a false sense of security by your eeriely nostalgic essence. I can taste it on the tip of my tongue." He licks his lips, as if to illustrate. But then he looks over to the glowing orb only a few feet from him. He apparently dropped it at some point. Probably when he was mentally linked with the Borg.

"But surely you are nothing more than a mere mortal who has attained some form of energy. A mere mortal who has the audacity to speak to one who would think nothing of decapitating you and seeing just how palpable that essence of yours is."

His flames die down, but then the forcefield is up, and he has guns aimed at him. "But here I am, all wrapped up. I could kill a few of you, but I'm well aware of my current position. So I'll simply wait. I'll probably kill Santa Claus first, I suspect that there isn't anything he loves for me to take away. And then I'll come for the rest of you."

Vega (749) has posed:
     Hiei's mocking tone elicts a surprising response from Vega. Most people would probably imagine Vega to be the sort who lashes out at mockery, who brooks no such tone from others, who simply crushes those who get in his way.

     But that's not what happens. Instead, the Dictator's lips curl upwards into a wide, large-toothed grin.

     Now he understands exactly what sort of person Hiei is. Now he understands *entirely* what kind of person dared to bust into his base, hijack his base commander, and invade his home. Now he understands *perfectly* what's going on.

     He laughs.

     Vega's laughter is a horrible thing to hear. It's not the laughter of a man who delights in happy things like puppies, kitties, and clowns. It's a laugh that denies goodness, denies light, denies *justice* as a mere concept. It's a laugh that dismisses the mere idea of joy and happiness as anything more than a fiction. It's deep, and rolling, and fills the room just as Vega himself does. The laughter bounds off the corners of the base as Vega turns away from Hiei, his cape swirling. With a flick of his finger, the fallen glowing orb spins into his palm, where he carefully observes it.

     Then he tosses it casually at Caster. "Figure out how to use this to return my soldiers to normal," he orders, "I will pay whatever price you desire."

     His head tracks back to Souji and Duke. Duke's introduction is given all the weight Vega apparently believes it desires. His eyes track to Souji.

     "Do you have a personal problem with this creature?" He asks, once he's ascertained that everything with Hiei is basically in order, that Caster has the weird little glowing ball, and that SOMEBODY is on Cactus Jack, even if it's just a couple of the Borg.

Ark Line (687) has posed:
Caster catches the glowing thing. He keeps his composure in the face of the Dictator's evil presence and his unnerving laugh. Everything about this man feels /off/. It is, perhaps, a commonality among those Confederates he must work with.

"Certainly," he finally says. His interest has been caught, though. "We'll talk about it."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
There is a note of surprise of Duke's revelation of his identity. "You are Duke." Souji's voice is flat. "The digital monster. The loud animal. It is too bad you wear a man's shape..." He adjusts his glasses. "Perhaps... Disappointing. A beast should look like a beast." He raises his cane, grasping the portion below the headcap as the wooden sheath and said cap fall of with a twist and a clatter, revealing his black leather-sheathed blade. "And now I have the opportunity to do something about it."

There is a pause, and Souji glances to one side as vega barks his order, and he frowns. "You are fortunate. The only reason you live now is because I value my business relationships more than your life."

He turns to look to Hieie, who has been retrained. The mad claims sound out against Souji's senses, his expression stoic as he looks upon the madman. "Death and destruction. Is that all you are?" He asks, simply. "The uncontrolled flame is snuffed out. You will not accomplish anything like this."

Vega's question lands on Souji's ears, and he glances over to the Dictator. "I will kill him or break him. But such things must wait for their proper time." He states, simply.

Duke has posed:
Though it seems between Souji's body block and Duke attempting to explain he was no enemy here, the situation was handled, as he figured it may come to be--- but a shame really that he could not assist further. Oh well, at least he was able to maintain the Ultimate form and not lose a great deal of energy. That was an improvement already.

When Vega speaks to Souji, the Knight Digimn has his weapon vanish away back into data, before he goes to look away. "Well, I suppose all ends well in the end." Though as he starts to turn away, Souji calls him Duke and the Digimon tilts his head faintly as his armored foot comes to a halt. He looks vaguely over his shoulder at the man holds his sword and those gold eyes look at him for a moment.

"I'm a Digimon, not a man... but I am still a living sentient individual... and should be careful on assumptions. While an Ultimate form is rare to obtain, there are always others who are like myself... A Dukemon or even like this." The Knight Digimon then begins to walk away, those his eyes narrowed sharply as he walks with a flourish of his cape. "But I wont lie... I am the Duke you're seeking and maybe you will get your chance one day, but... until then."

Duke places up his hand in a wave, "It was nice working with you." then takes his leave of the place.