The Mondoch Syndicate

[Agony>Misery]

Xavier appeared to be somewhat unimpressed, and slashed at the earth beneath him, leaving a large line at his feet. He left his sword stuck into the rock, and leaned up on it. " Listen, lady...we haven't broken the rules here, I'm just trying to get something in my stomach. You can run along back to your Grandmaster and tell him so. "

The woman's indignant expression clued Xavier in to something he had been curious about. Her rank. She was every bit as well acclimated to the subtle laws and delicate balances of Algeroth as he. And by eating another Algerothorian on Syndicate turf, he had broken some major rules, and then insulted a high-ranking mercenary whom didn't see particularly pleased to be having to capture them in the first place. During the instant this all registered, she huffed and flung more sharpened instruments of deadly precision in Xavier's general direction.

Xavier fell to the ground, where he dug his hands into the scar he had left in the rock, and came up with a massive rectangle of earth which he threw into the oncoming projectiles, causing them to clatter uselessly against the surface as it sailed toward the assassin. She bounded easily upward and off the top of the rock, propelling herself toward Xavier as he rebounded from the force of his own throw. He fell back on his haunches and came up with two dazzling silver swords with odd shapes about them. The blades were like that of scimitars, but they were thinner, sharper, and had dangerous points about them. Xavier leapt backward as the woman kicked once more off the hilt of his planted sword and came at the retreating Xavier with a long curved blade, nearly as tall as herself.

Xavier managed to cross his swords in time to stop the monstrous swing, and slung her back from him, using his overwhelming strength to block, and then riposte. With a diagonal upward slash from his left sword, which was farther forward than his right. He would come up with nothing as the woman was too far now to be struck, but as he swung, he jammed the hilt of the first sword into the second, and twisted it around, turning into a lethal double-ended butterfly sword whose opposite curves allowed it somewhat of a boomerang effect when thrown. Xavier closed his eyes as he twirled the weapon in one hand while wings sprung from his back. His bright eyes flashed, as he prepared to dash with his best display of speed and strength, and finish the girl.

" X-Xavier! Xavier Gottheit, a member of the Order...and an elite agent of the Metsuke! " The woman spluttered out her sentence, and allowed her stance and form to fall into somewhat of a wobbly version of a kneel. " I have heard about you, our intelligence also says you disappeared over Xexoria days ago! No one has seen you re-enter from this border...how are you here? "

[Major Tom]

Kataroe watched the fighting for a moment and realized that unless the woman simply outlasted the hungry man, he was likely to win. Which meant he would have an appetizer and a main course. Or Kataroe could try to make an escape. He hadn't used up nearly as much energy as the other man and if he could manage to get some distance this fight might just tire him out enough to keep him from coming after him. With the fact that his life very well may depend upon it he attempted again to put his feet underneath him.

Believe it or not, eminant death and digestion apparently did have some sort of effect on one's motor skills. He managed to stand up and the suprise of it nearly made him collapse again. He was standing, he had barely managed to shuffle a minute ago and now he was standing. Maybe he really could escape. He did a mental victory arm pump only to realize that his arm actually responded to it. He looked to his hand and noticed an aura around his hand. Perhaps his eyes weren't quite adjusted to seeing again after having been in the dark for so long, maybe his mind simply wasn't interpretting the messages right but he couldn't make out a color really.

Kataroe resigned not to let the sudden discovery of his own aura and the fact he couldn't see the color distract him to much. He made a gesture that was intended to be a wave in the direction of the two fighting just as it seemed the fight was drawing to a close. He felt something odd, as if he had just flung part of himself in their direction. That was when it happened, a rock between the two combatants exploded. It wasn't a particularly large rock, but large enough to cause a decent amount of debri to go hurtling through the air. He fell over onto his ass his eyes wide.

'Great, that was really a subtle "Goodbye, hope to not have to see you again." ' The thought hit him hard. He shoved his face into his hand, hoping that maybe whatever had blown the rock up would happen again and take off his head. Atleast that way his end would be swift and he wouldn't have to watch someone carving him up. "I'll just be here, trying to blow myself up, that way all you have to do is pick up pieces and chow down." He said waving again before realizing waving had blown up a mini-boulder last time and putting his hand down slowly.

[Agony>Misery]

Xavier began to answer the girl, calmly, his position much less dangerous than a few seconds ago. " I was killed by denizens of Oblivion, and was resurrected under the care of this man here, then dropped into the sky from hell, apparently. At least, that's his story, and as I have vague memories of existing temporarily as a piece of jewelry, I have no reason not to believe him. " Xavier stopped, and clutched him stomach for a second, as though he were trying to suppress the urge to vomit. Suddenly, his body stiffened and toppled over, landing him flat on his face.

The assassin blinked a few times before walking over to Xavier's limp body and shoving him in the neck with the toe of her boot. He seemed to be unconscious enough, and she began to try and pull him up onto her shoulders. He was immensely heavy, and her knees buckled, sending her onto her ass. The moment she impacted with the unforgiving earth, a rock near the cliff's edge exploded into dust, and she looked over at Kataroe, who, while pointing at the rock momentarily, seemed just as surprised at it's reaction. " What are you, new? Control your magic! " She grumbled as she tried to stand again, dark purple aura flaring valiantly. " Well, neither of you are going anywhere until I speak with the Grandmaster, so you might as well help me with this one, so I don't have to capture you, and drag you there forcefully. "

[Major Tom]

Kataroe watched as Xavier toppled over and winced a little, knowing that fate would likely soon come to him if he didn't get food. His body wasn't going to burn through what little energy it had in so little time as Xavier, his muscles weren't as large and he hadn't been exerting himself as Xavier had. He managed to make his way to his feet againand slowly made his way over to the woman. "Yeah, as a matter of fact I am new. I've been dead for quite some time. I come back and have some new brand of magic. On top of that apparently I've got to relearn how to work with my body again."

As if to display this fact his leg decided not to move in mid step and he nearly fell on his face. He grumbled and moved himself back to a standing position grabbing hold of Xavier and doing his best to move him. "Walking happens to be a recent endeavour even, as you just noticed." He gritted his teeth as his stomache grumbled. "And I hope we really don't have to go that far or else I'm going to be in the same shape he is. If you happen to read the fine print on being resurrected you'll find out you come back on an empty stomache and minimal energy."

[Agony>Misery]

Useless... The assassin decided to to allow this take the word of the stranger, as it was slightly too unreal a story to concoct on the spot, so she abruptly dropped Xavier to the ground and rolled him off the cliff with her foot. There was the sound of Xavier's armor scraping against the cliff and a dull thud as he impacted on some surface that was obviously shorter than the drop to the ocean below. Shortly after, she stepped menacingly toward Kataroe and grabbed him by the elbow like a child, dragging him toward the cliff's edge. She dropped into the dark with him, having memorized the invisible entrance to the compound where the Syndicate operated out of.

There was a rush of wind across their faces, and then their feet would make contact with the rocky outcropping that served as one of the hidden entrances. Two cloaked individuals refrained from even looking at the two newcomers as they propped up Xavier's limp body, and began dragging him through a large set of black doors in the cliff's face. From the portion of ground that stuck out of the nook where the door was, the cliff wall would look like a beehive, as it was riddled with holes as far as they would be able to see in the dark of night. There were tiny jutting structures coming out from several holes just like this one, some with larger platforms than others.

The assassin left Kataroe alone on the platform as she followed the hooded men inside, where the enviorment was, surprisingly, much brighter and warmer. There were finely crafted pieces of furniture scattered about a tiny room with several doors leading out of it. They were made of the same odd black material the doors were crafted of, and it looked like some sort of polished wood, in the firelight of the tiny room. She mumbled something in a mysterious dialect to nowhere in particular, as Xavier was drug to the doorway of a connecting room with iron bars across a portal in the wood, and thrown in. The hooded minions left the room through another of the several doors, just as a beautiful woman entered the room speaking the same mysterious dialect as the assassin, holding a large iron tray covered by a heavy lid. They exchanged a few more unknown words, and the raven-haired female set the tray on a table in the center of the room, and stood looking at Kataroe ominously as the assassin continued her speech, and then turned to leave. " Well, friend, we shall see what is to become of you. Until then, you are a guest, or a prisoner...however you choose to see it, none of my concern. There's bread and a skin of water on the table, and if you have any other needs directly relating to your survival, you may relay them to Rika, here. I will speak with the Grandmaster, and be back shortly. Finally, do not attempt escape. We have eyes for miles, not that you would make it out of the compound. " With some finality, she walked out of yet another sturdy door, and pulled a lever just out of sight, which slammed and locked all of the doors, save for the one she and Kataroe had come through, oddly enough. Then again, there was only the one way out that way, now, which was to jump into the unforgiving waters below.