Titan in the Machine (Strike)

[John Strike]

Strike would nod at Elias's proposed bet, but when he spoke of the machine he was in search of, he sighed and leaned back.

"Ah yes. When the Dragons were a direct enemy during the Great War there was a machine I used on the Captured Lightning Dragon. However, I do not know what you mean when you say you wish to try it out."

[Thorn Wyatt]

"I want to give it a whirl."

Elias smiles at him.

"You know. On myself. See if I can't tease out a little bit more of what's sleeping in me."

[John Strike]

Strike kind of grins at this.

"Ohhh, you want to experiment with it on yourself... That is interesting... I don't regularly get people coming here, asking to be put in a machine."

He leaned back and watched the fight on the projected video from the Qi crystal in the room as the dancers got a little lewd.

"What's in it for me, what does Prota gain from this?"

[Thorn Wyatt]

Elias, having never seen this sort of behavior before, can't help but watch.

Both the screen and the dancers.

"That depends. There's a lot of different things I could give you, but I think it'd mean more if I were to help you, myself. You'd get a personal favor from me."

[Zack Asiv]

"Well that is interesting... A favor from a Dragon Apprentice. Almost as good as a Dragon, and there hasn't been an Apprentice under a Dragon officially for over a decade. Oh the possibilities. Very well, I agree to your trade value."

On the screen the Katashi was using mostly just brute strength while Maxwell was blasting odd blue explosions all over the place. It seemed like a fair fight, but it was obvious Maxwell was taking the brunt of the physical damage. However, Maxwell seemed to be positioning the Katashi to get hurt by some of the arena obstacles and traps.

"Do you wish to watch the entertainment, or... Watch the entertainment?"

Strike says waving a hand generally at the screen and the increasingly lewd dancers.

[Thorn Wyatt]

"I'm the first that I know of that has gotten this far with Leon."

Elias nods, his brow furrowing in concentration. At Strike's question, he forces himself to stare at the screen.

"...why do you have them dance like that?"

[John Strike]

Strike finally seemed to notice for the first time the dancers.

"You know, for the life of me, I don't remember. Let the lower life forms dance."

He waved a hand dismissively. Going back to watching the screen as the battle seemed to reach it's peak with the current champion not only pushing the Katashi into a trap, but causing his head band to explode with that same blue energy as before. The Katashi seemed out cold before Maxwell's own right arm would explode causing him to yell out in pain as the Katashi loomed over him. Going to the severed hand, the Katashi's own hand seemed to just fall off before it attached and assimilated Maxwell's hand to his own wrist, growing to match the rest of him, cracking open the skin that wouldn't stretch exposing muscle tissue underneath. The Katashi would then blast Maxwell with his own blue energy! Maxwell was defeated, though not dead.

"Hah! Good bet!"

[Thorn Wyatt]

Hm. Lower life forms.

Elias files that information away, watching the fight progress. It's resolution was fairly surprising, but in the same vein... made sense.

"He copied his attack."

Elias tilts his head, a little surprised.

"How wonderful."

[Zack Asiv]

Strike would nod.

"That's what the Katashi do, I'm told. They are able to replace any of their own body parts with someone elses. The Qi last used by that body part now becomes the Qi they can activate in it. Fascinating battle field applications."

Strike would get up from his seat.

"I suppose you wish to fight him, or jump in the machine first?"

[Thorn Wyatt]

"You know if he's gotten any new eyes, recently?"

Elias asks...innocently...

"I'd rather take the machine first. It'll be a good opportunity to try out what it gives me."

[John Strike]

The Emperor has no idea about his first question.

"As you say."

Strike would lead Elias to the hallway again and down it to the guys he had met before like Stratus. They all kneeled down to a knee as they passed and into an elevator. They were going down, quickly.

[Thorn Wyatt]

Elias follows along happily, looking around as they walk. Once they're in the elevator, he gives Strike the side-eye.

"Was I supposed to bow to you? Kneel?"

[John Strike]

Strike would turn his head to look at Elias.

"A common custom when meeting or being in the presence of an Emperor. Though would you be Leon's Apprentice if you had? If I recall when we had fought I once demanded he kneel. His response was savage, but I felt some form of respect for it."

Strike would allow himself a glance at the display to see what floor they were on at that moment as they continued going down.

[Thorn Wyatt]

"Hm."

Elias nods in response. That made sense.

"Did you beat him?"

[John Strike]

Strike would grin as the elevator came to a halt and the doors opened.

"I captured him did I not?"

Strike would ask as he lead the way out of the elevator. They were now in some sub story lab. People inside large tubes of some green liquid being pushed around by people in protective white clothing over other business type clothes. Not exactly lab coats, but definitely scientific purpose to it. Strike would lead through the blacked out windows and corridors until they reached the room he was leading them to. He opened the door and walked in, it was pretty much an abandoned portion of the lab, though the room had almost nothing in it besides a singular capsule. It was open and large enough to fit a person, on the far left side of the room was a side lab that seemed to over look the capsule.

It seemed to lean into a bigger machine that was connected to the floor and the ceiling by a pillar with wires and rails.

"This is the machine I used on Leon. You see his Qi was unique. While there are many Lightning element Qi users, his is specifically generated by his cells. Say we launched a device that could completely nullify Qi, his cells would still generate Qi within his body allowing him to make use of any self enhancing techniques he had. We couldn't remove the cells either since they were reactionary to prodding or damage. So we had to weaken his cells with magnetic fields. This I understand caused Leon great pain. It was at the stage of removing the cellular make up of his body that he was stolen away."