Titan in the Machine (Strike)

[Thorn Wyatt]

Elias heads to Prota, looking to get an audience with John Strike!

He's fully expecting to get stopped well before he makes it past their border.

[Zack Asiv]

AND HE DOES GET STOPPED!

A trio of Prota soldiers wearing crystals on their chests show up and block Elias.

"You are getting close to Prota lands. Turn back."

[Thorn Wyatt]

Well, those are funny looking.

"I am? Oh, good."

He says, not-so-innocently.

"I wanted to talk to John Strike. Are you his secretaries?"

[Zack Asiv]

They don't fall for Elias' obvious attempt at baiting them into some sort of conflict.

"Turn back Dragon Apprentice. Without reasons, due to your affiliation and participation with a Dragon, you have respect, but are also considered a political threat, and liability."

[Thorn Wyatt]

"But I do have reasons."

Elias tilts his head.

"I want to talk to him about his machine. I'd like to borrow it."

[Zack Asiv]

They seem skeptical at best.

"What machine, Dragonling?"

They address Elias using an old term Elias would recognize as an insult for him. Since within the Dragons organization, Dragonlings were just foot soldiers of the bulk Dragon military. The lowest rank.

[Thorn Wyatt]

Elias' eyes narrow.

Between being called boy and Dragonling lately, he's not enjoying this attitude he's been getting from people recently.

"I'm pretty sure that's a conversation I want to have with your boss. Not with the boys he sends out to the boonies to get rid of."

[Zack Asiv]

That got to one or two of them. However their leader would throw his hands up.

"Fine, I'll call it in."

Pulling up his PT they call it in.

"Stratus reporting. Lightning Dragon Apprentice, Elias Wyatt is requesting an audience with Emperor Strike about his machine... He wants to borrow it."

There is a very long silence on the line. Almost to the point the guy who called himself Stratus almost spoke again before;

"Bag him. Emperor Strike will speak with him."

Stratus mouth just kind of hangs open for a moment.

"Understood."

Turning off the PT he turns to Elias.

"Good news is he will meet with you. Bad news is, you gotta be bagged so you don;t see government secrets on the way."

[Thorn Wyatt]

"...I hope it's a nice bag."

That's as good as an agreement.

[Zack Asiv]

It's not.

Elias has his head bagged and his hands tied behind his back as he is escorted for a little while. He can feel the dirt change to something hard, like Cement at Cabal. Eventually he can hear regular city hustle and bustle and they step onto some sort of carpet or mat. It get's quieter before the floor moves. Elias gets sat down in a seat and after about fifteen minutes the thing he is on or in stops moving. He is helped up and taken off the object onto more hard flooring and up some steps. Walks onto more carpet, and walked on that for a bit. There is the occasional person, lots of sounds of wheeled objects moving around. Finally the floor moves again for a short period of time, maybe a minute before it stops and they walk ten paces. Elias then has the hood removed and his hands free'd.

First thing he would see is Stratus standing in front of him. The hallways he was in was long with a few doors leading to whatever places. There are no windows, but there is a lighting system, carpet, and the building appears to be made of some sort of slick metal.

"This is where we part until your meeting is over. Follow the hall straight down and enter the room at the end straight ahead. Emperor Strike will be waiting for you there."

[Thorn Wyatt]

Just like home.

It is interesting, however, to hear the differences. Most of those sounds were not ones he was used to.

He blinks at the light when his head is uncovered, looking around a little, before nodding at the instructions.

"Don't you worry. You'll be seeing me soon."

And with that, Elias heads for the last door, as instructed, though he does run his fingers over the metal as he walks, interested.

[John Strike]

The metal is slick, and feels oddly soft, like leather. However any kind of pushing is met with sturdy resistance, it also feels kind of warm. If he tries to tap it or flick it, it would ring like metal. Once through the last door it was more like a comfy lounge area, chairs, cushions, couches, tables, and food. There was entertainment, people wearing shackles of some kind and ragged clothing, however color coded sashes marking them somehow. They served the food and danced, or stood by waiting to be told to do something.

In a far throne in the room was Emperor Strike. Sitting idle waiting for the Dragon Apprentice to approach.

"Just in time. We were about to start taking bets on tonight's Gladiator fight. We have our resident Blue team champion Maxwell Bennet versus a recent captive from a failed assassination attempt who joined the Red team. Yuno Katashi. Any bets on your behalf we should take?"

[Thorn Wyatt]

How weird. Is this metal alive?

Nonetheless, Elias heads in, looking around. There's so many slaves... and things....

Elias does a piss-poor job hiding his jealousy as he walks up towards Strike, though he does stop a respectful distance away. His head tilts at the names of those fighting, since he only really recognizes one.

"From what I've heard, the Katashi should win. If I were betting, that's who I'd put my money on."

But he doesn't expect Strike to really need any money from these bets.

[Zack Asiv]

"Not going to bet then? We will see. I will bet on your fighter. Though you should know Blue Team's Maxwell Bennet has an interesting power."

He would place a bet using his PT before turning his attention to Elias.

"While that happens, what did you wish to meet me about?"

[Thorn Wyatt]

"I guess that depends."

Elias smiles.

"I'll bet his life on it. If he wins, I want to fight him. If he doesn't, well... I assume he's dead."

Regardless of whether Strike agrees or not, Elias continues.

"I understand you used a machine on my master, the Lightning Dragon. I want to give it a try."