The rains had passed and the sun was barely over the horizon on its daily trek across the Rhydinian blue sky. The forecast was calling for an increased temperature and spotty clouds. Isuelt figured this was the perfect sign for them to begin their project. The Scathachian stood in ankle-deep water looking up at the bright circle of sunlight. She silently prayed it would not be the last time she laid eyes on the bright blue sky. Isuelt looked away from the source of sweetly fresh air and peered down the long corridor of the sewer. She remembered coming this way and tried to place her exact route to emulate the course she had taken before when she had found the underground lake and .... and those creatures.

Finally, her dark eyes were becoming accustomed to the lack of light, but she knew that she would need help in finding her way. This was Sylus's and Ebon's reasoning behind splitting up the groups as they had. One Avenger in each grouping who did not rely on light to see. The others in her group were beginning to descend, she thought she heard JaX's voice first. Isuelt checked the device that she was given for her ear, tapping it gently. She could hear Jester, Zulu and Alfa going over safeguard measures at the flush-out points. Isuelt's hands drifted over her blades at her hips one more time, just to be sure; and there was a flashlight dangling from her wrist, just as before.

She heard the quiet beep of her earpiece and knew that was her cue. "Everyone's getting into position. We'll coordinate the commencement of the sweep in five minutes, on my mark. All groups keep DIANA in your ear as she'll be keeping you up on sewer mappings and correcting any discrepancies that we come across. Constant communication is a must, as we all know." She paused and took a deep breath as she heard the footsteps of her own group splashing down behind her. "With any luck, we'll be out of here in time for dinner and a round of ales. I'll buy." She was almost sure they could hear the smile on her face. "Nails out."

Her boots sloshed as she turned around to look at who had come down the ladder from the street level. "Ready for a little adventure?" The side-swept smirk lifted her right cheek up in a cockeyed manner as she nodded to them.

As he dropped into the sewer, Ebon felt a pang of axiety like a knot tightening in his chest. Was he doing the right thing, going on this mission when... no, he couldn't dwell on that. They'll find her. They must. Taking a deep breath, he looked up and met Nails' gaze as she turned around.

"Ready for a little adventure?"

The smirk on her face brought a similar expression to his own, and he focused on the task at hand. "Wouldn't miss it!" He was needed here, and he needed this to keep his mind off of his own troubles.

?Copy that, Boss. Beta is arrival in the Marketplace, Ravenlock standing by for Wanda and Jester.?

The gloved hand slid from his ear piece, as Brian quickly ran another check of his gear, while some members of Public Works, and the 27th Special Operations Division of the Watch kept to their respective jobs of keeping the masquerade alive and well.

Because as far as the citizens knew this was simply a mapping operation for public safety and knowledge.

Brian would like them to keep believing that as well, especially since it would make everyone's jobs a hell of a lot easier at the end of the day, and that itself would make quite the difference between safely dealing with whatever the hell was down there, or being dragged out of the sewers on a board.

He didn't like the latter at all, truth be told.

So he called in a few favors, and snagged a decent Public Works crew he could trust along with some of his own men and women from the 27th. A small perimeter had been established around the entry point for he, Wanda and Jester. The perimeter maintained by his watchmen and woman, and around the entry point itself was a workman's safety barricade, set up and maintained by the Public Works crew.

The barricade was a two fold purpose truth be told. The first being that no one would see the Avengers and heavily geared Ravenlock make their way into the sewers, and the second was if they ended up having to withdraw and were somehow pursued, the barricade was indeed rigged with strategically placed explosives for said pursuers.

Brian did not like to leave much to chance...

The Works crew would remain to keep presence and the facade alive and well, doing a bit of work here and there. A few extra signs set up to make the appearance that much the more convincing.

A bit complex some might think, but given the fact that they were making entry in one of the most embattled areas of the city, Brian thought it made perfect sense.

So that gear was checked once more, by the eldest Ravenlock.

A modified M-4 Assault Rifled, loaded with mythril alloyed based parabellum rounds. Night to Day based scope, and silencer, a small yield grenade launcher.

His packs checked as well... Flares, compasses, maps, med kits, stun grenades (Flash Bang), and smoke pellets. Extra clips, along with close quartered weapons in the form of a pair of daggers, and glock .45 w/ 18 round clips. And for measure, Pulgasari and a small tactical back harness with contained a 'camel pack' for the hydration.

A nod to some of the workers as Brian chuckled, ?The Boss says the first rounds on her, guys.?

A bit of a 'woot' was heard, as everyone went back to their jobs, leaving Brian to wait for the rest of Beta, and then head on in.

Game on...

The Witch was not long in arriving herself. The shop was not that far from the barricade point, so it was easy for her to slip into the area with little resistance.

Any resistance from Public Works or the 27th was quelled with her Ident-i-card. For this jaunt, the Witch chose to wear that modified leather catsuit that she had gotten blown up in previously. The design was good and she was probably the most vulnerable.

As long as whatever that was something at them got around her magic.

She was also sporting a pair of wrap around shades that doubled as a link to D.I.A.N.A. and Nails. Another plus was the dark shades covered the dark circles under her eyes. Things had been deteriorating with Ben for sometime and her nightmares seemed to be returning.

Still, she was doing this...

She moved up to Brian's side with a brief nod as she spoke, "The witch is in position."

"Elpis here. Roger that. Emergency transports are on standby. Here's to having and not needing them."

Off to the side, the CoS support groups were forming and receiving their orders. As promised they would form a backbone to support and protect assets on the surface.

The woman over seeing everything was know only as Storm. She was doing this to make sure Brian came back in one piece. A favor to Jenai.

~The support groups are in position, bro.~

She was adopted into the Ravenlock's informally but that didn't mean she didn't treasure them as family.

Market Place

?The wheels on the bus go Beep, beep, beep;
Beep, beep, beep;
Beep, beep, beep!?

The battle plated yellow bus with ?Rhy?Din Publick Skools? painted on the side squealed around the corner ignoring all signals, lights, warnings. Its rear end swung wide and snapped back with a shudder and bumps gaining traction. An acid green boot stomped on the gas making the overworked engine roar.

"Copy that, Delta in Position." replied Brian in regards to Sylus' transmission.

Then a quick mental reply for Storm, ~I hear ya sis, good to have you along. We'll be patching you through in a sec, along with Allegria's squad~

And then suddenly, the comm line came alive...

"Hey! Didja guys see that!?"

"Did we see-- what the hell was that!?"

"Hey Murph was that a school bus!?"

"How the f*ck would I know!? Someone find Waterman, and see-- wait there it went!"

"Copy that, damn it's fast!"

"Anyone else see it? I lost it about four blocks out."

"Not me."

"Negative, rubber ducky."

"Nothin' here, guys and gals."

"Can it, everyone! Captain Rave-- Brian you on?"

The entire radio conversation was heard rather loudly, especially since Brian had all his localized units patched in through D.I.A.N.A. and all that good stuff. So a raised brow indeed did the Captain have, as he looked to Cyrus and Wanda.

"What the hell was that?"

Brian then keyed up his comm, "Ravenlock here, go ahead, Simms."

"Sir, did you catch any of that mess?"

"I think we did, Simms. Something about a School Bus?"

"Copy that, Sir. We lost it about four blocks out. High rate of speed, and all over the place. Anyways, sorry for the excitement. It was probably just late for a pick up or something y'know?"

"Understood Simms, thanks for the heads up. We'll be heading in momentarily, you guys stay frosty up top."

"Copy that, Brian."

Brian glanced around to the others, "Well that sounded like fun out there. Let's hope it's not as fun down where we're headed, yeah?"

~West of the Marketplace~

The black and silver figure of the Ranger dropped from the sky with a howling roar of thrusters, settling to the ground and landing as the sound cut off, into the area that looked like a fortress, west of the Marketplace just inside the city wall. The 'flush point' here was a manhole into the sewers below, which he reached down and removed the cap from, setting it aside before he transmitted over the Avengers private frequency.

"Ranger, in position."

He had been working over the past days to develop an alternate line of communication for himself, Alfa and Zulu. If they were going down into the tunnels under the city, they'd need it - over-the-air communications were notoriously spotty under ground, where the earth would interfere with the signal - and he wanted to make sure they were in constant contact if it came to that.

The design was one he'd 'appropriated' from the military where he hailed from, modified to suit his own purposes. It was simplicity itself, really, almost like the ages-old children's device created by attaching two cups or cans together with string.

Except in this case, it was monomolecular line composed of his OmniPower material, which connected to fiber-optic relays he'd had added to each of the armored suits. Hundreds of miles of the line could be stored on a single spool, and it was nearly invisible to the naked eye.

But perhaps more importantly, it was virtually unbreakable, and any transmissions sent via that link would could not be intercepted by anyone.

He listened to the chatter over the air, and finally, as he settled into a crouch by the manhole, he heard his two partners' voices come over the Avengers frequency, Zulu in the Red Dragon district north of the Inn, Alfa near the southern gate to the city in the Temple district.

"Zulu, in position."

"Alfa, in position, awaiting orders."

He nodded to himself and moved to stand as he spoke over the air again.

"Nails, this is Ranger. Flush points are covered. Let's get this show on the road."

As she watched Ebon and JaX power up the flashlights and start to take stock of their surroundings, she heard the check ins. All were accounted for and ready to go.

"Nails, this is Ranger. Flush points are covered. Let's get this show on the road."

"It would be my pleasure. Diana, please mark all indicated personnel and engage homing signals. We're setting off on our respective courses." The plan was for each of the groups to begin in one direction and cover as much ground as quickly as possible. Hopefully, if the intelligence that they had gathered from the Public Works mappings, the Rhydin Core of Engineers' work, as well as the schematics from the Rhydin Aqueducts wasn't too off, they would rendezvous somewhere around the lowest sublevel's central hallway (which Isuelt believed led to the underground lake). Of course, there was no telling how many tunnels and passageways would take them out of their way, or weren't on any mappings at all. Diana, hopefully, would keep track of where everyone was for as long as she could.

"Shall we?" Isuelt turned around and nodded toward Ebon and Julianna. Her boots pushed their way through the standing water, forcing a sloshing sound careening down the tunnel. Alpha group was starting in the West End, not far from Pumphouse 54 (where Isuelt had originally started on her trek to aid the Watch in solving the missing persons report that led to her discovery of the underground creatures), and heading due east...more or less.

At first, the walls of the tunnel were wide and lichen-encrusted with mildewed stone. The echoes of rebel rats seeking shelter from the luminosity of their lights played in the background like a soundtrack. The air was muggy, especially for this time of the year, but down in the sewers, it was nearly clammy and almost palpable. So far, Isuelt had remembered her steps. And she remembered how the water level rose and fell as the Pumphouse performed its duties. So too, she remembered coming to a passage where the level seemed to fall and continue to fall. Her boots, as those of Julianna and Ebon, met with less resistance as the click-clatter of their footfalls now reverberated down the dark hallway. Isuelt's dark head nodded slightly, her voice in a hushed tone, "Yes, this is right." Then, they encountered the first of the twists that the Scathachian remembered from her voyage in this maze. The one-way tunnel was now ready to branch off into a series of arched doorways. She paused and heard Ebon and Jax behind her do the same. She shut her thickly-lashed eyes and tried to remember back, "Five...." She opened her eyes and swung her flashlight around to point to the fifth archway. "It was this one...." The fifth doorway, now bathed in light from three flashlights, boasted intricate carving and scrollwork over the archway, more so than the others.

Nails was on track to live up to her codename.

She drew a deep breath as she recalled her encounter, that had since felt more like a nightmarish haunting. "That's the way." It was so much easier to remember now that she was down here once more, rather than seeing the schematics that Diana had displayed. "We'll check all the rest of these archways first, but this is the way down." Her dark eyes shone on that intricate doorway for a moment longer, nearly salivating at the chance to avenge her nightmares...and have another chance at whatever may be lurking there.

Her head dropped as the interference from Brian's team of extra's bled over into the communication link to DIANA as she listened to the reports of the bus. Her team had entered from a different location but the reports being spewed along the com lines perked a dark brow. A school bus out of control was the least of her concerns at the moment. As the check in were accounted for she lifted her eyes to focus them back on the mission at hand.

As she followed behind Nails, the Black Knight not far on her heels they reached the crossroads. She had flipped on the wide sweeping light of the flashlight she had brought along, angling it around between their feet and up along the walls, looking for signs of anything that might have passed along this way that was other than rodent. Nothing giving evidence to such a thing...yet.

As they paused at the mouth of the tunnel that split off in five different networking directions she beamed her light towards the fifth that Nails indicated would be the one to lead them lower into the belly of the sewers, lingering a moment as her eyes narrowed and she mumbled to herself, ?...we'll be getting to you soon enough.? Of course the echoing effect of the tunnel would make her mumbled statement easily heard by her teammates.

Her beamed light then flickered over to illuminate the opening to the fourth archway that was quickly 'felt out' by the Black Knight. She cocked her hip as she waited for his report. A nod to him when he turned to announce no findings worth their time within it's dark depth. She smirked slightly, effectively hiding that slight bit of disappointment at the null findings.

?Nifty skill you have there. I have some tricks as well, though probably not as impressive but...let's try it out shall we? I'll take a look at what's behind door number three.?

Passing her flashlight to Nails as she strode past her, she headed over to stand in front of the entrance to third tunnel. Once it was opened up she shot a look over her shoulder to the two behind her, ?Aim those lights a little lower if you please??

Once they complied, those ice green orbs swung slowly to eye the pitch black length of the tunnel in front of her. She took no more than four steps into the tunnel but it was enough with the lowered light behind her to only show the back of her boots visible to her teammates, the darkness of the dank tunnel swallowing the rest of her image up. The black clothing she wore assisting in that stead. Her arms extended out and a hand was placed on either side of the narrow tunnel around her.

Her head lowered as her eyes closed, she exhaled the stagnant, molded air from her lungs to empty them. A brief pause as she cleansed her airway as much as she could. The pause also clearing out her senses to the best of her abilities as well, drowning out the sounds of the skittering claws of the rodents and the dripping ring and splash of the drops escaping from various places around her.

The 'improvements' made against her will those several months ago had given her an insanely heightened version of every sense. Smell was the first she used. As her head came up slowly, her lungs began drawing in every bit of the air around her, her sense filtering out the smell of wet rat and feces, the metallic smell of the tubes themselves, focusing her entire mind on anything odd or out of place that had passed through the entrance. She took another dozen booted steps slowly and as softly as she could through the tunnel, the slow intake through her nostrils so controlled she was still taking in more as she moved the deeper in she went.

There was definitely something down here that didn't fit. She would not be able to give the range her fellow Avenger had but to be sure she wasn't mistaken, the inhale was stopped as her eyes snapped open. The pupil in those ice greens going from wide due to the darkness to nothing more than a pinprick at her will. A shift in color eliminated the hint of green and changed the color to a crystal white. Her vision piercing several feet deeper into the tunnel, she could see a white strip a few inches thick encompassing the circular tunnel only those few inches at a time in pulsing succession as her vision pierced deeper into the tunnel. She knew it may not be deep enough to encounter whatever they were facing down here but her focus was on the walls that were revealed with each passing few inches.

When she hit about 150 feet ahead of where she stood she found what she had been looking for. There was no need use her next sense for confirmation. The odd smell that still clung to her nasal passages and what she saw were enough.

She couldn't help but grin as she turned to head back out of the tunnel. As she came back into the light provided by the beams of the flashlights at the mouth of the third tunnel, a blink of her eyes turned them back to normal so that sudden brightness wouldn't give her a headache as the flashlights were raised to shine up at her. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned a shoulder on the archway to the left, looking between the two.

?Well kids, it looks like we have a winner. I'll bet you a case of Katt-a-tonic's this tunnel will lead us to some fun. There are scratches along the walls between 100 and 150 feet in and other recent disturbances along the bottom of the tunnel.?

She held out her hand to Nails, gesturing for her to toss her back her flashlight. It was caught and spun around a couple times in her hand as she regarded her two teammates, ?Do we want to take a look at the other two before proceeding or can we go ahead and enter 'The Tunnel of Fun' now and start taking care of business?? The final question directed at Nails as she was the one directing this shindig and the most knowledgeable about what they were facing.

Her arms crossed back over her chest in the lean as she waited for her orders, her free hand twitching slightly at the knowledge that whatever they had come down here to deal with could be just behind her down that tunnel...or she sure hoped there was at least something loitering around she could sink her blades into. But she'd wait. This teamwork thing still something she was working on.

?Simms and Market perimeter units, switch over to 800 TAC channel 2 and let?s use that for updates. Cyrus and I will coordinate with you all from down here, with Red and Storm listening in from top side. That way, we keep this channel freed up.?

?Copy that, Brian. Everyone switch over!?

~Stay frosty Storm, sounds like some of the guys top side are a lil? excited.~

?That?ll make things easier for everyone else down below, ? said Brian as he checked the secondary channel to make sure the support units were where they needed to be comm-wise.

?Simms you on??

?Yeah, go ahead.?

?Alright, Cyrus and I are keyed up here with you all. We?ll coordinate like I said before. Keep this channel for TAC only, and any point to point goes to channel 3, got it??

?Business on 2, and party on 3, got it!?

?Good, I?m sending word to Storm to pass along to the C.o.S. units as well, and see if we can get someone to maybe head their way and liaison for us?maybe Ahnika if she?s available.?

?Copy that boss, we?ll get it handled.?

?Alright, I?m shifting back to primary and I?ll monitor here.?

?Have fun stormin the gutter, sir!?

That being said, Brian shifted his channel back to D.I.A.N.A.?s frequency. ?Brian to Nails, Beta?s making entry in---What the hell?!?

It all happened so fast there was little else Brian could say, so the transmission was left at that.

The contained chaos was something else to behold, as debris went everywhere coupled with several of the watch personnel who had barely enough time to react. The TAC side channel came to life, as members of the 27th came to life in the wake of Cy?s quick reaction to the situation at hand. Quickly several of the perimeter units shifted their positions to try to lock whatever it was down, as others shifted back to keep anything else from interfering and or assisting whatever the hell it was that had crashed into the entry point area.

The urgency in Cy?s voice was more than felt, along with the chaos abound as Brian opted for his Glock .45 as he took to a knee, firing a quick series of rounds in order to back Cy?s initial barrage. His clip spent, Brian turned and quickly reloaded as he then slid down the entry point.

Were those goblins!?

Upon his landing a small flare was set off and chucked down the tunnel a bit, allowing a better view of what was ahead for the moment, as Brian pushed against the wall. A knee taken once more, as the pistol was holstered in favor of his rifle, which he had aimed down the tunnel while awaiting the others.

The chaos above still heard as Brian keyed up on the TAC channel, ?Simms? What the hell was that? Gimme a sit-rep?

?Brian it?s the bus! Some woman inside, dropped off? well you guys took shots at em!?

?What's the status of the bus, and??

?The bus is GOA, and we?re tryin? to?holy sh*t! That T-re?the Saurian! He chucked that truck and took a mess of em out! Damn! Alright, we got dead gobs with explosive devices and fire is enroute to work the truck. We?ll contain the scene, and advise of a gas pipe issue. We?ll also advise of anything we find in relation to the devices.?

?Understood, and make sure the word is passed around top side. We don?t want any more surprises.?

?Copy that! The Saurian?s making his way down. I think Cy and the Witch went in after you.?

~Storm you okay out there?~

Taking a quick glance to the entry point, Brian called out to the others. ?Wanda? Cyrus??

~Stay frosty Storm, sounds like some of the guys top side are a lil? excited.~

There was a smile on the CoS Warrant Officer's lips as she listened to her brother on the comm. She spoke softly into her own comm.

"You heard Lord Ravenlock, switch over to 800 Tac Channel 2." Storm relayed to her teams.

She was Co-ordinating with the teams when all hell broke loose. The inital sounds of gunfire reached her position.

"Sionn! Get me a sit-rep STAT." She barked to her second. The unseelie fae was moving towards the chaos when the TAC channel came to life. The Fox paused to listen as well.

?Simms? What the hell was that? Gimme a sit-rep?

?Brian it?s the bus! Some woman inside, dropped off? well you guys took shots at em!?

?What the status of the bus, and??

?The bus is GOA, and we?re tryin? to?holy sh*t! That T-re?the Saurian! He chucked that truck and took a mess of em out! Damn! Alright, we got dead gobs with explosive devices and fire is enroute to work the truck. We?ll contain the scene, and advise of a gas pipe issue. We?ll also advise of anything we find in relation to the devices.?

?Understood, and make sure the word is passed around top side. We don?t want any more surprises.?

?Copy that! The Saurian?s making his way down. I think Cy and the Witch went in after you.?

She stopped the Fae, "Get me intel on that bus and the lunatic behind the wheel." She was not liking the way this was going. A bang was not an auspicous start to a low visibility mission.

~Storm you okay out there?~

~Affirmative, Bri. We're secure. Sending the Fox to sniff out our lady friend.~

Stepping up beside JaX, the Black Knight reached out to gather some of the tar-like substance on the tip of his glove. "Somebody needs some hygiene refreshers." Letting his teammate utilize her enhanced senses, he closed his eyes and set his mind to probing the goop.

Psychometry, "reading" the past of a person or object, was not one of his strongest talents. However, unnatural forces tended to leave stronger imprints, and he had a feeling that whatever left this behind was most certainly unnatural. He moved back to another set of streaks, to give JaX room and to get a better feel for the substance.

?Beautiful isn?t it, Theodora?? Cain whispers giddily at the chaos unfolding before his eyes. Well, not his own eyes personally, but his many thralls standing in the crowd gathering to see what a bunch of suicide bombing goblins were doing in the Marketplace. Bombings were nothing new, but suicide bombings?this was relatively unheard of.

Changing to a different pair of eyes, he watches as the Kurgen moves in to the old tavern. The thrall trailing after him stops its course to await instructions. ?Leave him..? Cain whispers mentally and turns his attention to the young girl in WestEnd playing hopscotch, her eyes noting Issy, Ebon, and one other descending the manhole.

?Just a few more rounds my soldiers. The thing about war is?there will always be another soldier. There will always be someone to take up the cause. Rhydin belongs to those who have the power and means to take what they want. These upstarts like Batten, the Scathachian whores, their counterparts in the CoS, all are in need of waking.? He murmurs softly before reaching down to stroke the blond locks of the woman resting her cheek on his thigh. Scalp to jaw, his cold hand caresses through her hair and down her skin, making her shiver from just that single touch.

?I will educate them. We all will,? he soon grins and gets to his feet. Like an actor preparing to go on stage, he slips onto his knee length green wool coat. He watches as it hems itself to narrow at his waist. From a peg, he removes his wide-brimmed flat-top hat and eases it on his head, feeling its enchantments tap into his cerebral faculties. Extending his hand, a tall cane flies from the darkness. The handle carved into the likeness of an owl fits into his palm in a familiar way before turning to look at Miss A when she comes skipping into the chamber.

?Grand work m?dear. Iokaste is in position now, she?ll get her battle with Brian and his cohorts though I don?t know how honorable a fight it might be.? He grins knowingly before looking around. Slowly the lights come up revealing a warehouse sized room, the walls lined with thick iron cages and within them the glittering red eyes of his pets.

?Fifteen should be enough?? He looks to Miss A and Theodora as fifteen cages open and fifteen skeletally thin creatures crawl out, hissing and snarling in their hunger. ?Go?give my greetings to Issy and company. Don?t kill her though. The others, do as you please, literally. Feed upon them, fuck them?I don?t care. But make sure they are dead bodies when you?re through.?

?What?s next Mr. C?? Alias responds with a giggle as she takes his arm, after making cutesy faces at the dogs when they leave.

A soft laugh plays across his lips as he tucks his cane under one arm and begins to walk from the chamber with Theodora and Miss A hanging on his arms. ?Ladies?lets broaden our minds.?

She moved in closer to her two teammates, which wasn't hard, given the tight space of the narrowing tunnel. Her light was swung to zero in on the substance as she bent down to sniff at the residue on the Black Knights gloved fingers. She didn't stay down there long as the heightened sense of smell forced her to rear back from the pungent odor her sensitive sense of smell wanted to reject and cleanse from her nasal passage with haste. A wrist came up to cover the offended appendage as she caught his comment then snagged his glance at her to smirk and huff a short chuckle at his comment, "You aren't kidding..."

Her gaze swung up and around as she shot the beam over to the five deep claw marks Nails and Black Knight had gotten it from. She traced the path slowly as she narrowed her eyes examining every groove. She stepped in closer and continued to examine it even as her rasping deep timbered voice easily filled the space when she spoke, "I can't imagine it to be blood, definitely not human anyway, unless whatever is down here has a cannibalistic tendency towards their own...if that's the case, once we finish cleaning up down here we are all going to have to be hosed down. A lot."


She took a few more steps deeper into the tunnel, closing her eyes as she crossed ankle in front of ankle, moving sideways. Taking a deep breath of the thick, dank and sour air that was trapped down this narrowing passenger. She paused, her eyes snapping open and the pupils again zooming to mere pinpricks as those pulsing rings began to make their way a few feet further into the tunnel. She halted the progression when something was illuminated that was solid in form. The pulsing circle of light like a strobe light as JaX narrowed her eyes, trying to take in more than just the odd, hulking shape of the seemingly motionless object.

A slight hiss of frustration at being so limited with the use of that particularly new enhancement, she called back over her shoulder to her two teammates, ?Found something. Don't know if it's alive or dead. If the former, we can fix that if the later, the size and shape of it are far from human and I'd like a closer look at it.?

She took a couple of steps towards where Nails and the Dark Knight stood, halting with her hands resting on her hips, her signature smirk curling her lips, ?You two up for a game of 'let's poke it with a stick and see what happens'??

The light from both of their flashlights beamed her way, illuminating that smirking face, she turned her head back in the direction of where she wanted them to head but her ears picked up the faintest sound of movement. Her chin ticked up in a sharp movement, her head snapped back to look at her companions. The smirk sliding away as the muscle at her temple ticked with the clenching of her jaw.

She turned her body to face them, her hands slipping out of sight before reappearing a flash of a second later, each palm gripping the handle of a razor sharp blade. Taking a step forward, her knees would bend with each repeated step, keeping her body tensed and in almost a stalking crouched position. She began to move toward the pair.

?On second thought, that may have to wait...?

She stopped, crouching to the ground, her left knee dropping to the ground to steady her, her right palm flattening low on the wall to her right, the handle of the blade trapped between it. Her chin lowered to her chest as she stayed there for a few brief moments, praying the two with her would stay silent as she attempted to make sure what she heard was indeed what was going to be needed their attention.

There it was again. The hissing, the faintly audible deep snarl and whatever it was, wasn't far and wasn't alone.

As she essentially growled out her next words, her chin would slowly lift until it locked on the slight space between Nails and the Black Knight, ?Seems we have company. Don't want to be bad hosts, let's go say 'hi', shall we??

With that, she shot like a bullet out of a gun from that crouched position. Her long legs carrying her to the mouth of the tunnel in moments. She slid to a skidded halt, dropping to her knees, her elbow bent back, the blade gripped lightly in her hand and as the first skeletal beast of a mutt rounded the corner her arm extended.

The blade left her fingers on a spin, blade over handle in a blur of speed before the tip found the space just between the glowing eyes of that first mongrel looking thing and sliced right through whatever matter lay behind it. The shrill whine of the creature as it fell echoed through her body and bounced along the walls of the tunnel behind her, but not before it lashed out as a claw ripped through the black material of her thigh before the transmission of its kill message registered the severing of it from that imbedded blade.

She raised a knee, placing her booted foot on the ground as she reached forward and pulled the blade free from the skull of the creature just as the sounds of the felled animals companions growled and snarled out their displeasure, the scratching of their claws against the tunnel floor an echoing testament to their increased speed to avenge it.

Her elbows cocked back in a ready position as two more rounded side by side, the blades were again released and simultaneously as each hit their mark, the bounding creatures continuing their movement towards her for a few steps, their teeth bared and claws extending out in angered aggression. She pushed off on the upended knee to give herself some distance from them before they ultimately fell but before another pair of blades could be pulled, one of the creatures that was close on the heels of two was too fast and it sprung from its crouched position, its jaw widened as it clamped them down on her right forearm.

?SH*T!? The curse escaped her lips through clenched jaws.

She landed hard on her back, the flesh of her arm ripping as the creature twisted to turn its body, the powerful jaws tightened their grip as it began backing into the tunnel she had come out of, dragging her with gathered speed into the darkness. She lifted her head to keep it from slamming over and over against the floor of the tunnel and spied at least a dozen more of these mangy, slimy skeletal creatures rounding the corner and heading into the tunnel after them.

After exchanging a look with Ebon as Batten's Most Balls-Out Employee of the Month took off, the Scathachian was about to say something. However, those words never made it out of her mouth as Julianna screamed and was dragged off further into the depths of the dark tunnel.

"JAX!" Isuelt yelled after her and she and Ebon took off in the close quarters passageway. The Judge kept her flashlight handy and drew a single sword with her other hand as the Black Knight did his thing. He was peeling off those...what were they anyway? Skeletal hounds of hell? One thing was for sure, those teeth were razor sharp. And as the second of Ebon's kills crumpled to the soggy ground.

"Here they come!" He signaled. And indeed come they did. Out of the belly of darkness three more sets of claws and teeth were running at full force toward the trio.

Isuelt's first thought was to free JaX, but before she could get over there, one of the snarling beasts launched itself at her. The skeletal hound ricocheted off of the sewer watered floor and caromed up the wall to leap at the Scathachian. It was all she could do in the poor light and excelled pace of the situation to lift her blade towards fending off the hell spawn. As her well-tested strength was tapped, her muscles flexed to absorb the blow of the beast's forceful jump. The edge of her blade rattled as it hit through the rib cage and sliced straight through the bony carcass. A clattering of bones sounded behind her as the propulsion of the creature's leap landed him in pieces just beyond Nails' shoulder.

Her dark eyes were wide now, trying to take in every inch of reflection in the tight tunnel. "JAX? JAX WHERE ARE YOU?" There were still two more beasts clawing at the stone and beginning to stalk Isuelt and Ebon. And for the life of her, she couldn't see or hear JaX anywhere.

The low growling seemed like it was echoing throughout the tunnel. Isuelt knew that they would have to put down these last two hounds before they alerted the entire sewer system of the intruders. Still keeping the light in one hand, she charged in with her blade ready. Tight quarters meant no mistakes; and she wasn't about to give any ground to these skeletal creatures. She swung her blade with conservative motions, keeping her strength in the jab and thrust as she engaged the first of the two remaining mutts. Twice sparks flew from her sword skidding along the stone wall, rebuffed by the beast's last efforts. A booted kick to its chest proved all the distraction she needed to step forward in advance and plunge her blessed weapon into the back of the creature's neck, effectively killing him and rendering him stapled to the floor before she withdrew the blade. She turned around to see Ebon engage the last of the bony adversaries, as she called out for Julianna once more.

"JAX?!"

With the back of her wrist, she tapped her ear, "Diana! Location on JaX?" Her dark eyes drifted their focus toward the darkening tunnel as her light swung around to illuminate what she could. Knowing Isuelt, she wouldn't necessarily wait for Diana's reply before she took off down the rocked tunnel in search of her and Ebon's partner.

Delta Force

It had been stupid of her to run ahead without her teammates. Not that she would ever verbally admit to that. She had attempted to thwart their getting pushed back deeper into the narrow tunnel with their backs against the wall, cornering her in particular wouldn't be safe especially for her, but she hadn't been prepared for what was incoming at the mouth of said tunnel. She had prepared as best she could and her swiftly thrown blades had hit their mark on a few before she had been grabbed. After being dragged down the tunnel, the swift work of The Black Knight's power in ripping the creatures jaws apart had quickly set her free.

That hadn't lasted as long as she'd hoped.

She quickly scrambled to her feet, crouching into a ready position to back up her teammates and keep these things from further pushing them deeper into the tunnel when one of these strange animals somehow managed to break through the wall that was Nails and Black Knight as they felled one right after another of these mangy animals. There were only a few paces of separation between her and the creature, her two companions occupied as they fought off the horde in front of them.

But JaX was busy too. She had somehow gotten locked into a staring contest with this...thing that was just glaring at her almost hungrily, it was even mimicking the crouched position she held. The eyes of the thing darted to her arm, the forearm sticky from the congealed blood that clung to her torn arm, some of it having dried and clinging the shredded bits of her black and now blood soaked sleeve while there was still warmth felt as fresh blood continued to seep from the deep puncture wounds made by the teeth of the one who had grabbed her and dragged her only moments ago. The stand off between the clone and this thing felt suspended in time, slowing somehow as the sound of the combat going on just behind the creature dulled to almost nothing to her ears.

She instead tuned all of her senses into this one creature...so close. Her eyes hungrily took in all of the features she could until the reality of the situation snapped back into real time. That snap happened just as the thing in front of her sniffed and its jaws opened just milliseconds, saliva dripping from its mouth as its own hungry gaze sharply shifted to lock back on her own hardened ice-greens before it leapt from its crouched position and launched its body at her.

Wasting no time, she pivoted on her heel and extended a booted foot out, landing it right in the face of that leaping enemy. The well timed blow would only hold it off for a moment as its intent was to get a taste of what the previous creature had, for however a short time, before Black Knight had put its lights out. The blood from her wound an attractive lure. She took off like a shot further down the tunnel, the creature recovering quickly and giving chase.

Those powerful lean legs of hers would have been a blur if they could have been seen through the murky darkness of the tunnel she was drawing her prey further into. When she knew she had a few yards of space between them she pivoted again and crouched low. Two blades were slipped free from wherever it was she kept them hidden on her person, one for each hand, a mumbled, ?..come on...come to mama..?

As the thing got close it did just what she expected, it mirrored the crouched position for a fraction of a second and lunged forward again. This time, JaX dove in as well but lower, underneath the incoming creature, she twisted her body around so she was looking at what would be the underside of the creature stretched out in its lunging movement just as it was passing above her. The blades in each hand were stabbed upward, one positioned chest level stabbed into the abdominal/pelvic region of the mangy animal as the other, positioned around her own pelvic area caught the creature square in the chest.

The stabs were done simultaneously and with such force the creature was flung a bit higher into the air, its lunging progress stopped upon the double impalement. She brought her knees to her chest as her palms were brought above her head with her elbows bent to keep her steady. As she sprung from the laying position she brought both booted feet kicking forward and each boot hit the hilt of one of the positioned blades lodged in the body of the howling animal. The added force threw the creature high enough to crack its head on the ceiling of the tunnel, silencing the howl of pain instantly, before it landed with a splash and muted thud to the tunnel floor.

?JAX? JAX WHERE ARE YOU??

On that first bellow her head snapped towards the sound of Nails voice just as she had bent down to pull free her blades. She moved quickly as she pulled free first one and then just as the other was yanked clear she heard Nails again.

?JAX?!?

The urgency and sliver of fear she heard as Nails called out to her was enough to make quick work of grabbing that final blade, ?I'll be back for you in a minute.?

The lifeless creature made no move as it lay their motionless and dead. There would be time to find out just what that thing was later but right now, she had to get back to her teammates. She made quick work of the distance that lay between her felled victim and her comrades, the ripping of the sleeve of her damaged arm could be heard as she rent the seams and pulled it free. As she quickly closed the distance and the sounds of the fighting began to echo louder along the walls of the tunnel she wrapped up her arm as quickly as possible, using her teeth to tie off the knot.

She appeared just behind the two as she pulled free two medium sized blades to do a little up close and personal work. ?I'm here. Please tell me you left me some??

Indeed, behind Ebon she was. Slicing through the two skeletal hell beasts as they pounced at her, the Scathachian's speed was matched only by her partner, the Black Knight as they raced down the corridor in search of the third member of their party.

Julianna's incredible deliverance from the depths of the black tunnel was inspiring. "I'm here. Please tell me you left me some?"?

After a resounding sigh of relief, Isuelt could feel herself rolling her eyes and chuckling in spite of herself as Ebon responded to JaX, "Not in this batch, JaX, but...." A moaning howl, low and eerie, echoed from deeper in the tunnel, and Ebon shook his head. "I daresay we'll all have plenty of action soon enough."

"Yeah..." she echoed Ebon as the Scathachian's boots pushed through the shallow water, past JaX and Black Knight. "Diana, we're heading deeper in our present tunnel. We just fended off a goddess damned pack of some sort of undead watchdogs, skeletal and pains in the @sses. Let the other teams know that something down here already knows we are here."

She knew that Ebon and JaX were behind her, figuratively and literally. They were chomping at the proverbial bit to find the bottom of this pit, just as much as she was. Isuelt swung her light around and illuminated the narrowing tunnel before them. Her lips curled into a frown as she saw more of those claw marks along the walls and ceiling, now knowing their origins. The stone formation on the walls soon gave way to what looked like hollowed out rock, possibly concrete. What Nails was sure of was that the tunnel was getting smaller.

"It's gonna get tight in here," her low voice rumbled out those words with such disgust for their surroundings. She was seething to get her hands on someone...something...to make it pay for what was going on under their city, under their very feet. Still, she plodded further, her light held aloft, her blade in her other hand. With her comrades at her back, Isuelt was daring something to come forward. The circle of light swung right and left as they picked their way deeper into the darkness. A simple slosh of water at their boot falls soon became damp clicking at cobblestone. The water was receding as they moved further away from the pump houses.

There was a steep slope in the floor suddenly, and as the trio could easily hear the howling and skittering resonating off the walls, one had only to extend their elbows to steady themselves against the walls. Isuelt's boots stopped, though they still were sliding downhill. The stone beneath them was slippery. Isuelt turned her foot sideways and the skidding slowed...barely. It was all she could do not to hit her head on the ceiling of the tunnel as the downward slope only proceeded to make the close quarters seem smaller, and ultimately more difficult to manage. She aimed her light directly ahead of her; the beam was quickly followed by two more. All three of them had their lights leveled on what had become an ominously quiet distance. It was hard to tell if they were facing down, or if the tunnel flattened out up ahead.

"This can't be good," Isuelt looked back to Ebon and Julianna. The Scathachian was about to say something more, but before she could, there was an odd sound. It was not a distant howl of a skeletal beast, nor was it the clicking of sharp talons on rock. It was a whoosh of water. Nails' dark brows lowered in a perplexed question. But she had little time to offer up a suggestion or even a theory. Perhaps one of the pump houses was misfiring? But they were too far away from the aqueducts, right? It was impossibility, but as Isuelt swung her light around to illuminate what was behind JaX and Ebon, she saw a wall of water raging toward them.

They were being flushed down the sewer. Literally. There was only one thing to do: hold their breath!

The water further into the cavern churned and then Ebon burst from the deep end, rising up towards the ceiling to get a bird's-eye view (or perhaps a bat's-ear view) of the chamber. "She was with us in the pipeline, but I can't sense her through the water." He tapped his own earpiece. "DIANA, can you get any signal from JaX?"

"No, I... unable to... anything. Si...ing up, there's t...ference."

That brought a frown to his face. "Something's cutting into our signal topside." He dropped down to settle in the water next to Isuelt. "We went down a ways, so either we're getting too deep, or the comlink's broken, or we're being jammed." Even as he said that, he was scanning the dark waters for their teammate. "Any sign?"

The look on Nails face as she swung her light around to investigate the rushing sound that was quickly gaining on their location was enough to cause the clone to close her eyes and sigh softly. The hissing breath that escaped, if heard, would have sounded a lot like ?..f*ck..?.

Gritting her teeth she bent her knees and with a leap, throwing her upper body slightly to the right, she extended her arms and kicked her feet towards the opposing wall of the tunnel. As the water came rushing in and essentially flushed her two companions on a deep dark journey down the pipe, she had positioned her body above the rushing water, her back to the deluge beneath her. Her knees were locked as were her elbows as they held her suspended there, the water flooding through the tunnel licking up in splashes, soaking the full length of the back of her body as she tried to steady herself.

She wasn't a fan of swimming. She didn't want to take swim. She also had no clue what else was being flushed down this pipe along with her two teammates. Another curse left her lips just as her grip on the slick sides of the wall her hands were pressed against began to slip. The grip from her combat boots weren't fairing any better.

Her words came out in a groan, ?...Issy better make that a double shot of whiskey when we get out of here...I did not sign up to be flushed like last night meal...? with another grumble she dared release one hand quickly enough to reach along her torso and snag the handle of one of her knives which she quickly brought up to her mouth, her teeth clamping down on the blade. The hand was positioned back alongside its mate for only a brief second, the motion causing her slide a bit closer to the still rushing water below her. A deep breath was taken through her nostrils even as she rolled her eyes as the thought of having to take a water slide ride with god knows what else to god knew where within the bowels of this underground tunnel system.

In sync, her elbows and knees bend and she pulls herself into a ball, dropping into the water with a splash. The currents pushing her balled form into the direction they willed her to go, the directions Ebon and Issy had headed a few moments before. Once her course was set for theirs, she straightened her body, clasping her hands to her sides and stiffening her body; the force of the water taking a liking to the new formation of her body and easily slid around it, propelling her faster and faster down the tunnel.

It was a good thing she could hold her breath for close to 10 minutes if needed but with the debris being carried along with her, perhaps even some of those damned skeletal creatures corpses were her travel companions, her body was bumped and knocked along its path through the tunnel and the energy it took to keep from scraping along the walls were taking its toll. When it finally began to feel as though the gush had reached an opening to spill into, her descent slowed but not slow enough. The position she had held her body in had gained enough speed that when she hit the opening that allowed the water a place to pool, she was shot out of it like a human cannon ball.

As the air hit her lungs, her eyes snapped open and her body relaxed it rigidity, on hand reaching up to grab the blade handle and release it from her jaws grip. Her eyes snapped open and darted around for the safest way to land but what she was able to glean from this dark new area was that her trajectory wasn't going to be ideal.

The light from a flashlight right in her path swung around towards her and the beam nailed those ice green eyes, momentarily blinding her but not before she was able to identify who was wielding it. Her head jerked to the side quickly but there was no time to alter her path and she plowed right into Nails, knocking her back and dunking her in the water as the weight of her own body forced them both under the knee deep remnants of the still draining pipe she had shot out of.

She quickly rolled to the side and sprung from the water, her arm shooting out to grab Nails leather clad one and yank her, sputtering but quickly back to her feet. Once they were both back above water, the dagger in her hand was sheathed on her person and she placed her hands on soaked hips and just stood there, her mouth slightly open; her breath pulling in and pushing out in slow huffs as she paused to make sure she hadn't done Nails too much damage before she managed some semblance of a smirk while she continued to huff air in and out of her lungs.

She grabbed the thick braid her hair had been bound up in for this little venture and preceded to wring it out as best she could, her eyes darting over to Issy before refocusing on the task of releasing the weight the waterlogged braid was suffering from, ?Well, what can I say? I like to make an entrance.? She would have chuckled had it not been for the sudden jerk of her gaze towards Issy, her waterlogged hair forgotten, her body stiffening a bit.

?Where's Black Knight?? An edge to her voice as she reached for her own flashlight that somehow had managed to remain clipped tightly to her side despite the bumpy ride down the pipe. A swift click and the beam penetrated the darkness around her as she meticulously began to scan the area with it.

An expelled sigh of relief could be heard as he popped up out of the water, a few feet from them, exhaling the breath he been holding. She closed her eyes briefly as the realization her two teammates were accounted for registered, one having been assaulted by her and the other taking a swim. She smiled despite herself and shook her head, ?There you are! Not really the right time to be doing laps in the sewage water but...? a shrug that couldn't really be seen in the darkness but none the less punctuated her words, ?we all have our ways to stay fit.?

She sloshed closer to Ebon, wading through the water, twisting to shoot the beam of her flashlight over to the still draining pipe and making a sweep of it over the confines of the area they had been dumped in. Using the reflection from the water, she aimed the beam just in front of first one and then the other of her teammates, ?As refreshing as that was, where the hell are we??

As JaX and Ebon exchanged theories, questions and ideas, Isuelt blew at the stubborn tendril of dripping wet hair that had once more strayed into her line of vision after JaX's spearheading hit.

And after a moment of silence, she cocked a hip and looked to Ebon. Her tone seeping in morose humor, "Found her..." A crooked smirk on her lips as she joined in swinging her light around, in search of a tunnel that would lead them out of this low chamber. She fiddled with the com device and while JaX and Ebon were talking back and forth, was finally able to hear DIANA.

"Nails, Jax, Black Knight. I have new coordinates for your position. According to our maps, which include the plans from the Water Works Commission, you are not actually in any tunnel or chamber. Your present coordinates are below the lower-most series of tunnels...by approximately ten meters." DIANA's cool tone was almost comical given their situation.

"Thanks..." Isuelt's sardonic smirk was aimed at JaX and Ebon before she relayed DIANA's news. "Okay, so according to the all seeing eye, we're in the middle of solid rock and this entire chamber doesn't exist." Her chocolate eyes were now more than adjusted to the suffocating darkness and as she spied the opening that Ebon was talking about.

"Looks like the only option, doesn't it? I mean...what could be worse than being spit out like a bad piece of fruit and standing in knee deep water, right?" Slowly her thick lashes blinked as she walked past and looked over her shoulder at her comrades, a bit of mischief in her expression. Perhaps JaX's attitude was contagious, or simply she was ready to handle whatever came at them...being that they were off the proverbial reservation.

The Scathachian touched the device in her ear, "DIANA, Ranger, Brian, Elips, Virus: if you can hear me, we're going down past the reach of our maps. Team Alpha is on to something. I can smell it." Sloshing through the water, she moved closer to the darkened exit tunnel until she once more heard the click of her boot heels on stone. "See? Dry ain't so bad." She felt like she was jinxing herself, but when she stopped to think about it...wasn't this what they were down here for? To seek out, flush out and destroy?

Isuelt was chomping at the bit.

Ebon rose from the water and floated over to join his teammates, frowning. "Off the grid, indeed... if Water Works didn't know about this chamber, then that means my guess was way off. It also means that this chamber and the tunnels leading into it were likely carved out by person or persons wishing to operate outside of the city's knowing." His lips spread from the frown into a sly grin. "Anyone want to make bets? I say mad scientist's lair."

Just as Elpis was signalling back to confirm her relay, the trio entered the tunnel. It was larger than the ones above, wide enough for all three to walk abreast without crowding and about nine feet high. Furthermore, the walls--while slick with moisture and slimy tracks--were of more solid construction. "Whoever built up this level seems to have designed it to allow passage of larger items... or beings. Smugglers, perhaps, though they would need to have access to decent tech, like a submarine, to reach that chamber back there from the outside." Ebon flashed another grin. "I'm still betting on a mad scientist, though."

He paused to see if either of his teammates had any comment, when a charnel stench washed over them from deeper within the passageway. Fighting to keep his gorge from rising, Ebon froze when he heard a voice, distant and echoing.

"....papa... papa, help me!"

A quick glance revealed that neither Nails nor JaX had heard the faint cry. Maybe I didn't hear it either. Maybe I'm imagining it. He hoped that was the case, because the voice he'd heard had been his daughter.

Ebon's Mad Scientist theory actually coaxed a grin to the Scathachian's lips. She turned to look over her shoulder to him, swinging her light up to shine in his face. A chuckle echoed in the still air around them as Isuelt voiced her appreciation of the humor not lost on the situation. After all, if one couldn't laugh at their own predicaments, life sure would be dismal.

"I'm all for that, Mr. Black Knight, sir." Isuelt teased. Then shifting the light to Julianna, she smirked, "An evil Edward Batten...we'll just sick JaX on him." As she turned the light back to the wider hallway ahead of them, the only sounds she was aware of were their footfalls and their reverberations.

Isuelt reached up to her ear and briefly removed the earpiece that Ebon had given her. Water in her ear was causing a murky echo as she heard Elips confirm her update. She shook her head to the side and could feel the water sloshing around, after a few moments, she slid the earpiece back into position. She only took a few more steps before she halted and put her muscled arm out to the side to stop JaX and Ebon. "Wait....listen...."

Silence.

"Do you hear that?"

Silence.

"There. There it is again."

Drip.

Drip.

Drop.

Her dark eyes scanned the corridor in front of them from left to right with a sharpened sweeping glance. "I hate that sound..." If Isuelt lived to be one hundred, she would never forget the way the drip-drip-drop pattern down in the sewers seemed to mock her, warn her and beckon to her all at the same time. She'd heard it right before that creature in the dark brushed up against her, breathed on her skin and curled around her that first time she'd encountered the under-sewer system. And the way that same drip-drip-drop announced the arrival of the two unsavory characters lurking in the murky depths of the unmapped underground lake beneath the city, one of which could have easily claimed her life. And this time, the same sound ushered the arrival of those skeletal hounds. What new horrors were awaiting them with this renewed cacophony?

Drip.

Drip.

Drop.

"Diana, keep vigilant on our position. Relay our coordinates as best you can...and keep updating." She knew that Team Alpha had help on the upside of the city and the flush points of the sewer system. But the fastest way to get to them...or more importantly, how their backup could get to Team Alpha, she was uneasy about to say the least.

The Scathachian looked back to her teammates and then raised her light to illuminate the corridor behind them. Something felt very, very off. Almost on cue, a light breeze began to waft through the hallway, lifting her dark hair from her shoulders. There was a fetid scent on the air, like rotting meat and stagnant water.

Drip.

Drip.

Drop.

Her teeth clenched for a moment as her dark eyes sought the even darker blackness of the passageway they were in. "That dripping. I don't like that sound..." Her light swung back and forth futilely uncovering the source. "I got a bad feeling about this." The Scathachian pressed her lips together tightly and looked to Ebon, then to JaX before touching the piece in her ear. "Diana? Nails here, do me a favor and keep a tight watch on our heading..." she paused and bit her bottom lip as she looked into the darkness before them, listening. "I know we're off the grid, but if we come back on the wire, we're going to need somebody in here fast."

Isuelt had every confidence in the world in her two teammates. Ebon, the Black Knight, had an incredible and uncanny ability to sense and battle almost anything or anyone. Julianna, JaX, was a tenacious and incomparable warrior who reminded her of every Scathachian she had ever known. And even these two were on edge; Isuelt wasn't supernatural by any stretch of the imagination, but even she could feel that.

She looked to Ebon and winked, then to JaX, "You ready to earn that drink?" Isuelt smiled at her, though her impetuous expression only lasted as long as she was facing her teammates. The Scathachian turned and pressed deeper into the darkness, further into the tunnel, towards the noise, closing in on what might be the proverbial end of their line.

"Let's clear out whatever it is we need to clear out and get the hell out of here."

Ebon gave a grim nod of agreement, and started forward down the passage. He had caught up with JaX and Nails before he heard that voice once more... a girl's voice calling, pleading.

"...help me! Papa, help!"

Stopping short, he looked to his teammates. "Did either of you hear that? A girl calling for help just now?" When they both shook their heads, he frowned, as if deciding what to do. "I shouldn't have come on this mission. I thought it would keep my mind off of..." His voice trailed off, and he let his shoulders sag. "It feels like we've been down here for months, but it was just yesterday that my daughter was abducted."

"What?!" That came from Nails.

"It was well-orchestrated, in public while we--my family and I--were out and about shopping. There was an attack from one side, which Phen and I dealt with handily, but that was a distraction while persons unknown hurt Doran and took Azure." A heavy, weary sigh escaped his lips. "I wanted to track them down but... whoever's responsible, they were prepared. I knew they'd be expecting me." He managed a smirk to rival JaX. "Family is handling it."

Nails frowned and shook her head. "Why didn't you tell us? We-"

"I didn't tell you before because you would've taken me off of this mission, and I- I needed the distraction, needed something to focus my attention. Only now," and he gestured down the long, dark tunnel ahead, "I can hear her crying out to me! It's my daughter, and she's crying, and there is nothing I can do!" His voice, though little louder than normal, was raw with the intensity of what he was feeling.

"Well, I haven't heard any girl crying," replied JaX with a shrug, "and maybe you haven't either." That earned her quizzical looks from both Nails and the Black Knight. "Something's down here, and we've seen enough weirdness to know that it could be playing with our heads."

Blinking in realization, Ebon straightened and the man verging on a breakdown was gone, replaced by a determined warrior. "An emotional attack, preying on our anxieties and fear, and I fell for it like a novice. Once you know the fear is false, however, it fades into nothing. Thank you, both of you. It's good to have friends by one's side at times like this." Nodding ahead, he headed off with the other two, drawing his blades. "Back to work... and when we're done, I'm buying a round too."

Nails' sharpened gaze followed Black Knight as he went past her, her lips slightly parted in an incredulous and nearly disbelieving expression. She drew a breath, about to say more, about to light into him for not sharing such information that obviously put him at such an advantage. And on this mission, everyone needed to be on their toes, everyone needed to be one hundred percent. Period. Isuelt bit her tongue, however. This was not just an oversight on the part of intel, but an extreme sensitive topic. There would be time to push her point around with Ebon later. But for now, it was about finding what was down here, getting out and then helping him search for his daughter.

Isuelt's dark eyes shifted to JaX as Ebon made his way ahead of the pair. With just a slight twitch of her brows, she conveyed her meaning to the other brunette and began one half of an unspoken conversation. A light sigh at the delicate nature of the situation, as well as the internal and emotional pain that Ebon no doubt was working through. The Scathachian could do little else but shrug softly at JaX and then move to flank Ebon, as his teammate and his friend.

It took her a few steps' worth to casually gain on Black Knight's pace, but as soon as Nails was right behind him, her voice was ushered just ahead of her. "As soon as all of this is done...we'll find her. I'll help." Isuelt was not a mother, nor would she ever be. But she could understand the intense searing that must be burning through Ebon's heart.

However, what bothered her the most was not the fact that Ebon's daughter had been kidnapped, nor was it even that Ebon had not come to his teammates for aid. It was the fact that both he and JaX were very possibly correct: something down here was playing games with them. And that was a very disturbing thought indeed. Was it a psionic? An empath? What was down here moving the pieces on the board and how did it know what they feared and what they thought? How do fight something like that? Isuelt's fists tightened as her long legs kept pace with Ebon. She was a firm believer in steel and physical brawn; those things you could see, you could touch. She suspended a shiver as it tried to run down her back. Mental toughness was something this Scathachian had in spades. And she had a feeling she'd need all she had on this mission.

Isuelt pushed the haunting, unnerving drip-drip-drop from her mind and hardened her resolve. This was go time, this was real. And there was no way she was going to leave either Julianna or Ebon down here. Determination set into her body and her expression with a cemented glare as the trio made their way deeper into the darkness. "You're god damned right you're buying a round..." Her lips leaned into a smirk of bravado to Ebon. The battlefield was calling and the Daughter of Scathach was now prepped and ready.

"I know you'll be one hell of a drinking buddy, Ebon." She quirked a grin, trying to seem calmer than she felt. There was a beginning nagging burn in her gut, that for as long as she could remember always meant trouble. Another deep breath as the Scathachian called upon her decades of training: a body full of fresh air felt no fear. At least, it was a winning philosophy if not a total bit of rot. Isuelt even scoffed, chuckling to herself as she looked over her shoulder then to JaX as they made off after Ebon.

As Ebon held up the ladies and alerted them to the motion at the end of the corridor, they stopped...listening. It wasn't long before even Isuelt heard the scratching, the growls and the movements. Ebon was right, it sounded like there were more than a few. In fact...

Isuelt wiped both of her blades lightly against her leather pants as she made her way past both JaX and Ebon, her dark eyes narrowing. There was even a scent as she walked into a wall of odor. Surely both of her teammates were nearly strangled by the foul stench by now: rotten meat and a tinge of metal. As both of the lights of Julianna and Ebon swung to illuminate the pathway, there was a gaping blackness that yawned and gave way to a drop of substantial depth. As the trio reached the edge of the precipice, they stood looking out into a shallow valley which seemed to crawl.

"A den..." Isuelt breathed. Indeed, it was an entire lower chamber moving with those undead, skeletal beasts of which they'd already encountered. If the Scathachian didn't know better, she'd have said they'd found the Mother Load. Though as it stood just now, she was a little uneasy over the odds. Her dark eyes glanced up, there was barely enough light to reflect a wide and stubby ceiling, rich with stalactites.

Her fingers tapped at her earpiece, unaware if it was even going to work down here, "Nails here. We've stumbled upon a...a den of sorts. Creatures like large dogs or small bears. Skeletal. Pissed." She tried to keep her voice low, not wanting to sent up a beacon for every one of those damned things to alert them of the team's presence. "DIANA? Alfa? Anyone?" There was silence in her ear at first. And before she could listen further, she turned to look at Ebon and JaX. Her boot slid lightly on the gravel and rock that helped to make up the edge of the precipice....sending a good amount spilling over the edge and crackling down the short cliff.

Dark, wide eyes laced with panic looked back to the pit of creatures. And sure enough, there was a mournful baying that kicked up as too many sets of eyes to count snarled up at the trio on the edge of the tunnel...

"Almost there...." She heard Ebon state.

Nails was momentarily mesmerized by the swirling pattern of rock above the baying and snapping abyss of those ghoulish creatures. Involuntarily, her long legs had stepped back a few more steps from the edge as she watched Ebon's trick, knowing that it had the potential to turn at the Black Knight's will and become a mighty weapon for the growling beasts below. Isuelt stalled as she nearly backed into Julianna, stopping right in front of her. Lowly, she spoke just over her shoulder to JaX, "I have a feeling things are gonna gear up in a matter of moments." It was as if one could reach out and stroke the tension in the air; the pent up noise down below striving to shriek. She knew that JaX would be more than ready, but perhaps is was her attempt to wind herself up. Without a sound, Isuelt drew her second blade and stood to the right of Ebon as she moved herself to the left of JaX. The trio was now ready for the certain wave of teeth and claws that was sure to come their way.

The echo of the baying began and she could nearly swear that the noise was beginning to shake the very ground they were standing on. Or was that Ebon's doing? It was hard to tell. Even the blades in her hands felt as if they were quivering. Her knuckles whitened as she renewed her grip on the familiar hilts. A swing of the twin swords and she brought those blessed weapons to the ready. The vibrations she was feeling were growing stronger, she could almost feel them on the inside of her chest. It was as if she were standing on the beach during pounding surf, or on a high cliff as the mighty thunder above rumbled by.

The Scathachian drew a slow breath as her blood raced in her ears, she was ready. It was always the same, every battle, as far back as she could remember. When Scathach called upon her priestess to engage in battle, she endowed her followers with a presence on the battlefield that was of near mythic proportions. And Isuelt, priestess of Scathach, could feel the pressure of her muscles tighten and warm as her body readied itself for the coming skirmish...almost with a blissful hunger.

"Let's go."

Nails was right on Ebon's heels as she jumped after him and dug her boot heels into the rocky, crumbling incline. She slid down toward the pit, one foot far in front of the other, as if she were surfing. Her blades were at the ready and even before she reached the bottom, those razor-sharp weapons were crushing and spearing a few snarling monsters who were leaping and snapping at the warrior. A sideways slash with her right hand, an impaling motion with her left. Switch. Repeat. All the way down. Isuelt left piles of ravaged bone and sinew, clouded with dust, in her wake as she finally reached the bottom of the pit.

The warrior's white teeth were bared as she snarled herself and looked around, ready for the next wave. It came from her left. Isuelt's nostrils flared as she grit her teeth and led with an armored left arm, knocking the first vaulting beast back. A quick hack with her right blade sent the undead creatures slamming into the rock wall surrounding the pit. It took a moment for the monster to rectify itself and then it was at her; pushing off of the side of the ravine. Isuelt ducked at the last minute only to hear a collision almost directly over-head. Another beast from behind her had the same idea and had pounced after the priestess. Some quick footwork and she was out of harm's way and able to choose her vantage point. And with a swift thrust of her blades, each of the monsters was put down, crumbling into piles of their former selves.

She only had a brief moment to look around and check on her teammates. The Black Knight, Ebon, had three of the beasts cornered off past a small sea of the hellish dogs. JaX, Julianna, looked to be having the time of her life as she was tearing into one of the beasts. Before Isuelt could smirk at her teammates' talents and gusto, she heard a deepened rumbling behind her. Or was it overhead? The echo in this cavernous chamber made it nearly impossible to tell for sure. Owing to her battlefield experience, Isuelt gnashed her teeth and spun on her boot heel, her blades whirling in a deadly diagonal slash as she turned around. Her bet paid off as one of the beasts had gotten close enough that the Scathachian could feel its fetid breath against her skin as it slowly slid off of the end of her swords.

While more monstrous creatures snapped and growled lowly as they awaited their turn to be slaughtered, the pit was rapidly thinning out. The three Avenger teammates were doing their best to clean house and in short order. After all, this was not the sort of place they'd want to hang out in and celebrate. Their communication with DIANA and the others had been severely compromised. And there was the question of being able to find their way out of here. They had collapsed down through a chamber floor and had disappeared off the grid thanks to the flush system of the sewers. The thought crossed Isuelt's mind that getting to the surface again would not be unlike starting in the middle of a maze and having to find one's way out...while being pursued by goddess knew what.

Another beast challenged the Scathachian and she leaned into the hit with her shoulders forcing most of her strength through her bladed thrust. "Diana?" A quick rub of her ear with the back of her wrist, "Diana? Can you hear us? It's Nails. We're deep...deep in the sewers, we have no idea where. We're in a cavern...a ravine of some sort. We've come across a huge group of those creatures. Undead it looks like. Beasts, like .....like dogs. A ton of bone, rotting muscle and teeth and not much else. We're...." She had to stop as another ghoulish hell hound snapped at her and she was barely able to jump above his jaw. Landing upon his skull, she crushed its head into the gravel floor, allowing her blade time to penetrate its spine just at the back of its neck, effectively severing the head. "...we're waist deep in the sons of bitches..." Her breathing was heavy and hard as she spun around, jumping off of the corpse to spear another monster with her left blade and deflect a second's gaping maw. "Diana! Can you hear me? Can anyone hear me? Alfa? Alfa! Mike? Are you there? Goddess damn it!"

As Isuelt spun around, she saw a thick horde of the creatures coming at her. And what was worse, she couldn't see where Ebon or JaX had gone. And there was that rumbling still droning on, it seemed as if it would rattle her very core. Her lips moved as she muttered under her breath, "I gotta bad feeling about this..."

?I am receiving more data from Alpha team?s communications devices. I am picking up movement in the same chamber they are in?massive numbers, closing on the team from all sides.?

He skidded to a halt, eyes on the chronometer display on his visor. Barely a minute had passed since he started his run, and he knew in three minutes all of his teammates could be dead.

?Diana, I need a faster way down there. Is it possible for you to take temporary control of the suit?s flight systems to get me down there without ramming me into a wall??

There was a long moment as he waited for her to calculate, the head-sup holographic display showing the artificial intelligence?s projections of various trajectories and paths to get them there fastest and safest. Finally it froze, the path a noticeably different one than the one they had been taking, he noted as he looked at it.

?Diana, what?s this???

His words were cut off as he felt the suit?s armor plating moving, the plates sliding to flight configuration, and in the same moment the AI?s cool voice spoke in his ears. ?Flight path calculated. You may wish to ?hold on?, as the expression goes.?

He didn?t even have time to responds before he felt the suit take over, the rumble and vibration the the heavy armor?s multiple thrusters ignited and he was flung into the air, rocketing down the tunnel, back the way they came.

He turned his head to watch their path, and immediately regretted that decision - he was just in time to see the view twisting sickeningly as DIANA performed a barrel roll and flung him into a turn, crashing through a flimsy wooden barrier and blasting through a lightly wider tunnel, directly at what looked like a wall.

He closed his eyes as the suit flipped through another roll again, fairly certain he might throw up if he kept looking, completely sure he was going to plow into a wall.

A few nauseating moments later he felt the AI drop them into a landing on his feet, and he opened his eyes. ?I?m never asking you to do that again, I swear??

Looking around, he saw he was in what looked like a natural chamber, not cavernous like what he?d expected to find his teammates in. ?Where are we, Diana??

Her sultry voice came back without hesitation. ?According to my calculations, we should be above Alpha team?s current location. The chamber they were flushed into is located directly underneath your current position, beneath seven feet of stone.?

He glared at the detached voice. ?Well, that does me a lot of good. I was hoping for a more direct route into the chamber they?re in.?

Again, the feminine voice spoke back without pausing. ?Based on the data I have been receiving from the communications links the team has on them, I felt it might be better to take a page out of Ranger?s playbook. In situations such as this one, he prefers to??make his own door?, as I believe he puts it.?

He was about to retort, perhaps ask about the structural integrity of the chamber below them, when he suddenly heard the voice of Nails over his helmet speakers, on the main frequency.

"Diana? Diana? Can you hear us? It's Nails. We're deep...deep in the sewers, we have no idea where. We're in a cavern...a ravine of some sort. We've come across a huge group of those creatures. Undead it looks like. Beasts, like .....like dogs. A ton of bone, rotting muscle and teeth and not much else. We're?.? He heard a sound of some kind of scuffle, a yelping sound, followed by the familiar, sickening meaty crunch and snap of a head being severed, ??we're waist deep in the sons of bitches?? There was the sound of labored breathing, followed by what could only be the Scathachian?s blade hard at work. ?Diana! Can you hear me? Can anyone hear me? Alfa? Alfa! Mike? Are you there? Goddess damn it!?

He didn?t need to hear more than that. There wasn?t time to ask questions, he just had to trust that the AI knew what it was doing. A thought was processed by the suit?s cortical monitors that armed the backhand-mounted rubidium isotope lasers mounted in his suit?s gauntlets. Directing his aim downwards, another thought armed the lasers as he started turning in a circle.

There was a crack as he finished the first circuit, a rumbling sound as he felt the stone sinking beneath his feet at the second, and as soon as he completed the third circuit he pushed hard with his legs, the thrusters lighting off to put him in a hover as the plug of solid rock fell away beneath him into the chamber below.

He got a good clear view as it fell of two charging animals, so focused on their prize that they never looked up, even as the circular section of stone came crashing down on their heads. Cutting the thrusters, he dropped through the hole, landing easily on his feet atop the shattered stone, just as he caught sight of a very large, hideous-looking creature charging towards Nails.

He didn?t hesitate an eyeblink, just raised his hands, palms open, the emitters overcharging with an upcycling electronic whine just before they unleashed a powerful charged particle blast at the beast, hitting it right in the face to deflect its path from its intended victim.

Another of the animals came charging right at him, leaping into the air, claws and teeth extended, and he turned, catching it by the throat with an extended hand, easily twisting and flinging it across the chamber to crash into a wall hard enough to crush bone and internal organs.

The helmed head turned back towards Nails and the rest of the team, the deepened, robotic voice speaking in its owner?s slow cadence. ?You called for backup??

Dust and rubble fills the cavernous space after Alfa brings the house down. D.I.A.N.A.'s point of entry endangering the structural integrity of the chamber on a localized scale. The roof would collapse imminently on the nest, but not bring the city above crashing down upon all their heads.

The Brood Mother's hissing and screaming is unmistakable, watching this automoton shatter her spawn. "MY children!"

The sound nearly humanized in its sorrow and rage. Her enforcers decimated, the smaller hounds scattered and near dead she screams one final word..."MASTER!" Before a section of brick and stone collapses upon her.

Hearing that single word, Ebon frowned and turned from the newly-arrived Alfa to the tunnels beyond the devastated nests. Who or what could such a creature name as Master? Behind him, the sound of armored footfalls punctuated the whimpers of dying beasts, but he paid them no mind. Instead, his senses extended into the tunnels, searching for answers. An eerie wind blows through the surrounding tunnels. A dark mind flowing into the chamber unseen, something of great intelligence. The falling dust and rubble near seem to shake as if extensions of breath.

"Something's coming." Ebon's voice was soft as he stared out into the empty dark. "You two, find JaX and get her topside, now! Nails, you take point and I'll guard your backs... do NOT argue with me!" He glared at the Scathachian. "Anything could have doubled back between us and the surface in these tunnels, and your instincts as a warrior could make all the difference. Go!" Turning back to the blackness, he raised his twin blades. "I'll be close behind you."

The lie came surprisingly easily.

Spurred boots stop right over the spot of the crushed Brood Mother. He taps the end of the cane against the stone wall of a sarcophagus. "Such a waste..." comes a soft spoken voice before the hat lifts up to show a clean shaven face. Pale skin and strong bone structure. A handsome face.

Slowly, deliberately, Ebon brought himself around to face the newcomer, not letting himself appear any more hurried that the man whose casual presence belied the sharp intelligence that he had felt moments before. Dark eyes regarded that face hidden by shadows, and then his blades shifted and reshaped themselves into a long staff, its tip resting upon the cavern floor. Without taking his gaze from the stranger, he nodded in greeting. "Sir."


Without care, the stranger takes a handkerchief from his breast pocket and shakes it about in a fru-fru manner, wiping the corners of his eyes. Then he puts the handkerchief away. Not even a real tear shed, just all for show. "Sir...that's one name." He finally replies to Ebon.

"Did you at least have fun, killing my pets? I mean, truly, I put in a fair amount of time gathering them." The cane rests on the ground dispassionately as the still unnamed man looks to Ebon.

"Fun? In truth, no. Answer me fairly, though, can you honestly say that they would have let us go in peace?" A faint smile curved his lips. "Or left the city above alone?"

He waves his cane dismissively at the line of questioning. "You came into their domain....you and yours..attacked first. Can you blame any creature for reacting to an intruder in its home?" He clicks his tongue and idly tosses the cane from hand to hand, taking a step with each exchange of hands.

"That only answers my first question."

"And one answer is enough. Leave the city above alone you ask. Why should they ever go above, when the above is always coming down here to work its schemes. Making tunnels that disrupt their nests, their constant fighting and bombing caving in pathways down here. If the creatures of these caverns ever did band together and breach the surface, they'd have every right to eke out what you surfacers deserve for waging your trivial conflicts in ignorance." He keeps his head high, delivering the speech as if an actor orating the defining soliloque on stage.

One eyebrow arched at the response, though Ebon said nothing for a long moment, simply looking at his new talkmate. Finally he drew a slow breath, releasing it in a sigh. "Very pretty. Do you practice your justifications in a mirror, or do you make them up on the fly?"

"And do you always throw yourself on your own sword?" A question for a question, jingle of spurs coming closer to Ebon's still position.

That got a laugh from the Black Knight. "Only once, and there were extenuating circumstances." He seemed completely at ease, despite the stranger's growing proximity, casually leaning on his staff. "So tell me... from where exactly did you gather your pets?" The earlier choice of words had not been lost on him.

"They came to me. I gathered unto me your poor, your sick, your down trodden, your orphaned, and your disenfranchised. And I gave them purpose..." A manic grin glides onto his features now less than ten paces from the other man.

Ebon blinked once. "Our...?" Then his expression shifted from calm assurance to puzzlement and finally to horror in realization

In that moment, he strikes. A blinding forward rush with the shriek of drawn steel revealing a cane-sword. The figure comes at Ebon in a viciously deft onslaught of flurries.

Despite his shock an instant before, Ebon reacted with unnatural speed, whipping his staff up and around to block and parry that hurricane of blows. None came through, but many were barely deflected and he found himself admiring the other's skill, which kept him entirely on the defensive. Was the man simply playing with him?

Neither relenting nor giving ground, the wild slashes and maneuvers strike closer and closer. "Every bombing...every madman's assault on the citizenry, there are those left behind with no homes. The grieving, the lost, they come to me and find a family, purpose."

His words drip with contempt for all things living. "Even stragglers from Marfa, huddled in their refugee camps praying for revenge and salvation, came to me those many months ago..."

"Family? You preyed upon their need, chewed their souls up and spat them out as hellish beasts!" His staff a blur of motion, Ebon spun it around and slammed it down hard on the cane-sword, then in the next instant he used it to vault himself up into the air, lashing out a heavy-booted kick towards the other's face.

A fanged smile remains in place as the boot jarringly collides with his face. Cartilege crumbles in a gush of blood, yet never once does the odd figure's eyes leave Ebon. They track their target without fear. Beneath the strike, his head tips back, but that's the only part of him that moves.

Jumping back, Ebon put some space between the two of them once more. "You're very skilled. Centuries of practice, I'd wager." Lips curl into a smirk. "I do hope you pay your dentist well, though."

"Didn't strike you as a betting man..." he whispers. Cartelige mysticly resets itself, his blood flows in reverse back up his nose. In a few seconds, it appears as though the strike never happened at all. The man wrinkles his nose a bit and nods. "Round two?" Cain flings his hand forward, stones and dirt rise up and lash telekineticly at Ebon, who shifts into a bracing stance and dark eyes narrow in concentration, until the wave of rubble and dirt washes past him on either side.

Drawing a deep breath, Ebon levelled an even gaze at walking husk of madness. "Clever." A single bead of sweat trailed down the side of his face. "Care to try again?"

"Come now...Ebon.." finally addressing the other man by name. "You, too, can do far better..." That odd cane is held out towards the Black Knight, the air between them shimmering until it is filled with a dozen canes. Their sharp blades glittering ominously as they hurl forth. Were they all real, or just one?

(Scene constructed from live play, Thanks for helping to get things underway Ebon! )