The Black Cat snarled in a voice that did not sound human. The droideka that had just tried to mow him down one way were ready try another, and he needed them to stop, and soon. He hurled his claw again, in a long, looping arc, around one droideka's trio of legs, where it found purchase against the sharp corners of the alien metal.

With a twist and a spin, pulling up on the wire with his arms while bringing his foot down on the same wire to pull it back to him faster, he hoisted the robot off the ground, whipping it around him like a Scotsman tossing a hammer. His black fur cape swung out straight behind him, and he braced his feet into the floor ahead of him. The robot twisted and spun briefly in the air before hitting the carpeted floor with a muted crash! Smoking and spitting sparks from many orifices, it did not offer to get back up.

Blitz looked down at his chest a little surprised that the bolts had hit him. He was usually quicker than that. Then again, the robots were pretty quick too. Still, the droid's blasts did minimal damage. Blitz smiled.

"Izz that all you've got, metalheadz?" he called out.

He drifted onwards and upwards, towards the second entrance at the furthest end of the droid's corridor. Onwards because he wanted to see what was beyond that archway. Upwards because the Fex had said the droids were vulnerable from above. He flew into the second area where the droid's had come from blasting as he went.

"Let'z see what you're protecting, eh?", he said out loud.

The room before him was dark -- lights out dark, no windows dark. Lights blinked on and off, in constant motion, extremely difficult to target accurately. Blitz could vaguely hear the droideka moving around within but he couldn't seem to get a bead on any one of them. He spun back to fire at the droid closest to him in the hall but his shot went high, electricity sizzling over stone and leaving a giant scorch mark on the wall.

Kitsune snarled angrily at the Droideka, her eyes widened behind her mask and helm. "Desperate times and desperate measures," she growled quietly. She moved to grab the toppled roller, and hissed to the Fex Captain, "Aaorrann-sama, please take Tapestry-san and Shadow-san to cover. I will attempt to draw their fire."

Kitsune shouted as she prepared the droideka as an impromptu battering ram, "Jiyu banzai!"* She then ran full speed into the uncurled Droideka, slamming into its unprotected back as hard and as fast as she possibly could.

The results, to say the least, were spectacular. Most of the droid Kitsune hit disintegrated, its constituent parts flying past Black Cat and into the mirrored wall behind him, shattering reflective tiles with the force of the blow. What was left slid down the wall and landed in a pile of smoking slag. The wheel-form droid she'd used as a weapon crunched up in her arms like an tin foil accordion, then opened at the seams and bled smoke, sparks, and electronic gadgetry into a growing pile at her feet.

The Fex in the Hall cheered loudly at this display and pointed to where two more droideka in their wheel form had halted, between Blitz's static cage and the wall. They simply stood there, impassive, machines awaiting orders.

* -- Japanese, "Long live freedom!" A variation on the battle cry for "Banzai!"

Dylan looked behind him where the blasts from the Brain Collector struke the floor. For the first time in a while he felt free. It was exhilirating as his telepathic body flipped and arched to avoided the blasts.

"Nice shot, Jabba. That the best you can do even with five brains and extra eyes? Let's see how you handle a little dose of heavy sadness."

Five brains? Hmm... he thought. I wonder how well you can coordinate attacks if I start taking you out at the cerebral knees? Dylan lashed out with his Echoes of Sadness and attacked one of the brains. He hoped to cripple it enough so that it would reduce it's defenses and maybe even stop it from controlling the droids.

Nocturne felt along the mental tendrils and pushed outwards, fueling his attack with all of the frustrations and anger that was trying to devour him. An indigo haze drifted upwards towards the chandelier and danced with its reflection on the ceiling until it connected with its intended target. The Brain Collector’s mind parted to Dylan’s attack, unable to keep the powerful mentalist from connecting with him. This time the young hero felt his attack gain purchase on the greater being, He could tell that he barely penetrated the Collector’s defenses but there was a brief connection and he could feel the putrid taint of evil.

The presence of such a substantial threat sent the Brain Collector into an annoyed frenzy. Nocturne felt the annoyance as he recoiled from his attack and shattered their mental connection with a blow of his own. Never in Dylan’s life had he felt such a powerful mental presence when it slammed into him. It was all he could do to hold onto the chandelier as he lost feeling to the rest of his body, his mind forcibly thrown from the mental plane and back into the hall of mirrors. He knew that with a few moments time he could recover from the paralyzing shock but until then he was vulnerable.

As Blitz tried to accustom his eyes to the darkness of the room he couldn’t help but notice the putrid smell that the droideka were stirring up. The sound of four plasma rifles shattered the darkness with their bright white bursts of energy, bringing his mind firmly back to the predicament at hand. Blitz sensed that this time the energy pulsed with more power than it had the first time he saw them. His sizzling form managed to avoid all but one of the blasts, it hurt but it was going to take more than that to keep him from his mission.

Blitz was fairly certain that he’d seen more than four flashing lights from droideka, but for now they appeared to be holding their fire.

Aodh marveled at the racks, even as he leapt and bounded through the doorway directly in front of him, mental acrobatics matching physical ones as he guestimated from the racks capacity how many droideka he had seen, and how many were unaccounted for.

Bouncing floor to ceiling, until the Bostonian wended his way to the central doorway of the adjoining room, he let his senses unfurl into the darkness, bracing himself for another burst of activity like the first, keeping the cover of the wall he clung to while he tried to assess the threat in the dark chamber. "We're still here to negotiate," he called out. "We don't need to do any harm. Talk to us. Come out of your darkness. Talk to us."

Perhaps the scientist had decided it would be better if the central controller focused its attacks on him, than on the others? Blitz was also standing bravely and mostly untouched just outside of the darkened door. Two more white hot plasma bursts sounded from within the room when the droideka heard the big doctor call into the room. One of them slapped harmlessly passed Aodh but the other connected with him despite the cover of the wall.

Aodh felt the burning sensation of fire through his shoulder and the heat beneath his hands was almost unbearable. He could smell his cauterized flesh and felt his clinging deactivate as he slid down the wall. All he could do was lean powerlessly against the outside frame of the door and do what he could to recover from the shock of the blast. The Bostonian hoped that the group in the hall of mirrors was faring better than he.

Inside the hall of mirrors the situation was looking better. Only two wheeled droideka remained intact. They screeched to a halt and their ball broke into two, hatching their spindly legged spawn. The shraaorch quickly unwound their body until they stood to their full intimidating height. Their head was framed by a massive cobra hood and their eyes scanned the room with practiced precision.

The Fex showed no reservation or fear as they sprang into action. Tyra sent her subordinates to help Aaorrann with Tapestry and Grinning Shadow, while she aimed her rifle at one of the transformed droideka. Her shot hit one of them but seemed to bounce off without causing any damage.

"You know, you sure hit hard for such a cute little thing," the Black Cat said, observing Kitsune's path of destruction. "You, on the other hand, wouldn't make a good Fiat," he said to one of the Droideka across the hall. "Allez-Oop!" He flipped over a dead Droideka, landing near the Droideka he'd insulted, bringing down his claw over the Droideka shield. As the cable swung through the air, the clawed hook and the end whistled as it sped towards its target.

The handsome Italian's sharp claw made short work of the machine. Once again metal avoided the force-shield and bit into metal, cleaving through as if it were paper. The droid squealed in that brief moment before its mechanical legs gave out and it fell over with yet another loud crash.

"Hey, I can't sxzee a damn thing in there," Blitz called out to anyone who was nearby. "But I think there'sz about another half dozzen droidsxckz in thiz room".

He pointed into the dark room, his electrified finger glowing slightly. "You lot - stay where you are!" he said to the unseen robots inside. "I'm going after your friendz first, then... I'll be back!".

The lights within continued to blink on and off erratically. There was no other answer.

Blitz turned in mid-air, moved out of the way of the doorway and brought his two crackling arms together. Aiming at the remaining droid near him, he called out "Eat electric death, ya bag of boltzz!" and fired another lightning bolt at it. Hopefully I'll hit it this time, he thought.

The super-charged bolt crackled with fury as it left his hands, flying true straight into the transformed droid's shield, the energy of it spraying around the edges and searing the metal behind. The droid's "eye" lights flashed, and flashed again. Small wisps of smoke escaped its body along Blitz's scorch-marks, but it turned its blaster barrels in his direction, obviously getting ready to fire!

Kitsune's blush and shy smile were quite clear in her tone as she replied. "Thank you very much, Neko-san. I... find you well-formed as well." Lovely, even, she thought quietly to herself, her heart fluttering a bit. Her hidden blush deepened at that, and she was glad her face was hidden from sight. Not that it helped her at all, least of all from her Author.

She leapt into the air and cleared the force wall protecting the Droideka, then prepared her own attack. "These seem much better flat that Fiats, or good Frisbees for that."

Her smile of satisfaction hidden behind her armor, the little fox drew back to kick the remaining droid, mailed foot kicking its head cleanly off the articulated rod that served as its neck. The rest of it exploded in a shower of sparks before it too collapsed, draping itself across the one Black Cat had just taken out like a lover....

Before anyone else could react, a loud noise was emitted from the darkened room Blitz had found, a repeated pattern of sounds which were a cross between buzzing and beeping.

bliz-bliz-bliz -- bleeeez bleeez bleeez --- bliz-bliz-bliz

bliz-bliz-bliz -- bleeeez bleeez bleeez --- bliz-bliz-bliz

bliz-bliz-bliz -- bleeeez bleeez bleeez --- bliz-bliz-bliz

The droids in the small hallway targeting Blitz abruptly lowered their weapons and for all the world looked as if they had just been put on standby....

Kitsune raised her head. "That sounds very much like Morse Code in a way. Dot-Dot-Dot, Dash-Dash-Dash. Dot-Dot-Dot. I doubt it is a coincidence." She smiled to Black Cat behind her helm, "Perhaps now they are ready to negotiate."

"But for now, there are wounded, and I should help with that." Kitsune nodded her head firmly, and began to dance in a style similar to before in the foyer while she incanted in Japanese. "Genbu, Byakko, my lords, I thank you for your power and your aid to your servant this day. Now, Genbu of the Wintery North, Suzaku of the Southern Summers, grant to me your turtle succor and your phoenix wings. Give your servant the power to prevail for justice!"

Again, spheres of energy appeared in her hands, but this time the colors were a fiery red and the familiar darkness from before. The energy flowed down her arms and she lifted from the floor, her armor and gauntlets vanishing. Again, she floated before them nude in her blue-haired glory, eyes closed as she concentrated. Then, in her right hand appeared an ankh apparently made of obsidian or some other shiny black material. A golden harness with blue trim crossed between her breasts. More bands followed, located above and below her breasts, with additional bands coalescing around her waist and down between her legs.

At that point, wings of fire emerged from behind her back, attached to the harness. The wings shifted to a more material form, shining gold with electric blue tips, the same color as her hair. Her costume reappeared as well, but Kitsune never noticed its absence. Perhaps the powers used made the garments transparent rather than removed them. The golden wings now seemed to glow with a fiery aura, but they were no warmer than living flesh.

Kitsune opened her eyes behind her mask, idly wondering if she'd still see the translations as she had before. She looked up to Nocturne, nodding to herself. "I can get him down from there, and then see to people's wounds." She sighed. "I hope everyone will be all right."

Kitsune spread her wings and took to the air easily enough, moving as smoothly as a swan. Her wings seemed more to help direct her movements rather than to actually lift her, but they granted her a seemingly effortless grace as she made her way to the chandelier. "Nocturne-san?" She hovered next to him, regarding him seriously. "Nocturne-san, are you all right?"

She watched him for a moment, saw him breathe and seemed relieved at that. She looked him over carefully to check for any wounds, but her eyes noticed nothing out of the ordinary. "If you need help down, I would be happy to carry you."

The room slowly came into focus as Dylan's vision slowly returned. Wave after wave of alien emotions coursed through him as the kid tried to push it out and away. Not gonna happen, he thought. Dylan knew that it would be inside him for awhile, living, pushing back. Oh God, Annah. It's so wrong. It doesn't belong here, or inside me..

"I...I'm fine" he said to Kitsune. "They all need to see this."

"I'm sorry, Nocturne-san, but you do not seem to be fine." Kitsune nodded her head in acknowledgement. He looked shaken, but unwounded.

Dylan then pushed out to each of the team to reconnect them with the Mindlink. They all felt the gentle knock on the door of their minds.

Once they were all connected, Dylan began to broadcast the images. He showed them how he had followed the thought trail to it's source. He let them see the creature in the room, the Brain Collector, as it reacted to his presence and Dylan's first attempt to penetrate it's mind. Each one of them felt a little of the power that was directed at the young psychic's mind and the power of Dylan's formidable mental defenses.

They saw and felt the surge of psychic energy shoot from him and pierce into the mind of the Brain Collector. For a brief moment, they felt the emotional feedback that entered Dylan when he successfully attacked the alien's mind. They all saw the next blast from the Brain Collector, but Dylan stopped the mental movie just before the blast struck him.

{Now you all know what is in there}, he sent to them.

"Just be careful, all right?" With that, she flew over to Aaorrann and her crew. She replied to Nocturne's mental knock, but her main focus was on the Fex and their fallen comrades.

Dylan smiled at Kitsune's concern and the way it reminded him of Anna. He lifted himself off of the chandelier and hovered next to Kitsune.

"I am....will be fine," he corrected himself. "Trust me. It might take a little while, but it will eventually pass," he continued as he followed Kitsune.

Blitz slowly dropped back down to the ground. As his feet touched down, crackles of electricity shot between his soles and the floor. Once grounded, he cautiously approached one of the "on standby" droids. Waving an electrical hand in front of the droid's 'face', Blitz carefully examined it, making sure the electronic enemy wasn't about to shoot him. He then moved back into the Hall of Mirrors.

He came to his feet unconventionally, taking long seconds to recover, righting himself by planting one hand and pushing up, rotating, walking over, the scientist from Boston. Looking around, wincing slightly at the repeating signal, Aodh called out, "Does anyone else think that's what I think it is? If only I'd paid more attention to ..." then he paused, and strode back toward the main hall, ignoring the droideka as he passes.

"Does anyone know Morse Code?" He looked around. Some are down, Aodh saw, others injured, and he himself ignored the wound closing on his shoulder, as it glowed, bubbled, and repaired itself almost as fast as it was made.

As Blitz entered the hall where the other were, he called out. "Soundz like whatever it iz is calling for me!" Blitz joked. "Yezz I'm here!" he shouted and then shrugged.

"This might be the break we're looking for, negotiation, or even more," Aodh asserted, as he strode toward the injured, trying to assess their hurts. He looked toward the Fex. "Does that library have any code books, Captain? Morse Code. It's very old. But here, it might be something common enough, due to the nature of this space."

"But if itz not for me, then it doesz sound like morse code." Blitz added, not having heard Kitsune's comments. "S-O-S, if I remember correctly. Iz that to tell uz whatever it iz surrenderz or iz it asking for help from somewhere else...kxzcx?"

In Blitz's racing neurons, the knock from Nocturne's mind link sounded again. He rubbed his head causing static the sizzle and pop. {Yes, yes}, he thought, {link me up}, he agreed, though somewhat reluctantly.

Blitz looked around, finally realising that not everyone in their group was present. "Is everyone okay?" he asked, a little concerned. "Anyone badly injured?".

Kitsune spoke up from where she landed with the Fex. "Tapestry-san and Shadow-san were injured. Several of the rollers fell onto Tapestry-san from the ramp Nocturne-san created, while Shadow-san had been rammed by one of the rollers." Kitsune looked sad at that.

{WHAT?!?!?!} Dylan thought aloud. He had forgot to shield his thoughts before it was too late. {I CAUSED THIS? OH ANNA, WHAT HAVE I DONE?} Dylan landed abruptly on the ground and staggered backwards until he fell against the wall and sunk to his knees.

Kitsune turned to speak with Captain Aaorrann and the medic for the Fex. "How badly are they injured? I can help in healing using the Ankh of Genbu here." Kitsune raised the shiny, black symbol. "But I wanted to know how badly they were injured. And I seem to recall that one of your crew was struck by shrapnel, Aaorrann-sama. I can help with that as well."

At Aodh's request, Aaorrann (who was not privy to Dylan's mental outburst) nodded, then snarled an imperative to one of her crewmembers who ran off toward their chamber, careful to avoid the wide swath of blood from where the medics were removing Tapestry and pulling him toward their room.

"Thank you, Kitsune. A moment please," she said, then hissed and spat some more in Fexao. Tyra and two other Fex acknowledged and moved back into the hall to cover the humans as they regrouped. "That one," she then called out, pointing to Nocturne, "seems to be in some difficulty. If he was injured, someone help him into our quarters
where his wounds can be seen to."

"Actually, I believe it the realization that he may be responsible for Tapestry-san and his present condition." Kitsune sighed. "I, too, feel somewhat responsible, because he put himself in that position in order to help me. I know I am not to blame, but it saddens me."

Aaorrann frowned slightly. "He is not to blame for another's actions and choices. Only the most arrogant -- or foolish -- would think so."

"This is true, but it is not an easy lesson. I believe he is the youngest of our gathering, and has had limited experience with this sort of thing. Myself, I've far more experience with this sort of thing, having put people in the hospital on several occasions."

The Fex commander nodded thoughtfully. "I had not realized he was so young."

"Domine Iesu Christe, Filii Dei, miserere mei, peccatoris," the Black Cat said, watching the Fex drag Tapestry away, and seeing the trail of crimson he left in his path. His back was straight, and his shoulders were back, but his head hung a few inches lower than the rest of his alert posture indicated. His back was to the hallway that had contained theDroideka - his attention was on the stranger who, like him, had been hurled into danger by unknown forces, and who, unlike him, had not been so lucky. The repeating klaxon demanded attention, as did the living. Tapestry was beyond his purview now, and the Black Cat had no urge to let anyone else stain this haunted hall.

{Kyrie eleison; Christe eleison; Kyrie eleison.} The Black Cat indicated his telepresence, and continued {Not your fault, kid - no one could have seen that coming. Even our resident genius thought it was a good idea. We have to focus on keeping the rest of us alive now. Our angel, Kitsune, may have the right of it. A distress signal either means they'll be receptive to negotiations now, or that reinforcements are coming and we'd better get a move on. Blitz, what's visible down that hall? Nocturne knows what it may look like, and now we do too.}

{not a lot} Blitz thought back. {the room at the end is dark and i couldn't see anything much inside. there appears to be at least six droids with plasma guns in there. or just six guns?}

"Ultimately, it is the fault of the Droideka, the shraaorch, since they were the ones who pressed the attack," Kitsune added.

Aaorrann turned and jogged toward the open door, passing one of her crew running in the opposite direction toward Aodh, a book in his hands.

"Nocturne, the ramps were my idea, not yours," the big scientist said. "The machines were set to this task by megalomaniacs countless years ago, not by us. Tapestry acted heroically in a time of need. Honor Tapestry's sacrifice by not letting the chance for us all to live he bought with it pass us by. What can you tell us of those who may be trapped in the darkened room beyond the hall?" he asks.

Inside the room was an air of suppressed tension as Fex tended to Grinning Shadow and Tapestry, having a deal of difficulty getting through the latter's toughened costume to see the extent of his injuries.

The senior medic turned to his captain with a sober expression and said some words in Fexao. Aaorrann's face closed down, but she nodded and turned to Kitsune to translate. "It would appear your friend in the full costume may be dead, Kitsune. My chief medic cannot find a pulse nor does he respond to any of the treatments we know work on the Ambers as well as Fex. The other one has crushed ribs and some internal injuries but will likely survive if you..." she paused, then gestured to the ankh in the young Asian woman's hands.

Blitz looked shocked. "krzxxs...What?" he exclaimed. "Tapestry'zz dead! I... well... no. He can't be!"

Blitz rushed over and looked at his fallen comrade. He hardly knew the guy, didn't know anything about him, but that didn't matter. They were supposed to be heroes. They were supposed to save people. Not let them die. What would his uncle Rod think of him?

"God. Aw man... krzzzx", he said, holding his head in his hands. And as he stood there looking shocked, something happened. The electricity around him began to fizzle and splutter. Sparks dropped to ground in a twinkling cascade. In moments the electrical superbeing known as Blitz was replaced by a handsome young man with spiky, blond hair, jeans and a jacket over a t-shirt with a yellow lightning bolt on it.

Brian Bellar, sometimes known as Blitz, knelt beside Tapestry and looked up at the Fex. "Are you sure he's dead?" he asked, his voice now no longer filled with static. He then turned to Kitsune. "Can you heal him?" He then continued to mumble. "Man, I really shouldn't have zapped off like that. Should've stayed with the group, run defense, blasted the droids as they came through the door...".

Kitsune nodded her head sadly as she went to kneel next to Grinning Shadow. "I do not know whether I could heal Tapestry-san, or whether that would even matter. But Shadow-san is within my purview. First him, and then I will try with Tapestry-san."

The diminutive warrior reached to gently touch him with the Ankh of Genbu, and sppoke softly in Japanese. "Arise, my friend, and be well." She focused considerably on the healing, doing her best to will away Grinning Shadow's injuries. The ankh draws in light from the area for a moment, then radiates that energy in an aura around Grinning Shadow. The aura highlighted his injuries, then began to mend them.

Most of it was unseen to human or Fex eyes -- bones resumed their places and began to knit, blood vessels torn or ruptured rejoined, layers of clear fluids gelling over each to cushion, to heal. A tiny hairline fracture at the back of his skull sealed itself back together and the insults to the delicate organ beneath, soothed.

He wasn't fully healed -- that would now take time. But he wasn't in danger of dying, either. In the next moment, Grinning Shadow opened his eyes. "Hey, little fox," he said, smiling slightly. "Did we win?"

Kitsune nodded her head. "We seem to have broken the shraaorch and forced their withdrawl, although we have taken casualties. You were seriously injured, while Tapestry-san had been killed. I do not know if I can heal that much damage, but I am going to at least try. Right now, you are still quite injured, so I would suggest you do nothing to strain yourself. Tomorrow, I ought to be able to heal you again, and that may complete the knitting of your wounds."

Kitsune reached over and gently squeezed his shoulder, careful not to hurt him any further. "I need to see to Tapestry-san, and see if there is anything that can be done for him, within my ability. I'm afraid it is too late, but... I shall not surrender without a fight, at least."

Kitsune stepped around the blood around Tapestry, then knelt down beside him. Against, she gently touched him with the Ankh, and she focused her full attention. She considered asking the Author if he would aid her, but decided against it for a couple of reasons. First, if he had wished, Tapestry would not have been so badly injured, and second, she would not demean herself by begging. The practical reason for that is that she really doubted it would every work.

She drew in as much energy as she possibly could, and released the power of her magic through the Ankh. She spoke softly in Japanese, "Live, my warrior. Breathe in the breath of life, and arise from death's door. Come back to us, please."

Seconds passed. Kitsune could feel the energy from the Ankh pouring into and through Tapestry's body, still enshrouded in his colorful costume. An ancient and powerful symbol of life, the ankh glowed and grew warm in the young Asian woman's hands as it and she tried to find Tapestry and death's door, and pull him back from it.

Finally, Aaorrann's gentle hand came to rest upon Kitsune's shoulder. "I believe your friend has chosen the way home, young warrior," she said in softy accented English. "As powerful as you are, you cannot call him back from that. I am sorry," she added, her hand squeezing softly. "All of us know what it is to lose a comrade. It... is never easy."

Kitsune sighed quietly as she regarded Tapestry for a moment. She set the Ankh aside, then reached up to her scalp to the zipper that held her suit together. She pulled the zipper down to a couple of inches beneath the nape of her neck, then opened the mask to expose her head. She shook her head a moment, letting her blue shoulder-length hair move and breathe a moment. She reached up and wiped her eyes of the water within them, then sighed again.

"Unfortunately, I hardly knew the man. He was an actor outside of his heroic life, and I had the sense that this aspect of things was rather new to him. He had a bit of an ego, and for whatever reason he had a bit of ego about his work on stage and television, but all in all, he was a good man. He tried to help me, and due to a variety of reasons, he has died. May you go onto your reward, Tapestry-san, and may it be all that you could ever hope for." Kitsune reached over and caressed Tapestry's cheek, then she reached over and picked up the Ankh.

Kitsune wiped her eyes again, then turned to look at the Fex captain. "You're right, Aaorrann-sama. I've worked alone in the past, and usually I'm been good enough, strong enough, and fast enough to get the job done. Unfortunately, I'm only good enough, not perfect. And you're right, it never does get easier. But I've learned not to beat myself over this sort of thing."

Kitsune smiled sadly at the alien felinoid, and she reached over to gently squeeze the Captain's shoulder. "Thank you very much, Captain. I do appreciate your gesture, very much, and your advice helps, immensely." Kitsune stood up, still holding the Ankh, then she walked over to Black Cat and hugged him firmly. Vincenzo returned the truly stunning girl's embrace, seeking the solace that can found best there. His hands went instinctively to the small of her back and the space between her shoulder blades. It was not a courtly embrace, but the stress of battle rarely encourages discretion. The beautiful young woman looked up at the man, then gave him another comforting hug before she stepped back from him.

Her wide, violet eyes swept the area, then retuned to take in Black Cat's gaze. She nodded her head decisively. "We've got a lot to work out here, if we're going to prevent this sort of thing from happening again. We need to work together, much more efficiently and effectively. We're still going to need to see about the Key."

The scientist took long moments studying the code book, before speaking. "Captain, I thank you. Kitsune appears confident in her abilities, and I will not question them. If Grinning Shadow can be saved, if anything done for Tapestry, then what can be done, must. But we have our own lives to save, now, and one or more life we had not considered," Aodh said grimly.

"We had not thought that Catherine and Henry may have made their sentinel a prisoner, unable to communicate, trapped somehow.. but the Morse code signal seems to indicate this may be so," he adds, as he goes back to scanning the book, rapidly, still speaking as he does so.

Kitsune frowned at the thought. {Actually, both Neko-san and I had expressed the thought that the droideka were brought here unwillingly. But that is unimportant to the discussion about the Droideka and their sinister controller.}

"There's a central controller for the machines. It's called them back by radio it seems to defend the darkened room, the ones that are left, but something's also caused the machines to stand down and send an S.O.S. Something that packs extremely lethal plasma weapons that make the shraaorch look like toys." Aodh looks down where the hole in his shoulder used to be, gleaming and fully healed. "It would easily wreck a bank vault with either of its blasts."

The Bostonian didn't turn away from the book, walking toward the hallway, impatiently, without waiting. He asked, "Blitz, to communicate with the one sending the signal, can you create an electric pulse on the same frequency? I'll give you the dits and dashes to spell out 'Help is here. What is your condition?'"

The young man still looked sad and miserable and nothing like his usual vibrant, energetic self.

"My powers don't work like that" he explained, his voice low and subdued. "I can just change into electricity and fire electrical bolts. I can't emit radio waves or any other kind of EM radiation. Just electrons. Perhaps some of the bits of the droids can be lashed together to make a radio?"

Dylan had heard their words of comfort and solace in his mind. The image of Shimmer appeared in his mind's eye and exploded into fragments of red light as the Brain Collector took her place. This was the last mental image that escaped and was broadcast through the Mindlink before Nocturne regained control of his thoughts and himself. He rose slowly and walked towards the assembling group, ready to resume his role.

Distractedly, grimacing, while he works out the Morse code from the book, the scientist admits retrospectively, "Clearly, I am expressing myself poorly."

Aodh goes on to explain, "By the nature of this space, everything not of this space was brought from elsewhere by similar means, and few I expect would understand beforehand what his summons implied. By that measure, all are in a way prisoner. Even the ones who think they are native may merely have been here so long that the imperatives of this space have altered their memories to a degree. But once here, most have some freedom to act as they choose. Except this prisoner," he indicates with a casual wave toward the side hall and the dark room beyond, "appears.. compelled, and struggling against its bonds to side with us. Though Black Cat could be correct, it may simply be calling for help against us."

Ruminatingly, the Bostonian considers aloud, "Nocturne, what you've seen... is it literal, do you think, or a metaphor? Somewhere in what you've shown. Can you explain it, as you interpret these images?"

Dylan thought for a moment before he responded to Hugh's question.

"The creature's mental presence was too powerful, I think, for me to have imagined or fabricated it's physical representation. I have to believe that's what it truly looks like. However I can't say that the room or the environment matches what I showed you."

As the chaos in the Hall of Mirrors settled into some kind of order, Tyra, who still stood guard over the wreckage with her rifle, shouted something in Fexao. Those who turn to look at her see the door to the little hallway schnick closed before Aodh could reach it.

Once it was closed, all radio and mental emissions ceased. Even the droideka who'd been bound up in Black Cat's cunning cat's claws had ceased their attempts to transform. Except for the voices of the group and the Fex, it would have been an eerily silent scene of smoking mass destruction.

"Perhaps that wasn't a cry for help, my friends." Kitsune considered this, then continued, "Perhaps instead the Controller was using it more in the sense of a garage door opener."

"Perhaps. Perhaps. The door may be under the Controller's .. well, control, Aodh speculated. Then, he considered, "The door fought my attempt to force it closed. It didn't need a special signal for that. I think the S.O.S. was an S.O.S., and we have to consider that there is someone in there needing rescue... after all, isn't that the sort of thing we all wanted to do, our reason for answering the call? To rescue those in trouble?"

Something about that thought made the scientist smile. He looked to his feet. "Samples. We should collect these carefully, and see what they can tell us. There may be memories and sensors, transmitters.. raw material for barricades or projectiles." He knelt to start to collect up the wreckage... "And we may wish to have a ceremony of some sort. You know, for Tapestry."

Brian nodded. "Really, we need to take his body back home. If we can get home!", he said. "What about his family? We don't even know who he was or whether he has family or anything. What we they be thinking? How do we let them know?"

Brain shook his head. It was better to concentrate on something positive, like trying to get out of this place.

"Anyway, let's have a look at the robots we've got here, see what sensors or comms devices they have" he continued looking at Aodh. "Perhaps we can put something together?"

Kitsune nodded her head. "That would be an excellent idea, gentlemen." Kitsune finished drying her eyes, then turned to regard the rest of the group. Her eyes looked at each of the rest of the party as she worked on what to do next. Of course, it was a little distracting considering her steady gaze came from a face that ought to be gracing fashion and beauty magazines, but Kitsune seemed almost unaware of how her looks affected people. Almost.

The diminuative Japanese lady continued, her hand gently taking Black Cat's in a consoling grip. Who she was trying to console was a good question. "Blitz-san, you mentioned that you could control electronic devices, and you believed that you could take one of the shraaorch over, as if you were piloting it, correct? Perhaps Neko-san could release one of the bound ones, and you could see whether you could control it from within. If you can, then we have a scout, and you, Hugh-sensei and Nocturne-san could work out the puzzle here. Please be careful, though. I don't really want to have to repeat things here."

"We will also have to work on tactics, strategy, and leadership among ourselves. We're still very new to each other, but leadership is essential."

"Our tactics weren't so bad, really," the Black Cat said consolingly. "Keeping Nocturne in a safe place is a must, and we managed that nicely. The only thing we needed that we didn't have, I think, was a better idea of what our enemies would do, and we failed to stay out of the way. That isn't a tactic, it's just bad luck. Terrible luck." He didn't speak of leadership, but he did step to the approximate center of the group.

"They weren't so bad, Neko-san. but they could be so much better. Something to work on, I believe." Kitsune nodded her head, then smiled softly. "We can work it out, I think."

Dylan looked around at those gathered before him, and he was smart enough to know his place. The death of Tapestry had shown him the fragility of life. If he was ever going to get back to Anna, he had better learn to work with this group.

Keeping his mind on the business at hand, Brian answered Kitsune's question.

"Ahh, no", he replied. "I can't control anything. As Blitz I'm literally living electricity. If a device uses electricity I can enter that device and my electrons can ride along with it. But I can't control where it goes or what it does".

Kitsune gently smiled as she nodded her head. "Ah, I see where my misunderstanding happened. Or misrememberance."

"I can sort of reduce the flow of electricity in a device reducing its power. Or increase the flow", Brian continued to explain. "But I've never been able to control the things that use electricity. Though perhaps if I tried routing the electricity is certain ways...?"

He thought for a moment but shook his head. He didn't have that kind of control, did he? Most of his abilities concerned his own body and not outside electrics.

Brian walked over to one of the droids that had stopped trying to transform and suddenly gave the thing a kick.

"Hell, we don't really know if these things are actually powered by electricity!", he called out. Though if that was true then, boy, he was in trouble.

"I believe that they are, but I am certainly no expert. It will be all right, I believe." Kitsune smiled again. "We will do our best, but we now realize that our opponents aren't pushovers."

Brian cautiously bent over the lifeless droideka and ran his hands over the cold smooth metal. A spark of hope ignited in his eyes when he saw what appeared to be a battery pack.

"Little one, can you open that door when we need it opened?" the Black Cat looked at Kitsune with kindness, and he spoke gently.

Kitsune considered this a moment, then nodded firmly. "If it does not open normally, I should be able to force it or shatter it. Hugh-sensei might regret the necessity, but I would think we should try the pressure pad first."

Aodh worked methodically at the collection of parts. He used not just his eyes and hands, but also probed the droideka remains with radar, and on at least one held the charred bits to his nose to sniff and try to discriminate its probable composition. "Convergence is a property of this space, as is compartmentalization, it seems. Darkness shouldn't, for example, block radar. We may learn new definitions of what is, and isn't, electronics here," he commented.

Then, the scientist eyed the still whole droideka, and asked aloud, "What tools or equipment do we have for analysing and building?"

The scientist continued walking around the room picking up valuable pieces and throwing them into a small pile. His mind was racing at all of the possibilities the room had to offer, if only he could find a way to get them home to a lab. That thought sobered him some as he realized that he would not have the time he needed to invent these items unless the team were willing to put the key on hold. Putting the key on hold would in turn delay getting back to their homes and families.

After a few minutes one of the Fex returned to Aodh and offered him a small box of tools. However he had realized while picking over the droideka remains that most of it was solid state and there were very few actual wires to work with.

Dylan felt the beast inside him now as it occasionally rippled the waters of his fragile emotions. He felt the pangs of fear for what could come. What would come. The team, however, needed him. Dylan opened his mind again to see if he could discover and decipher any more psychic activity.

Nocturne could still feel the taint of the Brain Collector's mental residue as he slowly pushed out with his awareness. Once he pushed passed his own mind into the room, and as far beyond as he could, there was nothing. The eerie feeling that he was being watched returned to him but he couldn't feel the absolute presence of anyone other than his companions and the Fex.

Kitsune looked around to make sure everyone else was all right, then she zipped her mask back into place. Once she zipped her costume, she began her ritual and transformed back into the armor and gauntlets that she had before. She used the same procedure she used back in the foyer, changing it so she also thanked Genbu and Suzaku for their patronage and support of her. "When we're ready, I can try to open the door at the touch pad. If that fails... then it will be time for the Hammer of Seiryuu, and we'll see how the door can stand to that.

Kitsune looked to her companions. "When we are ready, of course. But it is time for plans. What do each of you suggest here?" She looked to Aaorrann. "Your input would be welcome as well, Captain. I for one would be happy to hear it."

The Captain looked beyond Kitsune to the closed door when she replied. "The closed door tells me that you are winning this battle." There seemed to be pleasure in her words as she purred them out. "I would not give them too much time to rethink their retreat. The key to your home and ours lies beyond that door. I would recommend that you push forward as soon as you are able."

Kitsune nodded, "And not just home for ourselves, when we succeed. So we need to prepare for that. We will need to gather light, although I really could wish that we had something like electric lamps or spotlights, since we can't really run with candles."

Kitsune nodded her head again, considering matters. "One of the things we will have to do regards the shraaorch that Neko-san entangled. When we get the door open, it is likely they will start up again. We will have to disable them...." Kitsune paused to consider the thought, then smiled behind her helm. "Or salvage them. Hugh-sensei, Blitz-san, a thought. How difficult would it be to salvage the batteries from the shraaorch, and possibly their weapons and shields?"

The armored warrior gestured to Aaorrann and the other Fex, "Our friends here might be better able to defend themselves with power for their weapons, or using the force projector from their arm to make a wall. I know very little about electronics, but would that be possible and would it be feasible? Aaorrann-sama, would your crew be able to do either? Even the damaged units might be salvagable, although probably not the ones I affected." Kitsune laughed softly at that. "That might need to be tabled for the next Key, when we get to that particular point, but it is interesting, I think."

Aaorrann looked at the growing pile of droideka parts and nodded her head. "Tyra will go with you. When she returns to me with word that our opponent has been neutralized, we'll bring in what we can of this. I don't know what we'll be able to do with it, but it won't hurt to try."

"Hrm? Batteries?" The scientist stood up, and faced the door, stroking his jaw with his left hand. "The batteries do indeed appear to be electronic, and quite recognizable. I've salvaged the ones that aren't burst. They're at the front of that pile," he gestured absently with his right hand. "There's no reason Blitz couldn't be our Trojan Horseman in one of the undamaged machines."

"I could develop a competing control broadcaster to override or jam the current central controller, but I'm afraid," the Bostonian admitted while looking at the tools with a mix of gratitude to have something in his hands familiar and plausibly utilitarian, "it would take weeks. Likewise, I don't understand well enough yet the darkness effect we'll face, if the candles will pierce it, or if nothing will. We'll have to come up with tactics to defeat that particular obstacle, technology holds no answer I can furnish yet. With a few days, the best I could do would be to adapt the Shraaorch force shields so anyone could use one, after confirming that the radiation from them is not a health hazard."

"Still," Aodh affirmed, "the parts in the pile with the battery appear useful for study, and I'd appreciate the chance to come back to them later. They are much more advanced than anything I've ever seen in their particular application.

"You will be welcome again in our quarters. I hope that you accomplish your goals and are able to return." The Captains gaze caressed Black Cat as she replied.

Kitsune froze a moment, glad her expression could not be seen. She knew that she had only met Neko-san just a couple of hours ago, and he only got to see her face a couple of minutes ago. Not at my best, either, she thought to herself. Not that I have any idea on how to use make-up, as a for instance. There were times when Kitsune considered how ironic her chosen professional name appeared. Not that anyone else really knew her well enough to acknowledge that.

The captain of the Fex had been the soul of courtesy to them, but a rush of jealousy still erupted in her breast when she heard and saw the Captain expressing her interest. Considering the sensual side of the Fex female, it seemed rather likely to succeed. There was a woman that had a better right to the title of 'fox' in various ways, after all. Aaorrann and her nature seemed to echo with Neko-san and his affinity as well. But her attraction was different, at least to the young heroine.

Neko-san appreciated her, and didn't make her feel filthy by his gaze. Not only that, but he was a hero, perhaps not quite a "streetwise Hercules," but he might be as strong or even stronger than she was without her Gauntlets of Byakko. He was beautiful, of course, but he wasn't soft. That combination strongly appealed to her.

Sure, Kitsune admired the good looks of men around her, and while not attracted, she could appreciate feminine beauty. If she were lesbian or bisexual, that part of her life would probably be easier. But no, she preferred men. But the average man was too... squishy. Larry Niven described the difficulties of the Man of Steel, but he never really thought about the difficulties of a Girl of Steel, except to dismiss that particular solution.

Kitsune dismissed her wool gathering, shaking her head slightly as Hugh-sensei made ready to speak. Concentrate on the problem at hand, Misa. First we have to survive this. But dear God...

"You may find the deactivation switches more interesting," the scientist then added, detachedly. "Much easier to simply turn off the units, than destroy them. The switch is located transverse to the tertiary multiaxial joint, in tripods, and its corollary, the third node of the internal backbone of the toroidal form factor. It looks like this." He walked over to one of the mute droideka, and pressed the switch, powering it off.

"I think I can hit that. Good work, Aodh!" The Black cat took note of the location, and wondered how far away he could hit it from.

Brian looked at the now deactivated droid.

"Well, that's certainly handy", grinned the young man. He then wandered over to the bits and pieces Aodh had accumulated. He sifted through the components, talking as he did.

"Like Aodh said, can we not rig something up using these things?" he asked to everyone nearby. "I've got my very own built-in arc-welder, if we need to glue things together", he smiled, indicating his electrical abilities.

"Surely we'd be able to use the droid's blasters or their shields, even if we can't find a radio transmitter? Or, at least, the Fex can use the battery packs to power up their rifles!"

He bent down and picked up one of the battery packs.

"Well, they can use all but one of the batteries anyway", he said grinning as he began to absorb the electrical energy within it. Shimmering yellow sparks crackled out of the device and began to surge along Brian's arm. There was a sudden flashzz and, instead of the young, handsome man, there stood Blitz - the lightning lad!

"When you're ready," picking up a candle stand with his left hand, the professor grinned, "I'd say it's time for the second inning."

"Ordinarily, I would insist on getting the door for a lady, but just this once I think maybe you should go first, Kitsune," said the Black Cat, bowing and extending his arm in the direction of the door. His smirk belied the formality of the pose.

"You honor me, tono,," Kitsune replies as she does the same sort of curtesy that she performed for Isabelle. The air around her is both courtly and playful, since she recognized how things were, and that Neko-san was playing with her to help ease the tension here.

Blitz turned to Kitsune. "Perhapzz you may want to pick up one of the deactivated droidzz? Use it az a shield if they come rushing out again or as a club to beat them with?" he suggested.

"Or as a projectile," Kitsune says. "If they come at me three at a time again, I'll bet I can use it to break up that formation. Hugh-sensei, are there more of those available that you would not mind shattered?"

Kitsune considered things, then nodded, "I would suggest we stay close to each other in order to offer support, if need be." She continued telepathically through Nocturne's link, {If you see a target of opportunity, use the hook-up through Nocturne-san to let us know, and try not to get separated, please. }

Kitsune looked at the men there, then asked, "And who will be our light bringers? We will need someone to hold them and to find a good place to set them down while we are busy. Blitz-san, can you use your powers to light candles, should we find more inside? I'd suspect we'd find an extinguished chandelier inside, at the least."

"Oh, shatter them all, I don't mind. There's plenty more inside," the Bostonian answered. He then hesitated. "We could throw Blitz past the Controller's zone of defense inside one, even if he can't control it, it's still protection and disguise. Sadly, the solid-state circuitry of these devices is beyond advanced, it's virtually incomprehensibly elegant. To overcome the integral defenses and route the correct power levels and types to the weapons and shields will require a bit more equipment than is handy. I expect an Amber could manage it in a few minutes or hours.. But I'm not ready to eat the food of this place to find out. Well.. not that I'm not curious.. but.. no. Well.. No."

The scientist struggled with the impulse to find out just how demented he'd be made by the seductive power of the Ideal space.

Clearing his head, Aodh asserted, "We can build some pretty solid shields, even battering rams, by welding the metal together. We'll want to make it especially bulky and noisy, since our best bet isn't a frontal assault. If the Black Cat and Ta.. If the Black Cat can sneak through the massed defenders while the Controller focuses on Kitsune and myself, that would put both he and Blitz close enough to strike effectively. If it knows we're coming, it will be able to pick us apart psychically unless Nocturne holds it off us, or physically with those dual plasma cannons. We must deceive it to win."

"I don't know if I can hold it off," the kid told them. "I have never felt a surge of mental force like that before. I am pretty sure it would have brought down my wall itself. I am willing to battle it again, though. I know I got it's attention."