Season 2, Episode 3: The Mysterious Trove Corporation

[Meteorain]

The last 3 matches were over in a mere half hour. Met had made sure he focused on the fight immediately after his. He even watched the winner after he won to see what type of person he was. It may give him a mental edge –or something-. The guy was a magic user, which was surprising since they don’t usually get very far when he thought about it; they can’t handle as much physical punishment. It was odd though, the team kept putting only him forward, and he won easily enough.

From what Met could tell, the guy was mostly impassive to words and the sort. Maintaining his cool during matches and efficiently finding weak spots in his opponents. This would mean he needed to play a few mind games and…and…and what the hell was he doing?

Since when did he ever fight all calm and collected? This wasn’t his style. Aggression was his main weapon. His emotions were what he used to fight, thinking about surroundings and mind-games were a secondary thing, like minor reflexes. He would do it like he usually does, be a bad ass until an opening presented itself.

“Next match! Meteorain versus Lecai!” boomed the amplified voice of the lazy guy.

“Do you know what a magic user hates and most likely fears the most?” he asked Alice standing up and looking down at the arena.

“No. What?”

“When he keeps sending spells and nothing works, especially when they looking for something to work. So watch and learn.”

Met jumped from his seat and landed neatly in the arena. The jump was quite inhumanly powerful and grandiose, but now Met was feeling his usual self and with that came his flamboyant display.

The fight began as expected; with nothing. They just stood there measuring each other. Met wanted to win this in the most satisfactory way for a fist fighter; through a vulgar display of power. He wanted to win by taking as little hits as possible. Lecai moved first.

His almost Elven like features were calm as he raised his right hand palm open and facing Met. His other hand held a sturdy looking wooden staff only 3 feet in length. It’s head was that of a curved half moon. Met also spotted a sheathed sword at his hip. Lecai was intricately robed as befitting any mage, his fine equipment and clothing a give away sign that this fighter was one put forward by a rich gambler looking to increase his riches further.

The first attack formed in Lecai’s plam and then flew at Met. It was a highly compressed ball of air that hit Met square in the chest. Met just stood there, he had not even moved from the impact nor showed any sign of even being injured. He then wore his trademark battle grin, the self titled Death Mask of Meteorain, and with that began a slow and purposeful walk towards Lecai.

The mage then fired a second spell; an icicle now flew at Met and hit him in the stomach. Still nothing from the attack as met continued his slow advance; the icicle merely shattering on impact with Met. Lecai took it up a notch once again firing a conjured an arrow dripping in a deadly acid, but again to no avail. A fireball. Multiple fireballs. A jet of flame. Flame arrows. Ice storms. Lightning bolts. Nothing seemed to work. For the first time Lecai’s calm began to waver as he threw spell after spell in rapid succession. Finally but twenty yards from Lecai, Met sprinted and lunged at him, swinging a fist at him.

The was a heavy impact as a cloud of sand from the ground was blown up and towards the direction Met moved. What could be seen after a short moment was that the cloud of dust was rushing around a semi-translucent half sphere in front of Lecai to which Met’s fist was pressed against. Lucai had evoked a well time shield to deflect the attack, but one hit was all it as the power of Met’s punch destroyed it, and it vanished in a flicker.

“I see you didn’t use your little stick” Met observed.

“The Moon Staff of Saroi channels and boosts powers far greater than you are worthy of, only my own power was needed”

“That so?” Met queried his reply and quickly swung a fierce kick with his back leg. He felt a smooth sharp cut as his kick missed connecting with the target.

“Oh I see the sword can actually do something”

“This is Sea Gold Blade. It is forged by the finest sea gold. It strikes with the unstoppable power of the sea itself!”

“Sounds way too dramatic” replied Met, his last word a snap as he threw a flurry of aggressive punches and kicks, but each was blocked expertly evoked shields. Met’s last kick came in an arc and was too quick for the mage as it connected solidly with the side of Lecai’s head sending him to the floor.

“You want to try using your stick now?” Met looked down at the floored man.

“So be it” said Lecai as he recovered from the dazing kick and took many paces back. “Prepare to die moron”. Lecai began to chant a spell, the use of words now indicating it would be much more powerful than any he had used so far. Before Met could say anything, a massive beam of energy was racing at him.

“HELL YEAHHHH!” he shouted as he formed a huge shield and held it front of him with both hands, charging forward taking the beam head on. The shield held up and Met powered through it, the energy displacing around his shield. When he felt no more resistance he dissipated the shield and crouched low just in front of the mage just before exploding into a devastating uppercut that hit Lecai in the chin knocking him out and sending him flying away to the floor. His attack was accompanied by a loud “SHORYUKEN!”.

Once more the crowd roared at the display of power and ironic humour of the attack. Although many had received cheers from the crowd, none as much so as Met had so far. He had gotten through the Quarter finals and he was feeling damn good. Just two more fights and then he could enter a world where his battle prowess could truly begin to grow.

 

[Confessor]

In the back of her mind she could hear the sound of water dripping from something and landing on the floor beside her. Slowly she opened her eyes as her mind adjusted to what happened. She had been poisoned but luckily the poison wasn’t deadly. Instead it was a modified sleeping spell and immobilizing spell. Her head was pounding with a migraine as she slowly sat up. She looked down to see her hands were tied or her feet chained. With caution in mind she rose to her feet and looked around the cell she was in. The four walls that surrounded her were metal and produced some sort of white glow.

Taking a careful step toward them she ran her index finger down a wall and her the hairs on the back of her neck stood stiff. The glow was a magical shield. The shield prevented her from using her powers in the room. This meant she couldn’t send a signal for help through her magics to her top student Dragn. Whoever these people were they had done their homework on her. That in itself was strange though because nobody knew anything of her past history except for those dead in the ground.

She saw that her weapons were still with her which was very odd. Why didn’t they take her weapons? Frowning slightly she sat down on a cot in the corner of the room and became silent. She heard the steady tap-tap of water hitting a ledge but she knew it wasn’t in her room but another room close by. Who else were they expecting for dinner? She had to get out of the cell but she knew the only way for escape was when they let her out and then she could make a run for it.

Looking up at the ceiling she saw video camera with the red light on. They were watching her every move. She snarled at the camera and yelled a curse word at them. She wasn’t going to give up hope just yet. Besides she had been in tougher situations than this but those times they weren’t smart enough to stop her magic spells or take her weapons.

She was curious to see who had captured her. Somehow she had figured out that Red Death was an agent of whoever this person was. He must have been the brains behind the outfit. Well she was going to see how smart he or she really was. She hoped somebody would notice her missing, after all she was a teacher, and that would bring up suspicion to several of her students. She had Never missed a day in her life.

 

[Meteorain]

The matches went by slowly from this point on. It was only two fights really. One quarter final fight and the first of the 2 semi-final fights. The contenders were really looking strong now, even Met’s semi final opponent seemed like he could actually do something.

During this time he was assaulted by a sortie of questions from Alice. He had obliged to answer some.

“Didn’t those attacks at the start hurt you at all? How did you survive them?”

“They did a small bit of damage, but he didn’t need to know that. I merely formed patches of organic metal to take the impact at the last moment since the spells were kind of slow; he wasn’t that great a mage. Think Colossus from X-men.” He added the last part as Alice looked at him slightly confused.

“I noticed you never used any sort of ranged or energy attacks. You know, like the Hadoken from Street Fighter” she said to Met’s annoyance. He was silent for a while a before answering.

“I can’t do those moves”

“What? Really? I can!”

“Shut up! Your transmutation sucks anyway, and I bet you can’t summon anything bigger than a goat.”

“Well no, only small like-” she began but faltered as Met rose to the sound of his name and made his way down to the ring. His departure was accompanied by an angry ‘hmph’ from Alice.

As he made his way down into the arena, Met tried to do a self-analysis of himself. He failed. The only thing he knew was that he could fight. So he did the next best thing, check out his opponent. As expected his opponent was a fist fighter who carried a few small weapons on his person. He was well muscled and just as tall as Beltane. His name was Kalmar, and from what Met had seen was probably his first threat in the tournament so far.

This time the match did no begin as usual. As soon as it began, Kalmar rushed at him, fist aimed at Met’s face. Met blocked but saw a second fist aimed for his exposed abdomen. With quick hands, Met slapped the second hand down and quickly raised his own in one movement to hit Kalmar in the chin with his wrist, snapping the man’s head back.

The man backed off and studied Met. Met did so likewise and was happy to know that although Kalmar was quick, Met was quicker. The only person he could hink og faster than him in such closed head on situation was Shogun. Exchanging blows so close and in short fast bursts required lots of practice hence Shogun’s superiority in that. The man practiced fighting with bare hands nearly all the time. Met had other things to practice as well as do.

Kalmar came at him once again, this time with feet. The two exchanged blows as they searched for an opening, Met couldn’t find one and so in such a situation had to make one. In order for him to do that, he had to bait Kalmar with a fake opening. Exposing his left midriff he allowed Kalmar to land a kick and when he went for a second spin kick Met barged him mid turn catching him off balance and knocking him to the floor. Met immediately went in for a strike whilst he was down, but his first hit earth as Kalmar quickly rolled back and was on his feet again.

They began to exchange blows again. Hit, block, counter. It was a continuous monotony that was finally broken by Met’s opponent. The fighter began a furiously rapid succession of punches to which Met could only block. Looking for an opportunity he found one. As the man came in with his left, Met pulled the arm with his right hand, passed him and spun his left arm around in a horizontal arc to deliver a powerful elbow to the back of Kalmar’s neck so that his own arm would not block him. The elbow took Kalmar just below the base of the head and knocked him unconscious. Met smiled to himself; whoever said you couldn’t learn from anime was stupid as well as proven wrong. He also smiled, because he had gotten through to the final’s without much difficulty. He had a really good feeling he was going to win this.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

“Tell Rosto to get ready” said the dark-haired woman. Her eyes flashing dangerously as she watched Met’s match end with one swift move. The time to test had come, and Rosto would be more than a capable test for this one.

“Yes ma’am” the man said, bowing and then quickly leaving the seating area.

 

[Dragn9]

Dragn sat in potions class, although it was one of the more interesting classes and one that required the utmost attention, Dragn’s thoughts were all disarranged. His current focus was not on the potion experiment at hand. He had many other matters on his mind and at that moment the potion was the furthest thing from his thoughts. He could not stop processing all the data that they had gone over today at lunch and was trying to grasp the meanings of the results. It was the last class of the day for Dragn and time only seemed to drag on slowly. The group was to all meet in the lab after school to be formally introduced with their sponsor, who had lent them his facilities. Dragn had talked to Gin about Trove but he only said very little, Dragn however had an odd feeling that Gin knew more about their sponsor than he was letting on.

This was not Dragn’s main concern, he was concerned with whether or not their sponsor would approve of the results and if Trove would be pleased to find that his sponsoring of the Sempai fighters had not gone to waste. As Dragn sat there pondering, he absently began to mix some ingredients for the assigned potion, once he poured the blue liquid into the vial containing the crushed powder root there was a small explosion. Dragn quickly pushed his seat back and rose, so as not to get caught in the fumes. The class all looked at him confused. Dragn rarely screwed up a potion, his head dropped and he sat back down embarrassed. He had to make sure that he didn’t allow himself to be distracted by anything.

Dragn kept looking up at the clock, fifteen minutes later and the bell rang. Dragn quickly cleaned up the mess and rushed to his locker. He stuffed all his notebooks onto the shelf and pulled out his personal spellbook and sword.

“Dragn” came a voice from behind, Dragn however did not turn around knowing all to well the source of that voice. He continued to strap his sword onto his back.

“Gin” Dragn replied

“Are you headed down to the lab now?” Gin asked.

“Soon enough” Dragn answered, placing some papers within the pockets of his robes, then closing his locker door before turning around to face Gin. Gin also had papers but had them tucked under his arm. “Newest results?”

Gin shook his head, “Nope, just something I whipped up to present to Mr. Harrison Trove at the meeting, basically an overview or summary if you will of our testing thus far. I thought it would help to bring Mr. Trove up to speed with our latest work.” Dragn just smiled,

“Well there is somewhere I wanted to stop off before going to the lab, you may accompany me if you wish.” Dragn then headed down the hall towards one of the magics classrooms, with Gin following behind. Dragn knocked at the door, but no answer came, Dragn frowned. He then knocked again while slowly pushing open the door, “Excuse me professor-“ but upon stepping inside Dragn noticed the classroom was empty. “She left already? That’s odd.” Dragn had not had a class with Professor Confessor today but he was sure that she would still have been in the room for after class assistance.

Gin looked at Dragn, “What or whom were you looking for?"

“Nothing” Dragn replied absentmindedly. But after Dragn turned around to leave, a grin appeared on Gin's face.

Dragn and Gin then left the room and as they headed down the hall Dragn noticed one of Confessor’s other students. “Hey there” Dragn said, “Have you seen Professor Confessor today?” “Nope” the girl replied, “She didn’t come in today. She might be sick or something.” “Perhaps” Dragn replied, it was odd however since Dragn had never know the prof to be sick.

“Shouldn’t we be headed to the lab, we are going to be late.” Gin asked.

“Oh, of course.” Dragn replied, and with that they both walked down the hall, Confessor’s whereabouts still in the back of Dragn’s mind.

It didn’t take them very long to reach the lab and once they entered Gin moved over to one of the computers to check the data. Dragn however stood there for a second, the place was not buzzing with noise as it normally was, in fact is was basically empty. Dragn looked over and noticed Shogun leaning back in a chair. Dragn raised an eyebrow, “Shogun?” he called out, “Well this is surely uncharacteristic of you, you were the first one here?” Dragn laughed he then glanced over at Gin who was absorbed in his work and walked over to Shogun so that they were out of earshot from Gin.

“So what do you think about this meeting? The first encounter we had with Trove was unusual – or at least to say he had an odd aura emitting from him. It should be interesting to find out his intentions for sponsoring us, without really knowing all that much about us, except for what he saw at the tournament.” Dragn asked in all seriousness.

 

[Senekha]

Sen rushed to school, running through busy street intersections and instigating a riot of honking horns and angry cab drivers. The last few sleepless nights were starting to catch up with her, and she was feeling the headaches that followed so many energy drinks.

But her sleepless nights had paid off. She had gone in search of the acting force behind her attempted assassination, and knew she would find the answer she was looking for tonight. If her suspicions proved to be correct, then Sempai High was seriously endangered. And if she was correct...she knew just who was behind her attack, and it was someone who could match any of Sempai's best fighters, if her memory proved correct.

But first, she must get back to school. She had missed far too many classes lately due to her...extracurricular excursions.

Her first class was the magic class with Confessor. Senekha had grown to enjoy these classes, despite her preference for the more traditional physical fighting. Furthermore, she had come to like the magic professor, who had the skill to connect with her students that many teachers lacked.

Finally reaching the school, Sen dashed through the last hallway, bumping past a younger student who shot her a venomous look but cowered back when Sen returned the look.

She expected the class to be underway, but when she entered she saw that there were only a few other students....and no professor. Scowling, Sen caught their attention.

"Where's the professor?"

"She hasn't shown...some of the students have left already. Heck, I wouldn't have woken up so early if I knew the prof wasn't going to show."

Sen said nothing, though her mind was whirling. Confessor would never miss a class without leaving word... Nodding her head in a brief thanks, Sen left the room and headed to the front office, where she asked if Confessor had signed in yet.

"Why, no she hasn't. I'm sure she just arrived late and didn't want to keep her class waiting."

"She's not in her class. No one has seen her? Or heard from her?"

"No, but I'm sure there's no need to worry. Probably came down with the flu or something."

Sen shook her head. She would have called.

"What's Confessor's street address?"

The secretary gave Sen a weird look, but wrote the address on a piece of paper. "Here, just because you're so worried, I'll give her house a call. So hold your horses and we'll see what the professor has to say." The secretary dialed, and waited, and waited. Finally, with a small frown, she said, "Hmm. No answer. Maybe she's on her way right now."

Sen offered her thanks and ducked out of the office. Well, she had an hour to spare until her next class, and she knew she wouldn't rest easy without checking on Confessor's apartment. Things were beginning to add up in her head, and it made her queasy.

Sen jogged to Confessor's house and rang the doorbell. She waited, then rang it again. Just as she was about to pick the lock and enter, she heard footsteps approaching the door. She almost sighed in relief, but then the door opened, and upon seeing the familiar, hulking figure in the doorway, Sen automatically crouched into a defensive position.

The figure chuckled. "And so, the first person to investigate the disappearance of the mage is the same person I had been hoping to see."

Sen sneered. "Harrison Trove."

"Ah, you remember my name! I'm honoured. You can lower your guard, my dear. I have a proposition I think you will find most...appealing."

 

[I. R. Shogun]

Harrison grinned as he noted Sen's expression. Her jaw tightened, her fingers twitched, her eyes narrowed, she remembered their last meeting all too well. It had been some time since then, my how she'd grown. She'd been much smaller back then, but she still had that fury in her eyes. He knew he looked exactly as she remembered him, save a little bit of gray hair here and there. His smile was spread ear to ear as she spoke those magic words, "Spill it Trove."

"So I see you're interested, I'd been hoping that you wouldn't let our history get in the way of future prospects," he said.

Sen's eyes became slits, "Now now, there's no need to get hostile. It's important to remember the past, as much as I'm sure our last meeting stung."

Trove chuckled as her hands tightened into fists. "You know that won't work Senekha. You've grown in your skills since that day, but my powers have grown as well. As it stands you would stand no chance in a battle against me."

Sen began to shake, but she said nothing. He was right. "So then what do you want?" she demanded.

"Simple, I want your assistance. You and your Sempai friends are involved in my company's research on the Chi force. However your involvement is some of the most important. I need you to keep quiet about what's happened between us. Believe me, I can make it worth your while," Trove said as he moved a suitcase into view, opening it to reveal its interior packed with cash.

"Take it," he said noting he change in expression. "Consider it a showing of good faith. Should you agree, there will be plenty more where that came from. And your use of my equipment to become stronger can continue. Maybe one day you'll even become strong enough to face me in a rematch..."

**********************************

Shogun nearly fell out of the chair as Dragn and Gin entered. But the tone took a more serious turn when Dragn mentioned who was coming tonight. “So what do you think about this meeting? The first encounter we had with Trove was unusual – or at least to say he had an odd aura emitting from him. It should be interesting to find out his intentions for sponsoring us, without really knowing all that much about us, except for what he saw at the tournament.” Dragn asked in all seriousness.

"I'm not sure what to make of it. The Old Man wasn't too keen on him from that first meeting, and I've never known Graddad's judgment of people to be wrong, but he's given us an awful lot of help on this stuff, so for now I think he's a necessary evil," said Shogun. Dragn nodded grimly. "So Gin," said Shogun, "What's the first test going to be?"

 

[Senekha]

"So then what do you want?" Sen spat.

"Simple, I want your assistance. You and your Sempai friends are involved in my company's research on the Chi force. However your involvement is some of the most important. I need you to keep quiet about what's happened between us. Believe me, I can make it worth your while."

Trove reached behind the door and brought out a suitcase, opening it to reveal stacks of 20s and 50s. Sen's suspicion flared - he admitted that he had drawn her new friends into whatever scheme he was hatching - but her curiosity piqued nonetheless.

"Take it. Consider it a showing of good faith. Should you agree, there will be plenty more where that came from. And your use of my equipment to become stronger can continue. Maybe one day you'll even become strong enough to face me in a rematch..."

Sen stared at the suitcase before her, then tore her gaze away and looked at Trove. The man was infuriating, but for all his faults he did know something of her past, and thus her weaknesses. Besides, if she were to kill him later, she needed all the advantages she could get. A rematch? Oh, he will get his rematch, and then some, she vowed.

"You have my silence....for now," she muttered. Trove tilted his head and gave her a satisfied smile. "IF," she continued, "You tell me what you've done with the professor, and give me proof of her well-being."

 

[I. R. Shogun]

"You have my silence....for now," she muttered. Trove tilted his head and gave her a satisfied smile. "IF," she continued, "You tell me what you've done with the professor, and give me proof of her well-being."

Trove's grin spread further, "You have my word that the professor is safe. She's far too valuable to harm as it stands. But given our history I suppose it would be appropriate for me to give you some sort of assurance. Take this," he said as he handed her a small electronic device with a screen that showed a woman who appeared to be Confessor being held in a small cell. "Consider it a token of our current partnership. For now, at least... Anyway Senekha, if you would be so kind, I have a meeting with your friends today. Would you care to, join me?"

 

[Senekha]

Sen grimaced in disgust. Partnership. Shaking her head as if to shake off the word, Sen pulled her gaze from the handheld monitor and looked Trove in the eye. A meeting, she thought. Well, I'm not about to be left in the dark after this.

"I will....accompany you....to this meeting. I will not be kept ignorant of future proceedings concerning Sempai High." In case Trove didn't catch her meaning, she narrowed her eyes, until he finally replied:

"But of course you won't."

 

[Dragn9]

Dragn stood there for a moment, if Shogun’s grandfather had doubts about Trove then it gave them all, enough reason to keep their guard up. However, Shogun was right, Trove had been sponsoring them and they would not have progressed this far without Trove’s aid. If only Dragn could figure out what the outcome of this meeting would bring, it would help to alleviate some of his suspicions.

“So Gin.” Said Shogun “What’s the first test going to be?” Dragn looked over to where Gin was busy typing in data into one of the computers. Gin took a second to finish what he had been doing then turned to face them. “I’m just checking on the stats right now, seeing which of the areas need more work.” He then turned back as some papers were coming out of the printer. Gin picked them up and walked towards Shogun and Dragn.

“It seems as though we could perhaps do some cardio to increase heart rate so that we may test your current level of endurance.” Gin looked down at the paper again “Your last test was good but we must increase your endurance level so that you will be able to stay at a heightened state for a longer period of time.”

Dragn nodded his head “This will enable you to gather the appropriate amount of energy within you in order to increase the chi flow and be able to use it for a longer period of time without expending it all.” Dragn replied. They had to figure out what was each individuals threshold, how far they could be pushed before breaking down. It was better to have each individual fully aware of their limits so that they did not cause any damage to themselves. With all their training thus far, it still hadn’t reached the level that they had seen in that other reality. Soon however, Dragn thought, he was sure of it.

As Dragn had been deep in thought, Gin had taken Shogun and hooked him up to some machines while he stood on a treadmill. “We will start at a higher inclination, since we are well aware of your current level and there is no need to gradually work our way up.” Gin had been saying as Dragn wandered over. Dragn could tell Shogun was not disturbed by this, since being the Kung Fu Captain he was already in peak physical condition. But, that was exactly it, they were trying to go beyond that level and achieve something greater.

“We will also be monitoring the flow within you. If there is any disruption or blockage at a vital point while generating the Chi Force, there will be an overload of the energy system which will consequently impede the flow, hindering ones use of the force.” Dragn replied. “So with this testing we will be able to observe how well the energy is travelling within you.”

Dragn then took a seat at one of the desks and watched as the numbers and wavelengths fluctuated on the screen. He also kept looking over at the door wondering how long it would be before the others arrived, especially the “guest of honour” for this meeting.

 

[Confessor]

The day had ended, that much Confessor knew as she sat down on her cot in the small prison cell. Throughout the day she had taken a nap, meditated, performed yoga, and of course exercised. She performed push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, chest presses, kickbacks, lunges, and last but not least running in place. She needed to keep her physical strength up while in this rat hole. She wished she could chew her way out but she didn't want to be toothless.

While she wasn't physically exercising she also exercised her mind by running through all of the spells she had learned, hoping there was one spell she had missed she could get away with casting. They had taken her weapons which she K-n-e-w she was going to get back even if she had to rip out someones throat she would get that items that belonged to her back. Something was going on here and whoever ordered her capture was going to answer her questions. She was curious as to if she would meet her kidnapper. She would only have a few moments but she really wanted to stomp her boots in his ass and then dance all over his still beating heart.

She gritted her teeth and snarled as she sat back down on the cot. She complained every time they gave her stale bread with her meal but at least they were feeding her. She had no doubt she had been kidnapped because she was a threat to this person. She wanted to ease his fears by proving he or she was correct. She lay back onto the cot and stared at the video camera's eye that was constantly watching her. She stuck her tongue out at it and rolled over. Surely somebody had to notice her missing.

 

[I. R. Shogun]

Trove and Sen entered the training room to see that the tests had already started. The one currently hooked up was the one known as I. R. Shogun. At this point he was running up a platform that was nearly perpendicular to the ground, a good choice, but judging by the ease with which he was accomplishing this task it didn't seem like it would successful in reaching their goals.

"Gin, is this the only task you've assigned him?" asked Trove, causing a jump from everyone present.

"Why, yes sir, I wasn't sure what else we could trow at him," answered Gin.

"Mister Shogun is in far too good of shape for simple stress tests to prove effective in calling forward any sort of response from the Chi Force. Someone like him must undergo an even more demanding test if they are to call forth that power," said Trove.

"Such as?" inquired Dragn.

"There are three ways to call up the powers of the chi force, to have it unlocked by someone who knows the way, the push yourself past your limits and have the walls rebuilt that way, or to put your life on the line," said Trove with a massive grin.

"Putting my life on the line eh? Well, I say bring it on," said Shogun to the surprise of everyone who thought he was still busy with the first test.

"So you're eager to learn? Very good," said Trove. "Gin, hook him up to the master rig."

"Yes sir," said Gin as he led Shogun into a nearby pit with a large pile of metal and chain in the center. Gin hooked Shogun's feet into it as well as one of his arms, severely limiting his range of motion and combat options.

"Now, unleash the hound," said Trove.

"Y...yes sir," said Gin, noticeably flinching at the mention of 'the hound.' With a press of a button a large beast like machine lumbered out of a hole in the wall, armed with numerous blades and fangs. As the creature noticed Shogun as its target it ran forth, Shogun ground his teeth and waited to see what he had.