Mars Mission

Cassus pulled himself together and walked out into the open, unable to shock Caz and Zyria into more surprise at their last minute words and his own slight interruption.

"I'm here, Verax." Cassus looked into the back of the hologram. Caz looked miserable after pouring his heart into his speech.

"What do you want? To torture us some more? Maybe kill a few more million? Listen, I've killed more than my share, but none of them were innocent civilians. You're filthy, vile, but you're also smart."

A dangerous combination, Cassus thought to himself.

"I'll listen to what you have to say now, but you will not break a deal with me."

Verax frowned. "Well, I don't need a deal. I can just throw Caz into the generator room to power the generator, and it will hurt. Very much so in fact. And Caz, of course we'll go see Tam, but did you think I'd forget about your lovely friend? I SAID BEWARE INCOMING FLUFFY OBJECTS! HONESTLY? CAN I BE ANY LESS SUBTLE??? FLUFFY OBJECTS!!! But anyhow..... Cassus? What do I want?..... Well thats a difficult question. Let me answer it with a question. What number comes before one?"

-Zyria is....gone.

Too much.

Too much.

Just a moment too much.

Similar to the beginning of this terrible mission, when Tam had first gotten the parasite, Zyria is lost. Caz is being torn apart in front of her, because of all the guilt she's piling on him. He tells her to trust him, and she does. So, when Verax appears, Zyria notes the look in his eyes. He must be planning something. But, even knowing this, it's too much.

She can't handle it all.

Too much.

Too much.

Caz, falling apart. Verax in complete control. Cassus, suddenly appearing, to fight on another side of it all. All of it.

Too much.

Zyria can deal with a lot. Physically, at least. Mentally, well......after living for so many millennia, alone, one's emotions are dulled. And now....her emotions are reawakened, raw.

Too much.

Too much.

Too much.

Too much.-

[So, yeah, there's so much crap going on, I wasn't sure how to have Zyria deal with it. So, how about another zone-out? This time, I think I'll make it a little more serious, though.]

"Zero. That's about how much tolerance I have for your actions. I fear that we're going to have more on our hands than we bargained for." Cassus turned around and looked at Caz and Zyria, checking to see if they were still OK. "Zyria, Caz, any more words for each other or Verax?"

Zyria began fading out of concentration. "Zyria...? Are you OK, Zyria? Zyria!" She didn't seem to be able to focus on his words. "Listen to me. Concentrate on my voice. Stay in there..."

((Short post, have to go get ready for bed guys.))

Verax laughed. "A good comparison. Now... before Mars is broken into hell by incomming fluff, let me ask you another question. What dimension comes before the first?"

-Zyria doesn't want to come back. She's fading quickly, but she also doesn't want anyone to worry. There's already so much to worry about, that's even partly why she's retreating into her mind. She feels as though she's already lost her ability to speak, so, she types.

>Save us. Tell Caz.........<

She's gone.-

[I think, since it would seem weird if I didnt post ANYTHING suddenly, that I'll type short stuff from her POV, and her emotional battle intertwined. Just, yeah.]

Caz was still on his knees, cowering beside Verax. He took notice of Zyria and her... blankness. Was it his fault? He didn't know. But he needed to keep her safe from Verax, and getting Verax away was the only thing he could do. He hoped they could deal with whatever Verax had already sent their way. "Please... you can't do this..."

Cassus felt that he couldn't help Zyria anymore, and thought of an interesting answer to Verax's question. "The inter-dimension. Didn't expect that? Well that is unfortunately between every dimension, placing it directly before the first. Enough with your mind games. I have some...FLUFF to kill as you might say." He turned around and began to walk, but paused slightly in case Verax had something to say.

Verax frowned. "Cassus.... if there is a first and negative first... why is there yet no zero? Simplicity states that a zero dimension would be one in nothingness and thus nonexistent. But... you are correct.... but..... hehehehaaa! YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO KILL THE FLUFF! FOR FLUFF IS BULLET PROOF!" He started laughing. "Also.... Zyria.... if you ever want to see your dear Caz again... alive.... you will have to come get him. I was going to return him.... but...... hm.... well.... THIS IS SO MUCH MORE FUN!! C'mon Caz, we're goin on a trip! TO TEH GENERATOR ROOM! LURINIA! YOU CAN TALK WITH THEM!!! SHOW....." And he paused, caught his breath, then whispered venomously.... "Canceled......." And the video cut out.

At that moment, the hologram of Lurinia appeared, but she looked like real life, and not a mere image. She smiled and greeted them in a sunny tone, "Hello!"

Cassus turned around and was greeted by the life-like hologram of Lurinia. "So you're Lurinia? You're certainly quite cheery for being aboard the Voyager." He walked around her in a wide circle, confidently and casually. "I guess optimism is the best way to deal with such a dreadful individual. Keep him in check, he's too dangerous for his own good. Time is short, at least I'm sure our time is short, but yours may be too if you don't watch your master too carefully. I'll be leaving shortly, but consider my warning. Verax is not a very trustworthy individual, and a he'd throw you away in a second. You might feel irreplaceable, but remember, he created you in the first place."

Cassus left her with that message and walked off to the others as a trembling started through the caves. Unsheathing his own Khvir blade along with his newly discovered one, he prepared to meet an opponent worth fighting.

Lurinia's smiled faded a little. "You misunderstand. He did not create me... and I am his master." She smiled widely again. "Just because I'm artificial life now doesn't mean I was always. And besides.... you can't kill Fluffy. Cretorian Dragons can withstand almost any fire arm and plasma rated up to flagship to flagship combat."

Cassus talked without turning to face Lurinia. "I'm sure your Cretorian Dragon is rated for a Khvir blade and its master. I'm far older than you'd think. And you're his master? That only makes sense. His instability makes him too careless. Farewell, Lurinia. I hope we meet again...over Verax's dead body."

Just as he disconnected himself from the hologram feed, something crashed down hard above their hideout. A Cretorian Dragon? Cassus thought he'd killed the last one a long time ago.

Lurinia luaghed, a taunting joyful laugh, as she forced herself into Cassus's HUD. "I'm sure I am. Verax may be unstable, but he's also smart. He played around with her genetics and her make-up. We will meet again, unless you plan on never seeing Caz again. Good day, New Stalker Initiative Expert Marksman and Assassin Cassus Drugari." And then her face vanished from his HUD.

"No doubt he's smart," Cassus mumbled to himself. He took off to warn the others, but was promptly greeted by the great sound of metal being rendered into pieces by a huge force. A metal support beam nearly fell on top of him as he somersaulted away from it. Fluffy was here. He pulled out the blade that he had last killed a dragon with, held it in one hand, and then pulled out the other Khvir blade he found. It didn't quite have the essence that his had. A pure blade? There was not much time to ponder as sand slowly filtered in, cutting him off from Zyria and Dreston.

Fluffy roared, looking upon this tiny form. I have nothing left to hold me back. I must kill this man fast, so I can return to check on my egg. She breathed a storm of dark purple flame down at Cassus, and with her wing broke the surrounding metal so she could maneuver better. She could just barely fit her head through, as she was massive, but it mattered not. If this meal decided to fight, she needed only to bring him out, for she was unchallenged in open space.

He waved back the flame with one his arms, the suit's finish turning even blacker than it already was. Cassus turned around to watch the dragon struggle to maneuver while ripping out tons of metal from her surroundings. Identify the advantage, and press it. The assassin darted from shadow to shadow, keeping out of sight and well-protected while examining the dragon further. All he had to do was avoid the dragon and stay in the tighter spots until it wore out, and then he would strike it down.

This turned out to be more of a challenge than expected as Fluffy threw him across the room. Cassus righted himself mid-flight and landed on his feet, skidding back slightly before jumping to the side and avoiding what would have been a fatal strike from the dragon's claws...

Fluffy was not amused. She was admiring this man's skill, but she was not amused. She pulled her head back out of the hole, and moments later she rammed the ground, putting her full weight into it. A rain of shrapnel, debris, and sand were met by now that the hole was large enough for her to fit her entire body into the area with.

Cassus rose him arm to the sun shining through the large hole in the ceiling. It was then he realized that Fluffy was no ordinary Cretorian Dragon. Her size was unfathomable to him, and then his mind clicked. There was no fighting this dragon. It was run, or die. He kicked in his Immortal training and took off sprinting at near-inhuman speeds to find the others...before it was too late.

Robless heard the crash and felt the sand shift further, the sounds of a dragon resonating through the chamber. Gathering the group that he was with, (was it Emerik, D'garar, and Archelaus?) he trusted that Cassus would return to them eventually and set off to find Zyria and Dreston. Cassus could handle himself, Zyria and Dreston would need help in the meantime.

Cassus had run quite a distance from the dragon and amazingly quickly as well, and Robless came into view within a matter of minutes. Outmaneuvering the dragon was tricky, and it was extremely cunning in its strikes.

Robless found Cassus dashing towards them and was about to open his mouth when he was interrupted by Cassus' voice coming between his breathing. "You've got to get out of here. I'll try and catch Zyria. Get everyone else to the surface, I'll make sure to get Zyria and Dreston out of here as well." Robless did not have time to respond as Cassus took off again in the other direction.

Fluffed laughed (kind like a huffing/dry cough noise). She was toying with him. The man was smart, and skilled, but she was only playing. Yes.... she was also trying to kill the darn man, but she was having fun! She began jabbing her spined tail at Cassus, playing an obscenely unfair version of whack-a-mole, where the hammer was the size of a corporation HQ, and the mole was an ant.

-Zyria stands there. Her subconscious has control of herself now, so her face and actions are empty of emotions. When Cassus walks off, she watches, merely observes the man as the sand cuts him off from them. She then listens to the battle in the distance, and tries to keep her balance as the ground rumbles beneath them. Turn to Dreston, Zyria speaks, her voice as emotionless as her face.-

"I believe it's time to go now. Is there anything you have that could aid us in escaping this entrapment?"

The tail of the dragon came hurtling towards Cassus, who was stuck facing a wall of sand that had fallen and separated him from Zyria and Dreston. He ducked down, the edge of the tail catching his armor and sending him straight through the sand. Another swipe blasted out the wall of sand behind him as he picked himself up and sprinted towards Zyria and Dreston.

Letting Fluffy struggle with clearing the mass of sand, Cassus takes advantage of it and stops to help Zyria and Dreston. "We need to go. Now. We're holding the dragon's attention and giving the others a chance to escape. I'm afraid if we don't leave soon we'll be buried in here." He looked back over to Dreston. "I'm terribly sorry for bringing all of this onto your beautiful home. Thank you. We've got to go."

-Zyria looks to Cassus, and nods. She then picks up her sword, shrinks it down to a knife, and sheaths it.-

"I will follow you. Dreston, the odds of you surviving here fully functional is very slim, as I'm sure you know." -Zyria steps next to Cassus, looking at the dragon between the waves of falling sand in the distance.-

"So, we have to distract the dragon?"

"Not necessarily. I've already got its attention, all we need to do is survive. I'll leave you two to finding us a way out, and the others are exiting the way we came. Don't worry about me, I'll manage." He winked at the two and ran off again, ready to protect everybody else with his life.

Dual swords still gripped tightly, Cassus approached the massive beast with no hesitation. Some of his focus came back again, and the Khvir master weaved in and out of the beasts strikes, not wasting his energy on attacking the large, bony parts but rather with surgical strikes on smaller, less armored sections of the dragon. He didn't do much damage, but it was enough to keep the dragon on him. He slid right under the dragon's foot as it tried to block him off and kill him, and Cassus striked at the bottom of its foot before he continued his path, dodging the dragon with more agility and deftness than any normal human could manage.

Fluffy realized that attacking Cassus would not be worth the effort. She turned her eyes to Zyria, an action that was not unnoticed by either Zyria or Cassus. She reared up and began to inhale.

-Zyria escapes the sand, motioning for Dreston to stay in the safety for now. Even in this state, Zyria understood how to care for others. When she is out, she sees the dragon turn to her. As she inhales, Zyria pulls out her shield, trying to quickly extend it. But it's dented, and worn, so it opens slowly. As the dragon looks down on her in delight, there's one thought from Zyria.-

If only I could feel the fear.