Her eyes darted back and forth as she scanned the room to see how everyone was doing. She wasn't sure that she could really help anyway. Wind tends to increase the strength of fire and that wouldn't exactly be a plus right now.

"Just the main one--hmmm?" RB thought when she noticed the young one shaking behind a table not too far from her.

Inching her way over, she put a hand on his shoulder and gave a wink when Cosmic Kid finally looked up, "Hey, we're going to be alright."

"At least I hope we are" as she remembered that they were on a clock.

OOC:

Oh, and I can "play" for the most part now...semester over and all... I decided to save the city itself for later. ;p

One would imagine why we are here Derek, fighting alongside a bunch of rebels to usurp a cause that is not unlike your very reason for existance. To achieve a goal which you would do anything for. We are wasting our time and energy here, trying to illuminate the shield of this freak, as well as sap the energy it stems from. But we havent made a dent on the guy, and this place is going to make us truly gone from the human world. What do you think about that Derek. How does that make you feel?

..Hush. I have to shut you out, otherwise you and Dumbo#2 over there will cause havoc in this shell.

====

Calmly, Dl opened his eyes, feeling the weight of forced sweatdrops upon them. He shook his head to lear his vision, as the shadows kept licking and gnawing at the shield made by the pyromancer. Not a single dent. Not even a whimper. His magic was something to be wary of. But to recall the hounds of the night would be ludicrist, and instead, he decided to have them seek out new targets

"Let's test out if these symbols have anything to do with your alleged power."

A single beast leapt from the shell around Magma, and clung to the wall. Claws sunk into the wall like knives in butter, but left no puncture wound. A glowing form would be its target, as vines shot from its back trying to eviscerate its very light. In a few moments, a few rocks fell where that symbol once lied etched in teh stone. But there was no noticeable change, and there were quite a few of these etched all over the place.

As it stood, he had nothing to fear from exploring, as the firelementals were occupied with the rest of the group. Trying to hack all of these shapes might mean a collapse, and there would be no digging out to the surface since the place was already going to blow.

===

Don't see his weakness. Don't see how he can't just...create a wave of lava to coast over us?

...I read you

====

Justin would have a sudden shiver roll down his spine. His focus changed from the fight, over to his self-appointed charge. She - who, was currently shocked for the split second needed for her to dissapear from the walkway.

He knew the peril he was in by dealing with her, but hell, they could both either burn, or find a faster way out of here.

Cooki: "H-HEY! WHERE??" Eyes shot up at her current disappearance from the railing. Honestly, she wasn't expecting to be thrown into the fight..literally. True intentions of anger seeping behind that false facade at DL.

"Shutup. You'll live. If you want to-that is." He simply lifted all his limbs out of her reach, and let her drop, headed straight down toward Magma. He'd catch her if she bounced off, but any weird magical powers that might stem from her would make things a bit more...fun for his own personal amusement. Maybe, just maybe though, this might set a different course of actions into play.

Gingersnap literally threw daggers from her eyes as DL threw her from the balcony.

YOU BASTARD!

Screaming, she fell right onto the shield. It hurt quite a bit. Never mind that the shield was nothing but lava, the fall had caused her neck to crack!

COOKI: AUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!!!!

There was really only one thing she could do. Her fingers grasped onto the lave, causing her to glow. Slowly, she started messing with lava - a little tuck on the atomic structure, focusing herself on the shield.

There....we....go.....

The shield suddenly started to wobble like gel. And "Cooki" herself was starting to sink into the shield....

The sound of her hitting the lava shield made DL look on with morbid curiosity. Did all he have to do was throw her off a building or something? It couldn't be that easy.

But, inside of him came a deep welling up of emotion, Enough in fact, to start a new change of appearance upon his face..One of mirth by that latest hapening.

He laughed. "That's...pretty funny..hehehe."

Cy blinked, his concentration broken for a fraction of a second. He didn't think he'd EVER seen DL so much as crack a smile, let alone laugh. Anyway, back to business.

With Gin-er, Cooki's efforts on the shield, the crystals drilling against it began to tear it to shreds, like spinning blender blades against a wall of gelatin...

Justin didn't know what horrified him the most: seeing Cookirini suddenly flung down at Magma to almost certain death, or to see that she was still alive despite that certain death. And in fact it appeared that she was actually weakening the shield instead of disintegrating or bouncing off, and with the combined effort from CyKairus and DL on top of that, it seemed like they had reversed and unbeatable situation.

This is so out of whack, but whatever is going on it's working! thought Justin, his surprise too great to really form an opinion on DL's mirthful laughter at seeing his girlfriend smacked against an inpenetrable magical barrier.

"6 minutes left," droned the computer's voice from the wall where Justin had unsuccesfully tried to deprogram the self-destruct sequence. The time limit's pressure alone was enough to create a sweat, let alone the heat and the pressure.

"How droll," noted Magma as he held the shield in place, watching as Cookirini melted through the shield and as it was whipped at by CyKairus's psionic might, and as the shadows that DL had summoned tore at it from below. "Every moment you spend here with me is a moment closer to joining me in obliteration. Absolute nonexistence, brought on by the destruction by fire. No better way for any mortal to end themselves."

"Don't you even care at all?! Give it up!" shouted Justin, somehow his heart finding some place for mercy for the magician as he saw the shield bend in places. "Even if you have nothing to live for, let us go!"

"Pleas from one who knows little, and therefore understands little about the true nature of the universe," retorted Magma. "For my life no longer has purpose, I can only find true meaning in death. I have nothing to lose...and everything to gain."

"Five minutes left."

Magma swept his arm in front of him like he was swatting a fly, and the shield suddenly pulsed around him, sending Cookirini flying through the air, banging away at the shadow dogs below, bitterly resisting the warping of CyKairus's might. Justin ran along the circular rampway to catch Cookirini and pull her away from the boiling lava below, and looked up in time to see that the shield had completely dissipated now, leaving Magma open to attack.

"Why doesn't he care?" asked Justin quietly as Magma threw back his head and laughed. "Why doesn't he care?"

"FOR ENTROPY!" exulted Magma, and he threw his arms out wide as he fell backward into the lava, leaving only a ripple to mark his passing in the fiery inferno.

"We have less than five minutes to get out of here, he was just distracting us!" yelled Knight. "Justin, Cy, DL, see if you can't release the-"

"NO TIME!" shouted Cy, Justin and DL all at the same time, their knowledge of computers telling them instantly from looking at the flashing screens that there was no way all of their expertise combined could overcome it.

There was a bang as a gun went off, and a bullet slammed into one of the computers. Then another, and another and another. In the almost silence that followed Magma's certain death, the gunshots were deafening. Everyone looked in surprise as Vortex emptied his gun into the computers, calculatingly aiming each shot as if he knew exactly where to aim.

"Door lovkcks removcvced," droned the computer's voice in a strangled way. And it was silenced forever as the orange hedgehog shot his last bullet into the speaker.

"You did it, Vortex!" laughed Knight.

"I didn't know it would do that," admitted Vortex almost shyly as the doors slid open and the group began to run helter-skelter up the passageway. "I did it because it made me feel better. That computer voice was driving me crazy."

Justin halted just at the doorway and looked back at the lava pit, almost hoping in a way to see the mage arise again from the depths. But the shimmering, fiery pool only gurgled and hissed in reply to his unspoken questions.

"Justin, come on!" pleaded Cookirini, taking a hold of his hand with her own. "We have to get out of here!"

"Yeah, I know," said Justin distractedly, and looked for a second longer. Then he turned and ran along with Cookirini, through the corridors and up the shafts that had been unlocked through Vortex's astounding luck.

"Still no contact with HQ!" reported Camden as the group rushed up to the hangar bay. "Wasn't Jack sending a plane to pick us up?"

"Can't be sure!" answered Knight back. "With comm down, we have no way of knowing at all."

Justin looked at the empty hangar and considered the situation. They probably had no more than two minutes before the entire base exploded, and there were no working jets in the hangar. Even if they had the parts to work on the jet they had used to get here, there was no possibility of having enough time to do it in.

"So we got out of the heart only to get blown up?" asked Cy sarcastically. "I'll just levitate us all out of here!"

"But you can't carry us all...maybe if Rad helped with her wind powers..."

Blu walked all the way to the edge of the hangar as the others tried to reason out the situation, strangely calm in this tense situation. But as he looked down, he saw something that totally caught him off-guard, and he whipped around and shouted, "Incoming jet!"

"Is it one of ours?" asked Knight quickly, though he fingered his gun uneasily. The possibility came to Justin's mind as well that the jet was a FLAME effort to ensure their doom, and he was nearly set to activate the omni-suit now.

"No, but it's not theirs either!"

As if to prove the point, the jet in question rose up into view. It was eerily quiet, making only a loud humming noise that throbbed in the hangar as it hung in the air. Its shell was coated black, and its angular body was sleek yet large enough to easily contain them all. Green glowing lines carved miniature trenches into the ship at odd angles, not appearing to be symmetrical or to have any purpose. It reminded the members of the team who had been dropped at first of the fighters that had launched their drop pods, yet there were no familiar military markings, no sign that there was even a pilot in this vehicle. The cockpit at the front only glowed green, as did the emissions from underneath the craft. It hovered up to the side of the hangar and a part of its smooth shell suddenly pulled apart to reveal a door, extending out a stepladder like icicles grown at faster than normal speeds right before their eyes.

"Everyone get on, it looks like they're expecting us," ordered Knight, and the group quickly obeyed, the knowledge that staying would mean certain death hurrying them all onboard the dark ship.

Justin stepped in to see that the inside was coated with the same black sheen, but the green lines seemed to form running lights to let everyone see where to sit in the seats that sat waiting for them along the walls. He joined the others, sitting next to Cookirini and belting himself in. He noticed that Rad Blue and Vortex were helping Cosmic Kid get buckled in, and he could sympathize with his situation.

Kinda like last time, except this time we don't know who the pilots of this darn thing are, thought Justin warily as he eyed a strange protuberance in the ceiling that glowed red and seemed to move to point itself at each member of the team as they entered, as if looking at them with some frightening glowing eye.

Knight was the last one in, and after he belted himself in, the walls of the ship seemed to slide away out of existence so that they could clearly see outside all around them. Justin gave a shout of surprise, as he felt like he should be falling, yet he could still feel the wall behind him even though he could swear it wasn't there anymore.

But there was no time to consider this too deeply as the ship smoothly carried them away from the volcano, which fell away into the distance so quickly that Justin was amazed that they didn't feel like they were moving at all. I feel like I'm sitting on a couch in my living room, but we've gotta be going at least hundreds of miles per hour!

The volcano exploded in the distance, even this far away it created a flash bright enough that everyone had to cover their eyes. The shockwave and sound followed soon after, causing the ship to shudder as everyone held on tightly.

Everything had happened so quickly in the last two minutes that the calm and relief that everyone was now feeling almost overwhelmed Justin as he laid back. This strange ship feels like it's alien, yet it seems like I've seen something like it before, thought Justin, musing to himself in this strange calm. Whatever it is, it looks like it was sent by someone who wanted to help us. Maybe we can rest easy for a-

The ship lurched slightly underneath as it tilted to point downward, and this change in angle sent it crashing down into the water. Justin thought for a moment that the ship had crashed and that they were taking on water, but it was only an illusion created by the invisible walls that kept back the water from the sea, allowing them to look out into the dark water all around them, which was slowly lightening from the dawn that was bursting outside.

"Approaching destination," muttered a warbly alien-sounding voice from the ship, and everyone looked forward where the ship had cast a spotlight into the water. There, floating in the water just above the sea bottom, was a massive underwater fortress of incredible design.

It's...

"Waterhole," said DL aloud, saying the first words that any of them had spoken since they had climbed into the ship. "Now this makes more sense."

Does it really? thought Justin to himself as a large hatchway yawned open to admit them inside. Templar technology...this ship was sent to us, but not by Jack. But who then?

OOC: Okay, we're finally out of the volcano, out of the time pressure (at least for avoiding getting blown up to smithereens), and there's a little time for everyone to react. Hope everyone's enjoyed this so far, this is closer to the end than ever before. Will try to post again soon, though you're certainly free to post in the meantime.

OOC: Terg >>You done got Waterhole involved. ::Cracks knuckles:: Sly little devil

5 minutes before detonation:

The hounds were removed with the swiftest of ease by that rippling, but Magma's impenetrability was compromised. A gale was given to the event however, Magma was merely stalling, but for what purpose...

Somethng's not adding up. He could easily wipe the floor with us, so to speak. SO why does he merely block? He...has to be hiding som.."

A freight train of realization hit him, as he eyes snapped to Knight, and then to Cy.

Damnit! We're here, fighting a unnessecary fight. Magma....

He didn't waste any time after his spell was disengaged. A hand flew though his pockets, picking out a vial, to which he dived down toward the lava momentarily.....

----

The fleeing forms would matter not, as he screamed his chat of the hour. As his body plummeted, Magma knew in his beliefs-that the deep magic he was rooted in would somehow exalt him from this would be death. As the consumption was deafeningly close, his body would suddenly attain some weight-and then lose it. He looked up, shocked someone actually stood behind in the face of death. But all around him was magma, eating at his body. But his bodyu wasn't burning momentarily. He knew it wouldn't-his magic was more powerful that one would give him credit for.

"You-spell caster-won't leave this plane. Enjoy the power of Nature!"

Before Magma's instantaneous incantation could take hold of Dl-he would merely blink, and disappear from the searing flameliquid, reappearing near the rear of the group as they darted from the Cradle.

----

A set of eyes noted his appearance, and DL sneered back, in a response to leave him and his buisness alone. Tapping his pocket silently, he would merly slink to a spot a few feet away form everyone, as they argued about their escape plans.

But the plane..the plane changed everything. Everything he was doing suddenly took a sharp turn to the negative. H could almost scream as the jet appeared, glistening and giving them all hope. Justin ran on, folowed by both Cooki, and Inirikooc. His sword handle was grasped, as he kept striding forward, RB and Vortex following in after Cosmic Kid. The "Twins" sped on, followed by Camden.

"Hurry up DL." A shove accompanied the scientist as he wboarded the ship-reluctantly. A turn to Knight before boarding, and Dl rubbed his face in fustration.

"Knight, you hav no idea how bad I want to punch ...you. Just..why! What possible reasoning could yuou have for doing this??!" He didn't expect Knight to understand, and his mind helped him realize this fact almost immediatly.

"...Maybe the fumes are making you mad?" Knight retorted, as he brung up the rear with Thamior.

"...Never mind. Wasn't directed at you."

===

The jet's path was really bugging him. While everyone stayed stunned and amazed that a ship has invisible walls that let them see their path from their seat, He was up in arms about this interference. He couldn't say anything-right? The mortals of this land were not supposed to know about this..right?

But once the foretress came into sight, he caved. They were being brought there, possibly for their own protection.

"Waterhole. Now things are starting to make sense."

--

Before anyone could question DL on his knowledge of ths place, he turned, pointing at Cykarius. "Let's continue this trend, shall we Cykarius. What...do you know about Sega City? Because our arrival here means something grave has happened-and our solution to the problem starts with what you know."

OOC: Can't take credit for Waterhole's appearance, I collaborated with TBlood for what was going to happen to the group - and I'm glad we're finally off that island.

IC:
Justin figured he wasn't the only one to recognize the underwater fortress Waterhole, the Templar citadel that had been left as the ultimate final defense system for Sega City. But he also knew that he was supposed to be a "newbie" relatively speaking in this entire affair, and he didn't want to draw any suspicion at his knowledge of the base.

What also bothered him was that he had a special switch in his pocket that only now he remembered. A switch that might have saved them all. A switch that had been given to him by Mobius TetherBlood himself...

But the talk of what CyKairus had picked up in Sega City caught his attention more immediately, shaking away old memories as he realized that there was still pressure on the team. "Yeah, let's hear it - 'cause I know that Sega City was fine when I left it, so if something's happened, we'll need to get out of here and back there ASAP."

OOC: I'll try to post something concerning Sega City's situation soon, Cy can explain what he knows from the scan.

"Hrmph." Cy leaned back in his seat, taking a deep breath. "Awhile ago, say, a few hours, I ran a long-distance mindsweep of Sega City. I detected...a lot of panic and confusion. The fact that we're being taken to whatever this fortress is and not back to HQ Tower or any nearby airstrips confirms my worst suspicion: Sega City has to have fallen, either that or it's too dangerous for us to land there. As you probably know, a large force left Hephasteus Island. Three guesses what happened while we were running around that forsaken rock."

"I don't dance with guesses." Knight moved from his spot, and walked toward the area where the plane would undoubtely release its hatch.

As the immensity of Waterhole took shape again, DL felt some sort of..responsibility to these people now. It had nagged at him for hours now, as he was helping them escape certain death time and time again.

But now this. Wasn't this in violation of what he stood for? Allowing mortals to see what they should not see. But then again, the circumstances called for it. He alone knew that much.

"I'll be right back..." Leaving his sword in the chair, DL stood up, and walked toward the nearest release window. Since the plane attained a transparent covering as it soared through the water, the image made it seem like DL was gripping the water outside the plane.

"What are you doing? You'll drown all of u--" "Cooki's" Statement would not be finished, as she watched the enigma vanish into thin air.

"So..he just now did that thing again, like with the lava and the diving into it but not really diving into it. What, does he think; we're amazed by that trick every time?" A glance at the people near him, before Vortex would pipe down, slowly keeping his eyes on the ground, to make sure no water was seeping through. It was an unnerving situation, seeing the water, but not feeling it.

====

Their plane banked around the top of the enormous facility, before a hemispherical dome began to open. Slowly, the plane would float down, leaving behind the semi-light waters of the Segan ocean, and into a new bracket of their mission. Each pair of eyes would watch as the descending craft would soon come to a complete stop upon a floor of steel.

The stillwater would then begin its own journey, as holes appeared on the walls of the area, and began a removal of the fluid that effectivly hid this Templar Citadel from human observation. "Draining Complete. Manual Override complete. Welcome to Waterhole" a computer voice chimed, as the ship opened its invisible hatch. "Guess that means we can get some answers." Knight chimed, as he took point. He knew just as well as everyone else, that they were in a whole different realm of understanding here. This wasn't the same routine mission, and their objectives for the time being had changed.

====

The deboarding went smoothly, with Justin, Knight, the "Twins" {OOC: Do you mind if I call Bomb and Hom that. I meant to ask you a while ago..} and Vortex holding onto their weapons. Cykarius hovered above the group slightly, pondering the amount of technology this place held in respect to his own flying fortress. Thamior took a position behind Cookirini purely by chance, in order for him to stretch his limbs.

"Ok. Enough gawking, since this is positivly boring me. Can we get a move on to see why we are suddenly here?" Irinikooc chimed in, shattering everyone's quiet. "She has a point" RB added, nonchalantly. Knight looked to the others, before nodding. "Well, we still need our own poltergiest to come back and show us around..."

"No problem. I'm already here. Head through the door that will light up after this message, and you will be led strtaight toward me.

Upon cue, a set of sliding doors would begin to glow a deep maroon, allowing the group to easily spot them. One by one, the sounds of footsteps echoed through this hall, and to the doorway. "So, you care explaining all this, DL? I'm pretty sure this wasn't any of your handiwork, even though you figured out how this place works..."

"I don't need to explain my connection to this place, just as you don't need to spread the knowledge of this place to anyone else, Cy. We're here because we need to form a counterintuitive plan." He stated, as he slid away from the microphone, turning toward a single door that was slowly being encroached upon by the group.

As the group headed through a small hallway, Justin could not help but notice faint markings within the walls. Something about them looked eerily familiar, but he could not place them for the time being. He would forget about is train of thought, as the door at the end of the hall was opened, and revealed a small control room, with a few large computer screens floating in the middle of the room, conected by what seemed to be nothing.

All the computer screens showed static. "Alright. So we're all accounted for. What say we all start letting the cats out the bag so we can figure out a way back home." Swiftbomb stated, looking at DL with a malicious smile. "Starting with you, Mr Wizard."

"Fine." He turned around, and spoke in a odd language for a second, to turn on the main board in fromt of him. "I'm a Templar Knight. Therefore I know about alot of the hidden Citadels - like this one. Though as to who sent the plane...I only have one guess. And as to why we are here, well. I'm sure we can see for ourselves in just a moment...just hope Cy's prediction isint on the videotape..."

His focus turned toward one of the moniters. The screens would soon show the same picture DL was looking at, from only a few hours prior to their arrival. They all watched as a fleet of planes headed toward the Mofo from across the sea...