Pashban III: Escape from The Sulphur Palace (Game I of 2214

"Already ate." Kaye said. Inwardly startled when the woman spoke to her. She didn't seem all that intimidating but Kaye didn't let her guard down, her muscles tensed, ready in the event of any attack. "My name is Kitz... Yours is Dexter, correct?" Kaye said, in as friendly a voice as she could muster. An ally would prove useful in a place like this, and other than the gang, this "Dexter" was the first person willing to exchange words with her.

After an awkward silence Kaye fished a piece of bread from her shirt. "Hungry?"

"I'm Freddy, and if you can't tell I'm out of rockets." Freddy said offering his hand and a short laugh. The man seemed the type that might improve Freddy's chances of not dieing a horrible death. "And in the tradition of every prisoner ever asked, I'm innocent. Not that it really matters, got some bogus fraud charges. How about yourself? What didn't you do?"

Misho also let out a laugh, "My name is Misho, Misho Alexsandr. As for me, I did and didn't. I did bomb the right coordinates given to me, I didn't bomb a Xenosel basecamp. So out of tradition, I am guilty of bombing the wrong people, but I'm innocent on the charges accused of me."

He muttered out Russian curses to the Nexxin bastards.

"Forgive me comrade, my imprisonment isn't very easy to get over. And what of you, what innocence were you wrongly convicted for?"

Freddy liked this guy, not that it mattered, admiting that a mistake was made, just it wasn't his. "The people I worked for didn't trust me to keep my mouth shut so here i am. Locked away and the key's thrown away." He explained. Then smirked. "Though i still really won't say exactly what the ship was doing, all I did was make sure it had working engines." He shrugged his shoulders. "They took away my freedom, so whether they know it or not I've got to at least prove them wrong, if only for myself."

"Though i still really won't say exactly what the ship was doing, all I did was make sure it had working engines." He shrugged his shoulders. "They took away my freedom, so whether they know it or not I've got to at least prove them wrong, if only for myself."

"Not that it will matter comrade, you're in the lions den. Unfortunately, this is more like Cerberus' den," he wiped off sweat from his brow.

“I already ate the women said.”
Melody shrugged and moved closer to the woman, she hadn’t seen her before. Things blended too easily at the palace and it didn’t mean that the woman was likely to be new.
"My name is Kitz... Yours is Dexter, correct?"
“In a round about fashion,” Melody said with a shrug. “Dex for short if you’re not in my little black book of Dexter’s felonies against Dexter.”
She looked Kitz up and down trying to understand why she would strike up a conversation with her.
"Hungry?" Kitz asked. Melody was still staring trying to work out the angle she was working on. Perhaps Kitz was fresh after all.
“Rule number one on prison life Kitz, don’t offer to share anything with anyone. If people think you’re a push over they’ll swing it to their advantage.”

She smiled at Kitz and took a piece of her own bread from her pocket. “I learnt early to grab what you can and keep a hold of it. You never know what’ll happen to you down here. Been here long?”

"Not that it will matter comrade, you're in the lions den. Unfortunately, this is more like Cerberus' den,"

Freddy laughed again. "We've got Hercules too. And who would that make you? Achelies or maybe Odesious, purhaps Hades even, you've got the underworld here already?" He asked and laughed. "I'm more like Daedalus myself, just with out an Icarus." He said and laughed again, pictureing himself creating some wax wings to get out of this place. His smile slowly fadded. "Not much hope of getting myself a pair of wings though." He sighed feeling a bit depressed after the rather nice conversation.

"We've got Hercules too. And who would that make you? Achelies or maybe Odesious, purhaps Hades even, you've got the underworld here already?" He asked and laughed. "I'm more like Daedalus myself, just with out an Icarus." His smile slowly fadded. "Not much hope of getting myself a pair of wings though."

"If anything I'm more like Apollo, my bomber being my golden chariot, and my bombs the sun, moon and stars. But those Nexxim bastards stole my golden chariot."

He looked up at the frowning Freddy, "cheer up comrade, as they say, salvation comes in desperate hours, I heard that from a song, I downloaded it."

“Rule number one on prison life Kitz, don’t
offer to share anything with anyone. If people think you’re a push over
they’ll swing it to their advantage.”

"I'm no pushover." Kaye said, in her toughest tone. Inside she was dying. She belonged behind a screen, programming complex algorithms into cutting edge nanites in efforts to advance the human race, not in some sulphur stenched snake pit desperately trying to cling to her dignity.

She smiled at Kitz and took a piece of her own
bread from her pocket. “I learnt early to grab what you can and keep a
hold of it. You never know what’ll happen to you down here. Been here
long?”

"No." Kitz said after a while. "But i think i'm strarting find my groove here." She lied. "So, if you don't mind me asking...how did you, you know?" Kitz gestured to the huge male Dexter had mentally dominated earlier. "How did you do that?"

"cheer up comrade, as they say, salvation comes in desperate hours, I heard that from a song, I downloaded it."

Freddy relaxed a bit. "Can't deny that'd be nice, but haven't become desprate yet, more depressed. Desperation would hint at hope." He said looking around. "I'm just adjusting." He added, though somewhere inside he couldn't help but think that he wasn't going to last but a few months at the most. He wouldn't become someones punching bag and was hardly able to fight off most of these killers.

"But I think I’m starting find my groove here.

“Honey nobody ever gets there groove here, you either roll with the punches or start swinging your own.” She smiled sympathetically at the woman. “I’d be damned if I ever let anyone walk all over me. So I swing em. But you gotta be clever like doing that. Screws don’t favour pushy prisoners.”

"How did you do that?" Kitz asked gesturing at the barrel of a man that had threatened her before.

Her smile became bemused and walked over to her corner beckoning Kitz to do the same. She thought carefully about her reply, she was a proud woman, had been raised proud. But she was not arrogant and did not believe in glorifying herself.

“I’m renowned for putting in my two bob when it comes to those less able to defend themselves. Call it civic duty. It’s what put me in here in the first place. I split up fights I mediate between parties and when all else fails I give the person responsible a reason not to hurt his or her victims anymore. Be it broken bones or a trip to the bottom floors using it was an accident airways. Of course he wasn’t frightened of me, he was frightened of the other people I’ve helped, well perhaps he was a little frightened of me. I’m not a part of a group or a gang but I’ve earnt my respect here. Criminals are still human beings and in their own twisted way they recognise sympathy and a deranged sense of right and wrong. Like my mama always said there is no such thing as a bad person only bad choices.”

"Can't deny that'd be nice, but haven't become desprate yet, more depressed. Desperation would hint at hope." He said looking around. "I'm just adjusting." He added.

"Don't be, I enjoy this atmosphere, its better than home I'd say," he layed down on his coat, put his hands behind his head, and crossed a leg over the other, "the heat is somewhat unbearable, and it quickly dehydrates the body, which only makes things worse. Plus with the crap they give for food, its definately not making things any better."

He closed his eyes.

"Don't be, I enjoy this atmosphere, its better than home I'd say," he layed down on his coat, put his hands behind his head, and crossed a leg over the other, "the heat is somewhat unbearable, and it quickly dehydrates the body, which only makes things worse. Plus with the crap they give for food, its definately not making things any better."

Freddy looked down at the man and then suddenly broke into laughter. "You're a good man Misho." He anounced walking back to the edge and sitting down letting his legs hang over again. "You known Misho, I think I'll find a way out of here eventually." He anounced.

Freddy looked up. "What was that?" He asked,slowly standing as he hears he noise again, closer. He stepps away from the edge and looks up expectantly, and of course the universe did not disapoint him. Everything errupts into chaos, a blade flys out of control smashing the catwalks above Freddy flinches diving down to the ground and covering his head as the craziness continues. He looks up as he hears a scream mixed with the alarm of the door openning. SMASH, ZAP, and then the door stops, and silence. Only a moment before fear and panic takes over. He looks around, Misho looked ok hanging on over the pit, but he also noted that Herculies had some how wound up right with him. "Damn it." He said softly and he took a deep breath walking slowly over to the edge of the grid. He looked at the chared corpse.

"So is this what you meant about salvation comeing in desperate hours?" He shouted at Misho looking at him with a smirk. Freddy calmly pulled his work gloves out of his back pocket slipping them onto his hands in a smooth motion. "First to find out if this floors still on." He anounced, and looked around for a piece of metal. The gloves would keep him from getting shocked so all he needed to do was get a ciruit complete to make a spark if the floors where on.

Sons of bitches. Sons of bloody bitches.

Patron opened one eye, then another as he noticed the small crowd around him, slowly drawing closer. “Piss of vultures. Ain’t dead yet.” Yet being the magic word. The sudden burst of life, however, seemed to scare of most of the crowd. Sitting up, he briefly tugged the shock collar. One of these days, he was going to kill the sadistic son of a bitch who had invented the damn thing.

In pain, still swaying after the shock, and as pissed as he had ever been, Patron set a simple step forward. Damned, it was warm today. Another step. He’d kill for a donut right about now. Another step.

Then a booming. Sudden. Loud. Sounds. Screams. A piece of metal, wreaking havoc throughout the section. Screams, panic, chaos. And then the sounds of the doors opening. Patron grinned. Sounds of heaven. Some of the inmates seemed frantic now, started rushing to the doors. Stupid. Back when he was a warden, he and lil’Joey used to play ‘fry the inmate’. See how many you could get near the door before flipping the switch.

Instead, Patron waited. More robotic sounds out of the speakers, a flash, and… nothing. Left and right of him, people were screaming, but no one actually took a step forward. The doors had stopped moving, the warning lights no longer burned. Patron frowned. What the heck was going on?

More importantly, was the grid still on? Only one way to find out. Looking around, he spotted two men nearby, one of which would work perfect for what he had in mind. Nearly a full feet smaller then himself, black T, jean work suspenders. Grinning, he pushed himself through the crowd to the man.

One moment, he took hold of the man’s neck and suspenders. The next moment, he tore the man trough the crowd, towards the grid. The plan was simple. Step one; dump the man on the grid. Step two would depend on whether or not the man got fried.

Spoiler:

Freddy was looking around for the metal when suddenly he was in the air, carried by herculies. He let out a yell as he was hurrled towards the grid. Luckily for him, the man was very VERY strong. "AHHHH" Freddy had a whole three seconds airborn to try and think of a way to save himself. He could only think of one way. His hands, protected by the gloves touched the ground first, safe, his feet kicked against the wall, and he was stuck. In more or less a very strange looking headstand. He was praiseing himself for being alive at the same time wondering if he could hold himself up like this for more than a minute or two.

A full second later a static snap sounded, and the light flipped back on...only to blink hesitantly off again.

Freddy heard the snap, watched the lights go off slowly afterwards, he knew that it likely meant that the power on the floor was also being shut off, but he had no way of knowing if it'd come back on. He didn't have much of a choice, he flipped his legs down as far out as possible, rolled on to his feet and dove for th safty of the real floor. "Comeing through!" He anounced as he sprung hoping to make if safely to the real floor

So. Off and on huh?

Useless. Utterly useless. Might as well be on full time; no one was about to risk his neck on a floor that could fry your brain at any time. Patron scowled as his test subject finished his theatric headstand with a jump that would make a one legged toad weep tears of shame.

Damn. He needed to get to that door, but there was no real way to get to the door without playing Nexxin roulette. Patron stalked the line, given ample of space by the terrified crowd around him. Perhaps if he grabbed a few more and turned them into a bridge… did human bodies convey electric currents?

He briefly looked at the charred body, grinned and turned to the crowd, looking for his next test subject.

Freddy was a bit sore but alive, and clinging to the floor. Half off, half on. He grunted, his body a bit tired from the acrobatics but managed ot pull himself up to safety. He looked up at the herculian fool who had some how managed to help him out. "Thanks." He called happily and took a deep breath he turned and examined the edge of the partially open door. Now this he thought he could handle. Find a way to open the door. He licked his lips in anticipation and examined what he could see through the hole and find out what he could reach. He was certain that if he had tools it'd be no problem, but at least it was partially open to start with.

ZAP…

Every muscle in his body spasmed and Patron saw his life flash before him as he stumbled onto the fence. Aiming for the corpse, his last hope, he missed. Life, death. Such trivial things. If he was going to survive this, he would show whoever was responsible for the creation, attaching and control of the damned device just how fleeting life could be.

Surprisingly enough, he actually survived. He was even allowed a moment of confused gapes before he rushed towards the charred corpse, praying to some nameless god bodies DIDN’T conduct. Sure enough he reached the body, and the moment he got both his feet on the dry, brittle remains, that all familiar hum could be heard. It sounded mpore threathening from his current position.

Patron closed his eyes.

Freddy heard a snap of a shock collar turned to see Hercules stumble out onto the field and then luckily step onto a corpse to save himself from being fried. The lights went out. "When the lights go out run, you're a good way here already." He shouted at hercules. "Or..." He said thoughtfully, and looked down at his gloves. A big man like that might be able to walk on his hands. "You any good at acrobatics?"

The fence has left him trembling. Trembling, but alive. Alive. His heart racing, Patron stared at the small man he had used as a projectile. The little bastard was talking to him.

"…any good at acrobatics?"

“Listen, you little piece of trash, either you shut the hell up, or I’m going to use your smoking corpse as a boardwalk.” The insult felt shallow, even to Patron himself. The relieve of not being another carbon based speck on the rotten planet pushed aside all hate, be it only for a moment.

A brief moment too, as the now gray corpse was slowly giving way under his feet. Swallowing hard, Patron tried to think happy thoughts for a moment; the donuts he had eaten, the girls he had had, the good stuff, before launching himself at where the man was standing.