((OOC:  Okay, Heretic's said he's got nothin' for the last cycle, so I'll roll it right along here.  Welcome back, Kaven!))<br/><br/>Maeve saw the gun in Dreamer's belt, but she was afraid to take it.  Too many eyes were still on her.  Then Dreamer revealed the truth.  Her eyes flew open.  She waited for the best moment and slid up behind him, taking the gun.<br/><br/>The electrified blade's noise and light caused everyone in the room to stagger back, giving Dreamer plenty of room.  His words echoed faintly in the silence that followed.  Caleb eyed the blade intensely, fear and anger coalescing in his expression.  It didn't look like much of what Dreamer had said made an impression, with him or many of the others.<br/><br/>"We fight for human freedom, the Gods are with us!" Caleb shouted.  "You don't know Shark's power!  None of your 'technology' can stand up to him!"<br/><br/>"Caleb, listen to him!" Arden implored.<br/><br/>"Shut the fuck up!" Caleb screamed.  "Look at him!  He's threatening me, threatening all of us!  Obey him or die, that's what he's saying!"<br/><br/>Maeve kept the gun behind Dreamer's back.<br/><br/>"Go on!" Caleb spat.  "Kill me with that thing!  Shark knows where you are.  He sees everything!  He'll find you!  Kill me!  Kill me in front of everyone!"<br/><br/>Geena's face was tight with fear.  Everyone was afraid of Dreamer.  The men near Caleb were pulling away from Dreamer, those few still with guns aiming them at the group of three.  Arden took Geena around the shoulders and pulled her back.<br/><br/>"DO IT!!" Caleb dared Dreamer.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>"Don't flatter yourself, half-breed!" Alhanda spat, her eyes hardened with pain.  "Lentan is human.  He would dispose of you when you've outlived your usefulness."<br/><br/>The hatch's blue glow subsided, and with the clank of heavy metal it swung open wide, into the semi-dark room beyond.  As Chiro was made to step through the opening, his keen eyes could see the whole room in its dimness.<br/><br/>It was an empty place, with solid, impeccably smooth stone greeting him at every angle.  The ceiling of the room extended upwards two stories, and Chiro could see large, bulky light fixtures and fire extinguishers embedded in it.  The far wall showed some thin arrow-slits, the only source of lighting in the room.  The wall behind him only rose one story, and was topped with a long seating area only one row deep.  Dozens of regal chairs extended from wall to wall up there, and they were protected behind strong metal bars.<br/><br/>The hatch swung shut behind him, resuming its blue glow.  He was alone for a moment.  Then a door swung open in the seating area, and the Fanged Lady entered with her guards in tow.  They kept their weapons trained on Chiro.  One guard was following the Lady, bandaging her severed tail.  She approached the metal bars, looking down at a small control panel embedded in the ledge the bars were set into.  She flipped a series of switches.  Bright lights blazed into existence all along the ceiling, illuminating the broad room.  The bars suddenly emitted the pungent smell of ozone, and then they also began to glow with a bluish light.<br/><br/>"Lentan has used you to try to kill me," Alhanda growled.  "You can think you are being allowed your revenge, but what is revenge when it comes at the pleasure of a master?"  She flipped another switch.  Sharp metallic noises echoed into the room from the hallway.  Something was happening out there that she had control of.  "It's so much easier to kill someone when you don't have to touch them, isn't it, lizard? Your human masters have slaughtered scores of Kazmer's citizens and protectors with guns.  They murder us from a distance, Chiro, reaching out at us with bullets, not stopping to watch as we die.  The way of civilized people is to battle eye-to-eye, to see and feel the death you inflict."  Another switch was flipped.  Softer metallic noises filtered into the room.<br/><br/>"Your sister defiled her own name, Chiro.  So have you.  How can you claim to have honor when you've made yourselves into playthings?  I take no dishonor in killing you any way I see fit."  She pressed a button on the control pad.  The blue glow faded from the hatch in the wall.  "So now I will give you the chance to feel my pain, Chiro Day.  Now I will kill you by proxy."  She flipped a final switch.<br/><br/>The hatch opened, revealing a coiled, glittering vision of death waiting in the hall, silhouetted against a bright light from behind.<br/><br/>"Kill him, Mag," came Alhanda's order.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>((OOC:  Hope I'm not jumping the gun in assuming that Baz blows the door.<img alt=":wink:" src="./images/smilies/wink.gif" title="Wink"/>))<br/><br/>Just as Baz finished preparing his explosive, gunfire rang out from down the hall.  Halvorson ducked, returning fire, covering the Slayers as they ran back through the chapel and into the catacombs.  He then followed, calling for Feign, Sara, and the medic to follow.  In moments they were all safely around the bend in the funeral corridor.  Seth's sickly blue light wavered at the far end, deep in the catacombs.  He'd skittered well enough away from all the noise, hissing to himself in agitation.<br/><br/>"Blow it, Baz!" Halvorson shouted.  Everyone covered their ears.<br/><br/>The noise of the subsequent explosion shook the very foundations of the Palace.  Stone and metal crashed in the hallway as the dungeon's door was obliterated, in addition to about five feet of the wall on either side.  The ceiling above buckled, but remained intact.  Dust and smoke filled the corridor and the chapel.  A few unfortunate Palace Guards that had advanced into the corridor were murdered by the shockwave.<br/><br/>Halvorson peeked around the corner, watching as the clouds of dust and smoke began to settle.  He wasted no time.  "Baz, Mad, on me!  Doc, Feign, Sara, hold!"  he cried, and plunged headlong into the chapel, running across the hall and through the blasted hole.  He waited for Mad to catch up, then said, "Take point, let's get to Karogen."<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>The explosion could not be muffled by the cell walls and door that surrounded Mark Karogen and the old man.  The shuddering vibration of the stones behind his back told Mark that he'd just heard something very, very powerful.  The old man scarcely made a noise in the darkness.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Arget's smashing produced enough sparks and smoke to make him thoroughly satisfied.  He could see the light from under the doorway dim suddenly, then die out, only to be replaced with a faint gleam after a second or so.  Surprised shouts filtered in through the door.<br/><br/>His search of the ceiling revealed a tangled webwork of air ducts and copper pipes.  Most of the pipes wormed their way into a large tank-looking object wedged against the far wall next to the air handler.  On closer inspection it appeared to be a water cooler.  Wedged fully behind the air handler, and connected to it by a small, boxy device, was a water heater.  The heater probably used heat from the exhaust air.<br/><br/>Arget's tampering had disrupted power to the top two floors of the Palace.  Emergency lights had kicked on in hallways and major rooms.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>((OOC:  Trying to give ya something here, Heretic!<img alt=":)" src="./images/smilies/smile.gif" title="Smile"/>))<br/><br/>Janus and Fenson came fully to their senses in the grass, studying themselves, astonished at their clean bill of health.  Heretic could see Janus reach a curious finger out to the new scale embedded in Fenson's throat.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>((OOC:  I think there was a minor misunderstanding with the layout of the warehouse Merelli's being held in.  On the ground floor is the loading area, some stairs, and the storage room where Raice had been attacked with the scissors.  On the second floor is the setting described below.  So no worries, Saiai, it shouldn't change things too much.  I also hope I'm not going too far in assuming Raice gave the signal to kick down the doors.))<br/><br/>At the top of the stairs in the warehouse, a narrow corridor led to five simple doorways, perhaps closets or offices.  It was these three doors that the First Sergeant, Raice, Jenten, and Marice were confronted with.  The two privates that the First Sergeant had brought along stood by.<br/><br/>Nodding at Raice, the First Sergeant positioned himself before a door.  He let Jenten stay close, having Marice take the door Raice had prescribed for the anthro-bat.  The privates each took one of the remaining two doors.<br/><br/>The First Sergeant watched Raice's fingers...<br/><br/>One.  Two.  Three.<br/><br/>Bangs resounded throughout the corridor.  The four doors manned by Raice, the privates, and Marice opened into dark, musty offices.  The First Sergeant felt the door before him give way under his heel, and he surged forward, stunned by the pitch darkness of the room-<br/><br/>-pain arced momentarily across his throat.  He felt himself falling.  Hearing, sight, and touch suddenly all faded away.  His world ended.<br/><br/>Jenten saw the First Sergeant's head separate from his body and fall harshly to the floor, the body following.  Three sharp, needle-shaped shurikens lanced out at Jenten from the darkness, which his sharp hearing penetrated to reveal that his attacker was large, furred, and angry...