[00:00:42 21 Jun 2070 - Inside Room 5]
Background count: Aztech 4

Alyena's assensing reveals that Warder is surrounded by an elemental barrier of water. Anyone who touches it will be in for a bad time.
She finishes weaving the counter spell that will damp down any of Warder's magic and, hopefully, help to protect her companions in this room.

Got to get that ward down before Bjeorn finishes playing with the guards she thinks if he tries clawing Warder before I do it's gonna hurt!

A tendril of smoke flows out from Alyena's aura and claws at the barrier but with little effect. A small spark of lightening flashes irritably within the smoke.

This time a ball of spark filled smoke speeds across the room and smashes a hole in the ward

Better

A second follows it, cracks appear but more will be needed.

[00:00:42 21 Jun 2070 - Stairs to ground floor]
Background count: Aztech 4

Fearghas let his syringe-gripping hand fall slowly to his side as the Psyche drug worked its own chemical brand of magic in his bloodstream. He felt his mind quickly becoming hyper-aware, little details around him suddenly standing out crying for focus and attention. As the drug moved further through his body and he set up his usual spell defenses, he heard automatic fire from the floor above, and the pixie Arren went dark in their mindlink. He quickly made up his mind that these Aztech security forces needed to be dealt with quickly, and by a somewhat more experienced hand.

Fearghas pressed lightly off the floor and flew quickly up the stairs, keeping close to the ceiling. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, he immediately noticed three things - the team of six security guards mentioned by Mandala, the feeling of anxiety and nausea typical of a strong background count, and the resulting sharp reduction in power of his foci and all of his spells. No time to deal with it now, old boy! he thinks, as he rushes at one of the generic security guards, speartip first. The guard hardly has time to stumble back bloodily from the fierce impact of the hit before the floating elf swings the blade to his left, into the neck of a second guard, and begins to retreat back down the stairs and out of the domain on the ground floor.

~~ML~~
You know, it would probably be a good idea to cleanse this area right about now. It's not like these nahualli boys need any more home ground advantage than they already possess, and this bloody domain is crippling my defenses. He smiles briefly, recalling that they are in a teocalli being pumped full of blood. Pun only half-intended.
~~ML~~

[00:00:31 21 Jun 2070 - Storeroom opposite 27a/Security Node]

Ryl strained her senses, her programs working frantically, to little avail to try and detect Jonathan or Zero lurking here in the node with her. It seemed they continued to elude her for now...

{JONATHAN, YOU KNOW YOU ARE FIGHTING FOR THE WRONG SIDE. YOUR DAUGHTER IS HERE<embeded 10Mps of file> AND THEY WILL NEVER LET YOU GO <embedded 1Mps of file>. HELP US AND THIS TEAM <embedded 1Mps of file> WILL START THE RUN TO FREE YOUR DAUGHTER}

Another leaf...and so Jonathan is a potential ally if he can be shown the right path? Taking a risk, Ryl brought Garyn into the node to defend her and then dropped her stealth program...her icon coallesing in a glorious rush of constellations until she stood in her majesty in the central clearing of the node...

<<Jonathan? Perhaps we can help each other...?>>

[00:00:39 21 Jun 2070 - ground floor hallway]
Background count: Aztech 4: Force 6

Mandala halts his rush to Aren as the power of the mystic adept becomes apparent to him. He positions himself astrally between the force heading to the stairs and Aren behind them. Both of the astral entities study each other, momentarily surprised by the chance encounter. This one must be that warrior, Zeia. She is trouble, and must be dealt with immediately. Mandala thinks.

[00:00:42 21 Jun 2070 - ground floor hallway]
Background count: Aztech 4: Force 6

Mandala covers himself in the wall, leaving only a small portion of his astral self visible to Zeia. He gathers the mana around him and hurls a bolt of energy at the adept, only to see it fizzle in the protective aura of the spirit bound to the mystic. Oh oh.

In return Zeia leaps over her minions, drawing her sword in mid-leap and slashes Mandala viciously. Only herculean effort on his part combined with the wise cover ploy keeps him from being torn to shreds by her attack. What is this creature?

Taken aback by the ferocity of Zeia's attack, Mandala considers retreat. He has used all of his power and cunning and she is undamaged, while he is deeply hurt. The logic at the beginning of this encounter still holds, though, and Mandala throws the last of his energies into another blast of mana at Zeia.

This one connects! Just as she gathers herself for another leap at him, his magic tears through her aura, sundering it and hurling her back against the wall. The guards with her are stunned, for to them she has been fighting thin air, and now is knocked unconscious and bleeding to the floor.

Done. Now to Aren. Mandala rushes up the hall and turns the corner, homing in on the fading aura of his friend. Oh, little one, you don't look so good. Let's see what we can do about this state of affairs. Mandala materializes by Aren's side in order to heal him, taking once again the form and aura of the reactor technician.

[00:00:42 21 Jun 2070 - Aztec Pyramid Local Matrix]
<System 8 Firewall 8 Analyse 8 Biofeedback filter 8 Reality Filter 8 Armour 8, Unknown program 1 5 Unknown program 2 5>

<<This is an unexpected event. Allow me a few moments to consider.>> Jonathan looks at Garyn <<Nice agent>>

Another leaf drifts into his hand YOU DON'T HAVE LONG. THEY ARE COMING FOR ANGEL

It looks like Jonathan has found Ryl, as he turns and locks eyes with the no longer hidden Icon <<What would you do in my place?>>

[00:00:42 21 Jun 2070 - Inside Room 5]
Background count: Aztech 4(3)

English
Throalic

Marduk reaches out and picks the ornate dagger up, tendrils of magic reach out from it reaching for his mind, but Marduk beats them down hard. After a moment or two of looking around.

<<Ladies and Gentlemen, I have good news and bad news.>>

"Bjeorn, kill this idiot already, we've got much bigger problems"

<<Ril, when this is done, can you get me an account on that Shadowland board you like so much. I seriously need to vent>>

Marduk places a hand on the little magical tacnet, as he continues to send a quick update over the commlinks. <<Bad News: Tenzacatetl AKA Xipe Topec is almost certainly the one powering the main ward. Xipe Topec is actually Ysgarthe(I think), And he's just created 6 Cadavermen he's sending our way.>>

<<Good News is: I've found some very useful items, but I need to stay in this room for a couple of minutes to figure it all out.>>

Focusing on where he knows Mandala and Aren were, Marduk opens up his Astral Perception to the corridor. Marduk's astral presence dimly appears before Mandala "Mandala, Cadavermen are coming. We've hit a glitch, talk to Ryl."

[00:00:42 21 Jun 2070 - ground floor hallway]
Background count: Aztech 4: Force 6

Marduk? What on Earth or elsewhere is going on? How are you doing this? Cadavermen or not, I must tend to Aren. Where are they coming from?

[00:00:43 21 Jun 2070 - Inside Room 5]
Background count: Aztech 4(3)

English
Throalic

Marduk's shadowy translucent form smiles. "Warder has the entire pyramid linked to this simulcrum in his office. I am interfacing with it, like Ryl does with her little abacus. It apparently allows one to project anywhere in the pyramid. You can cast spells from here to anywhere, although I would not recommend doing so, as it appears to be a two way link. The Cadavermen are just now leaving the Temple, and heading towards the research floor where Alyenna, Bjeorn and I are. We really need the mindnet link resumed, as quickly as possible. I have found a way to disable the main Wards, I think. But we're going to need to buy ourselves time."

[00:00:45 21 Jun 2070 - ground floor hallway]
Background count: Aztech 4: Force 6

"Interesting toy you found, Marduk. Take care it doesn't eat your soul. I have to heal Aren as much as possible and take him to a place of safety. If the task in Room 5 is completed by the time I finish here and come by with Aren, we can all go down to 27A. I can only cast the spell on those I can see. Once so connected, we can consider how to deal with the outer ward, no?"

[00:00:45 21 Jun 2070 - ground floor hallway]
Background count: Aztech 4: Force 6

Mandala draws mana through the poisoned sieve of the pyramid and channels it into Aren, closing bullet wounds and stemming the flow of blood, but doing little else to rouse his fallen friend. Sorry, little one, that's the best I can do right now.

He scoops his friend into his arms, clutching Aren to his breast like a mother with her newborn child, and lets loose his spiritual energy, flying like the wind down the corridor, over the heads of guards unable to track him at such a speed, and down the stairs to his allies by the entrance to Room 27A.

[00:00:43 21 Jun 2070 - Inside Room 5]
Background count: Aztech 4

The fight is not going well for Warder. His mighty mind controlling magics are being suppressed, his invulnerable wards are being smashed through, and now there is the threat of actual physical violence upon his person. This is an intolerable situation. To make it worse, some jumped up dwarf is reading his personal notes and touching items that took decades to make .

You don't get to be as powerful as Warder without some tricks up your sleeve though.

As Bjeorn pushes the grenade into the cylindrical forcewall, Warder gestures frantically. Ancient words (some of the them swear words) are heard as he implores the Aztech gods to hear his prayers. There is the flash of the grenade, a blast of fire, a huge amount of noise, and the sound of Bjeorn coughing. The room is now full of smoke, and there is no sign of Warder.

[00:00:48 21 Jun 2070 - basement hallway by Room 27A]
Background count: 0 : Force 9

As Mandala gently places Aren's unconscious body down, he says, "Remember what I am about to say. I will seek out the spatial orientation of this building, in particular the layout of the blood channels that power the outer ward." From long practice, the others know he himself will not remember what he tells them of what the spell shows.

The Cleansed environment down here is a pleasure compared to upstairs. Mana rushes to his call, as if glad to be free of the oppression of the pyramid, and Mandala opens his mind to the varying densities and open spaces throughout the pyramid and even beyond. Everywhere, he searches for the pipes that channel the blood.

He begins to speak.

[00:00:45 21 Jun 2070 - Inside Room 5]
Background count: Aztech 4

Warder casts his spell and Alyena can see it reaching out towards Bjeorn and Marduk.

As it coils around them she counters with the smoke of her astral form. Once again it reaches out and crushes the spell before it can harm her companions. She stands poised to strike again but this time her help isn't needed as they both shrug off the spell's attempts to control them.

Alyena studies Warder carefully. Hmm, looks like he's boosted his speed with spells, lets try to slow him down a little!

This time the tendrils of smoke grasp feebly at the spell surrounding Warder and fail to counter it.

Alyena watches as Bjeorn throws a grenade through the hole in the ward she has created. That's going to be nasty, one minced bad guy! But wait, where did he go!

As smoke from the explosion begins to fill the room Alyena starts to cleanse the area, trying to reduce the interference on her spells.

With only a partial success in the time available she desperately searches for some sign of their foe.

Nothing!

[00:00:4521 Jun 2070 - Inside Room 5]
Background count: Aztech 4

Bjeorn chortles as he drops a grenade inside magical barrier. Bjeorn has seen what happens if you are in a confined space with a grenade, he winces as he remembers the first time in the Spanish Civil war. Chunky Salsa Time! Then it goes crazy. As expected there is a bit of backlash, lots of smoke and noise, but where did Warder go?

"ROAR" goes Bjeorn "Don't think you can hide Warder, I'm coming for youuuu"

Bjeorn begins to sniff, both astrally and mundanely looking for some sigh of Warder

[00:00:42 21 Jun 2070 - Aztec Pyramid Local Matrix]

<<This is an unexpected event. Allow me a few moments to consider. Nice agent>>

Another leaf drifts into his hand YOU DON'T HAVE LONG. THEY ARE COMING FOR ANGEL

<<What would you do in my place?>>

Ryl replies,

<<I don't know precisely what your place is here but I understand the difficulties of working under duress. If they are holding your daughter against you then I believe I would seek allies to help me out of an intolerable situation! Perhaps we can be those allies, along with ZERO who already seems to have taken things in hand... As he says, we don't have long. We cannot permit them to harm Angel, it would cause irreparable damage! Will you help us?>>

Whilst she does this she simultaneously casts her mind to finding the walking abominations that Ysgarthe has sent against them. She shudders at the very thought of that name...

<<Please, help us and we can aid you in turn. My friends and I have power and allies on the way but the situation is grave. Without wishing to sound overly melodramatic I think I can say without reservation that the fate of our worlds could rest on the turnings of today's events...>>

[00:00:45 21 Jun 2070 - Ground Floor]

The guard hit first was launched backwards by the immense force of Fearghas's blow, into the wall behind him and down to the floor. He does not get up. Two other guards raise their guns and let off a stream of bullets at Fearghas, while the third moves backward and tries to maneuver into a position where he has a clear shot at the elf without the risk of shooting his compatriots. "Those who live by the sword are killed by those who live by the gun," he shouts with all the confidence and bravado of a man blindly and violently loyal to Aztechnology as he takes aim.

Spotting the guns being raised and trigger fingers moving to embrace their murderous steel lovers, Fearghas quickly shifts into a fully defensive stance (which, considering that he is floating a good meter above the floor, would no doubt be quite a sight for any younger martial artist). The first burst of bullets sails harmlessly underneath him, but the next is aimed right at his chest and neck. He quickly leans backward into the beginnings of a midair back flip, and just in time too; the bullets fly over, and now parallel to, his chest and face - they miss him by no more than a centimeter or two. The rest of them similarly sail harmlessly under and around him. He smiles at the guards.

"Oh, would you like to test that theory, my friend? I'm sure there's more space for us to flex downstairs; 'twould be most spectacular! And then we can have fascinating philosophical discussions about the superiority of bullets over blades, eh?" he says nonchalantly. He is met by a hail of lead as the three guards begin to flee down the hall. He is mildly disappointed.

Well, if THAT'S how you feel about it... he thinks, as he flies back down the stairs and out of the paths of their fire.

Fearghas lands lightly on his feet in the reactor corridor, glad to be out of the potent domain above him.

[00:00:45 21 Jun 2070 - Inside Room 5]
Background count: Aztech 2

"Oh no you don't" Bjeorn mutters. "You aren't getting away that easy". Bjeorn pops a couple more of the grenades, sighs when he realised they are only flashbangs, then drops them down after Warder.

There is a WUMPH! noise, then a SPLAT noise, and the magical barrier warding the way in collapses.

"Hmm" Bjeorn thinks aloud "Probably a bad idea to go unconsious while shapeshifted in a place that is to small for you".

Grinning evily he heads out of the room, lifting up the huge codex as he goes.

[00:00:45 21 Jun 2070 - Inside Room 5]
Background count: Aztech 2(0)

"Bjeorn, Alyena, wait. We need these things before we leave." Marduk grumbles, "I wish I had more time to examine everything." Marduk rips off one of his sleeves, and quickly turns it into a belt to tuck the dagger into.

Taking off the rest of his shirt, Marduk makes a makeshift bag out of it. He puts the skull quickly into the makeshift bag. "These might come in handy, if not now. Than later."

Having gathered everything he could, Marduk follows Bjeorn and Alyena down to the storage room where the others were. "Well, the internal Wards are down, but the outside ward is not. Where's Mandala?" he asks, looking around. With precious few seconds to spare, Marduk puts on the most easily accessible forms of armor.

[00:00:48 21 Jun 2070 - basement hallway by Room 27A]
Background count: 0 : Force 9

Mandala, having opened his senses to the whole pyramid and beyond, learns much of the architectural details. He also sees the disappearance of the internal wards as Warder expires. This gives him an idea.

Dropping the Spatial Sense spell, Mandala dematerializes and rises through the pyramid, seeking out the room with a blood pump not protected by the still-extant outer ward. The opportunity to interfere with the flow of blood to the ward is too good to resist.

[00:00:51 21 Jun 2070 - Room 11]
Background count: 5 : Force 5

Arriving in the pump room, Mandala re-discovers the old truism, "If it looks too good to be true, it usually is." In the pump room is a high Force Blood Spirit. Oh dear. And there is an aura to this place he recognizes from old. Horror. Oh shit.

Fight is out of the question. Flight is a good option. But Mandala chooses a third option, possibly as insane as the first. The Blood Spirit seems surprised to see Mandala arrive in astral space near it. Lucky Mandala. As he settles into the astral in the room, Mandala sees the aura of the Blood Spirit, and recognizes instantly the aura of Warder. Ah! An opportunity.

"Welcome, newly freed one, to the freedom I have enjoyed for millennia. Your captor and his fellows no longer oppress you. Here before you is a huge supply of the blood for which you hunger. Blood which they denied you. May I help you access it?"

[00:00:51 21 Jun 2070 - Room 11]
Background count: 5 : Force 5

The Blood Spirit looks at Mandala for a second, and then dismisses him, diving into the pump, possessing it. It begins to absorb some of the blood as it passes through. The rest continues on.

Not enough.

Mandala materializes and studies the pump. Ah! He jerks a wire away from the outflow control assembly, the pump shuts down, and... nothing much happens. Ah, the other pumps are taking up the slack. Next he tries to reverse the polarity of the power supply to the motor. A few sparks fly this time as he connects the wires, and a bit of a tingle in his fingers, but things start happening. Flow reverses, halts, returns again, then reverses more strongly. Just to make sure, Mandala disables the governor on the pump.

Blood begins to back up and pool in the pump. Mandala senses joy and gratitude from his new found 'friend'.

[00:00:54 21 Jun 2070 - Room 11]
Background count: 5 : Force 5

"Eat heartily, Liberated One. When you are done, if you don't feel like taking revenge on those who dominated you, you are free to go home."

Mandala dematerializes and heads back to his allies in the basement.

[00:00:57 21 Jun 2070 - hallway by room 27A]
Background count: 0 : Force 9

Mandala arrives astrally back on the basement level by the door to 27A. The Horror construct is as ugly as ever, but the binding spell using its name is working. Its frenetic waving of cilia and tentacles settles.

[00:01:00 21 Jun 2070 - hallway by Room 27A]
Background count: 0 : Force 9

Mandala materializes by the rest of the team at the door. "Enemies are on the way. The others are running interference. I have attempted to disable the pumps that supply blood to the strange outer ward, but I am not sure it will work." He describes what he did, making sure to mention the blood spirit.

[00:01:00 21 Jun 2070 - Basement Store Room]
Background count: 0

<<Jonathan, there are combat drones advancing on us...can you ping me the node location? It will take too long to hack them individually and Angel needs us to be in one piece if we are to help her...

ZERO, are you here? Can you help me with these drones? They represent an asset if we can turn them...>>

[00:01:00 21 Jun 2070 - Inside Room 5]
Background count: Aztech 4

Another leaf drifts across Ryls vision. This one has written on it GREMLIN HAS THE DRONES. THEY WILL NOT LAST LONG AGAINST MAJOR NOPALTZIN. YOU MUST SAVE ANGEL, OR ALL IS LOST. THEY ARE COMING TO TAKE HER TO THE TEMPLE.

Jonathan is relaying the cameras...

Jonathan's wife secure residential area
Two guards collapse on a watch tower with arrows sticking through their necks. A grappling hook magically positions itself on the top of a wall.

Basement:
Ambrose calls out "Open I command you Bjangeir", and the sound a rusty door opening slowly SCRREECCCHHH.

Storeroom
5 Dobermen with Ingram White Knights trundle forward. Flanking them are 5 Nissan Hoverdrones with lighter Ares crusaders. They move towards the door of the storeroom seemingly ignoring the people they are passing.

Security room:
"OK you miserable wretchs you are ready to die fighting the intruders to this Pyramid. The intruders are better than you, and many of you will die. If you run I will kill you, and kill you again. We will move in with spirit support, so we will be moving quickly, we will be difficult to see, and spells will not work very well against you. Team A I want you to lay down suppressing fire. Team B you are all to target the individual that I designate. We will kill them one at a time. " Major Nopaltzin is giving his motivational speech to his men. He/She is around 7 feet tall, wearing full sexless military armour. A vindicator mini-gun is supported by a gyro mount, and held loosely in his two hands. Twin swords are strapped across his back. A large flamer "pistol" is attached to his belt. Little can be seen behind the visor.

Floor 2:
The cadaver men lurch their way towards the stairs, covered by the machine gun nests manned by three troops each.

[00:01:00 21 Jun 2070 -Basement Store Room]
Background Count: 0

"I think I should go with Ambrose into room 27A. Alyenna, I have this excellent Communication device Aria has provided me with. When you get to the Pumps, let me know and we'll figure out a way to stop the blood flow. Certain chemicals can be combined to force the blood to coagulate and give this pyramid a massive coronary."

He winks at her, as he tucks the skull in, like a football. <<Ryl, can you do something about these puppies? I have to get to Ambrose and that door.>>

[00:01:00 21 Jun 2070 - Aztec Pyramid ]

Bjeorn looks around in the storeroom. From what the others are saying it sounds like troops will soon be here. Bjeorn is going to stay and fight, but someone needs to go and rescue angel. From the map of the pyramid, it looks like there are priest quarters directly above him. So maybe the priests are in, and maybe they are in the temple...one way to find out.

Moving a tabble, Bjeorn focus's his magic, and strikes at the roof. Once twice thrice. With the third blow, the concrete begins to give way, and he begins to tunnel his way through the concrete.

[00:01:00 21 Jun 2070 -Basement Store Room]
Background Count: 0

Alyena has executed a strategic withdrawal from Warder's room back down to the basement. Looking round the store room, as she hastily dons a flak jacket, a plan begins to form. All the cleaning products and other chemicals trigger memories of times and conversations past.

"Hmm, some of these will not be good for the blood flowing round the ward. Though Mandala has disabled one pump, it doesn't seem to be enough."

"Marduk, can you tell me which chemicals to take? I'll follow Bjorn up through the ceiling and find a pump to feed them too!"

As Marduk directs her, Alyena grabs bottles and cartons from the shelves. Juggling these she stands below the hole Bjorn is tearing in the roof, once again coughing as the dust swirls around her.

[00:01:03 21 Jun 2070 -Basement Store Room]
Background Count: 0 Force:9

Mandala prepares to deal with the drones. Their firepower should have little effect on him, in his estimation. He summons mana and weaves it into invisible 'hands' of force, and is about to proceed to start messing with the drones when he sees Bjeorn hammering his way through the roof of the storeroom.

"Bjeorn. Why are you doing that? Enemies will be coming down the stairs momentarily."

[00:01:03 21 Jun 2070 -Basement Store Room]
Background Count: 0

Ryl reaches out with her mind and speaks to her compatriots

~The drones are being controlled by a friend of sorts, they will try and delay the Aztechs and give us a chance to deal with 27a and stop the sacrifice from taking place~

[00:01:06 21 Jun 2070 -Basement Store Room]
Background Count: 0 Force:9

"I've missed a lot, it seems. What sacrifice? Where?"

[00:01:03 Jun 2070 - Main Security Room - Aztec Pyramid]
Jonathan <System 8 Firewall 8 Analyse 8 Biofeedback filter 8 Reality Filter 8 Armour 8, Unknown program1 5 Unknown program2 5>

<<Looks like he will be coming soon. I have a prepared virus for their tacnet, but the Major is a better hacker than I am, so it won't last long: and he will know my work, so he will come for me afterwards. Tell me when you want the virus activated.

I've been watching the second floor and it looks like Camaxtli with a couple of guards are going to collect sacrifices. They keep their 'special' sacrifices their. Some serious mojo is about to happen.

Those walking corpses...sheesh how did I ever get to work with these people...are now on the first floor...I think the Major doesn't know about them, as he is about to get in their way: good thing the primary tacnet is down, or they would be coordinating.>>

Jonathan feeds you the camera to the main security room:

"OK man, the time for talk is over, the time to die is here. Ohtli, Tlacalel active your spirits. Ready? 5..4.."

[00:01:03 Jun 2070 - Basement - Aztec Pyramid]

The hoverdrones explode away flying at their maximum speed indoors heading up the stairs. It takes a drek hot rigger to fly down these corridors at this speed, and to do it with 5 at once... The doberman's split. Two move to the end of the corridor outside the door to 27a, their Ingram White Knight's pointing towards the stairs. The other three are ready in the door way to the store room, out of sight from the corridor with the door closed.

[00:01:03 Jun 2070 - Basement Storeroom- Aztec Pyramid]

Marduk analyzes the supplies around, and helps Alyena put together something suitably mucky for the blood pipes. "If you can get this into the pipes, that should gum them up pretty well. It'll be like throwing clots in the human body. They'll get stuck and jam everything and hopefully cause this Pyramid to have a stroke."

"I have to make my way over to Room 27A, see what's in there. See everyone on the otherside of this thing." He prepares himself for the coming confrontation, as he walks quickly towards Room 27a. "Alyena, that book is a Magical TacNet, use it."

[00:01:06 Jun 2070 - Basement Storeroom- Aztec Pyramid]
background count:0 Force: 9
Well, it looks like the hole is for getting at the pumps, and those two seem to know what they are doing. Defend 27A, I guess, is the order of the day for me. Folks are a bit busy to charge me up, so I will have to make do. Hmmm... there are a lot of pieces of armour in her, and a cross-fire seems like a good setup.

Mandala readjusts his appearance and aura to that of the reactor tech. Confusion might help. He dons an armoured vest. He casts a spell to detect enemies in the area, to best decide when to spring an attack. Of course, the drone controller may have other ideas.

[00:01:09 Jun 2070 - Basement Storeroom- Aztec Pyramid]
background count:0 Force: 9

Mandala speaks to the others in the storeroom. "You guys go ahead and do what you were going to do. I'll just hang out here by myself with the drones and get some weaponry."

~~ I don't know if that mental link is still up, but if it is, know there is an enemy in the storeroom, behind the grenades. Let me deal with the problem. You should not be in here when I do.~~

[00:01:10 Jun 2070 - Room 27A- Aztec Pyramid]
Background Count: Christian 6 | Marduk +2

Ambrose carrying Arlen, and Marduk step into Room 27A, closing the door behind them. For a brief second, they stand in awe.

The floor is carpeted. There is a table with four chairs in the middle of the room. There are yellowing documents open on the table using a gold bird cage (sans bird) as a paperweight.

There are shelves on the wall.On the left shelves are interesting pieces of art work (vases, small paintings), and many beautiful intricate boxes on the shelves: some lacquered, some woodcarved, some inlaid with precious metals. At the back of the room are two large chests, both wooden, bound with iron and multiple padlocks. On the right shelves are books. Lots of books, of different sizes and great antiquity. You note that one of them is written in lizard speech.

Next to the door are weapon racks: old weapons. You see some blood crystal swords, a crystal shield that you haven't seen for thousands of years. Some roman gear: A pilum, some plubata and spatha's. Some more recent late medieval gear: arming swords, large bastard swords. Renaissance: small swords, rapiers. Every one is a foci.

<<Well... what is this a Teran treasure trove? I'm closing the door. Hopefully they can't follow us in. You guys had best go rescue Angel.>>

Marduk moves over to the table and examines the yellowing documents. It's time to figure out what they can do.

[00:01:09 Jun 2070 - Basement Corridor- Aztec Pyramid]

Something clicks in Fearghas's mind. The old warrior has been around the block more than a few times, and he realizes with Mandala's new discovery that they are all in very grave danger. Ha. Grave. How appropriate.

They have three seconds to prevent their own deaths. Fearghas smiles, ever the confident one. He likes those odds.

"Thanks for the gift, Ysrthgrathe old friend. I was starting to think that you actually wanted our corpses by a hand other than your own. Just wait until you sink your teeth into this one. Hopefully it won't gnaw at you too much." He turns to Ambrose's guardian spirit as he retreats backward down the corridor. There are foul, Enemy-touched, cadavermen zombie creatures approaching about two floors up. In front of them are metahuman troops. I want you to possess one of those troops and shoot the corpse-like things. Don't aim to kill, only aim to put at least one bullet in each of them. Once that's done, I suggest you leave. Quickly. That means go now, if not sooner.

~Everyone, while you're working yourselves brain-dead over the situation with the sacrifices, I suggest you get as far from the stairs as you possibly can. Mandala, I suggest you satiate your hunger for your plan and deal with that enemy NOW. I strongly suspect it's a forward scout feeding Nopaltzin intel on where we all are, which means the challenge Nopaltzin poses is very grave indeed. ZERO's plan will probably disintegrate at first contact with the enemy now because of this. Once that's done, well... are you up for a bit of a Pact?~

[00:01:09 Jun 2070 - Basement Storeroom- Aztec Pyramid]
background count:0

Ryl leapt up and caught the rim of the impromptu exit formed by Bjorn, pulling herself up and out...it seemed like there were but moments before this place became terminally unsafe...

...as she did this she cast her awareness of the wireless net around her, trying to pick up any wifi signals from the stores around her...

<<ZERO, Jonathan, the Major is bearing down on us...individually we may be no match for his hacking skills but between the three of us and whatever Agents or Sprites we can gather we can slow his advance and distract him and allow my friends to help Angel. Nobody is so powerful that they cannot be brought low by multiple coordinated attacks! >>

[00:01:10 Jun 2070 - Room 27A- Aztec Pyramid]
Background Count: Christian 6 | Marduk +2

~~Mind Link
My friends, here is a quick tactical rundown you might find useful.

There is a horror in the temple.
There are around 20 guards in the temple.
There is a priest with 2 guards and 2 spirits, walking down the corridor on the second level. They are slightly weaker than us.
There is a bit of haze over the room where Angel is, butI cannot see anything magically significant.
They are using the sacrifices to summon powerful spirits, so far they have 5 more powerful than us.
The pyramid's wards are under serious attack. But they are regenerating all damage as it occurs.
The demon in the door is...unpleasant.
There is a bit of a haze over the security area, so its hard to see precisely, but there are about a dozen tiny bound spirits there.
The cadaver men are two rounds away
The Machine gun nests are all guarded by a spirit with less magic than us.

Mindlink~~~

[00:01:10 Jun 2070 - Matrix - Aztec Pyramid]
[Pilot 8, Response 9, Firewall 9, Armour 8, Shield 8]

ZERO DOES NOT FIGHT. I FIGHT. I AM SPIKE. YOU HELP ANGEL GET FREE. I HELP YOU.

These words are spoken by a monstrous form that morphs out of the floor, like the scene from the old 2D movie Terminator 2. It ends in this form. It is clear that this is not the smartest piece of software you have met, but it looks tough. In fact it looks seriously tough.

YOUR SYSTEMS WEAK. NEED UPGRADE.

Sparks fly from Spike towards Ryl's icon, and a layer of metal forms over Ryl's exterior.

WE FIGHT MAJOR NOW. ZERO SCARED OF MAJOR. GREMLIN SCARED OF MAJOR. MR CHIPS SCARED OF MAJOR. I AM NOT SCARED OF MAJOR

[00:01:09 Jun 2070 - Basement Storeroom- Aztec Pyramid]
background count:0

Finally the cascade of information from his teammates... mindlink, shouts, hints in humourous code... started to coalesce for Mandala into a picture of the action in the pyramid.

What a fool I am. But a lucky one. I bumped into one major enemy and thwarted her. I stumbled onto one of their blood beasts and turned it on them. Now I discover a scout and drive him right into the arms of almost half our team. They don't need me to deal with him. The Major is coming here. Let there be none of us here. I now know where this 'Angel' is, and a priest with troops is headed for her. These priests do one thing here, and I bet she will be used to power the ward or summon something special.

The Boss priest won't be coming for her. one of his lieutenants will. Warder is gone, so it is either Snakehead or Spirit Bane. Just my turning luck it will be the latter, but the others are busy. Only I can get to Room 12 quickly, and potentially unnoticed by the spy. See if you can keep up with me, Azzies!

And there goes the clothing, again!

Mandala dematerializes, leaving his just-donned armour behind, and flies at astral speed up two floors to the pump room where his new-found 'friend' feeds.

Beware, Free One. Your oppressors come down the corridor outside. Come! Show the might they controlled is now their nightmare!

[00:01:12 Jun 2070 - Research level- Aztec Pyramid]
background count: 5 Force: 5

Mandala rushes down through the floor, across beneath the second floor, and rises up into room 12.

00:01:06 Jun 2070 - Basement Storeroom
background count:0

So much to do and so little time to do it!

Alyena hastily shoves bottles of chemicals into pockets and drops to the floor. Once again her astral form swirls free of her body.

"Time to summon a little help, I feel" she muses.
Smoke and light weave around her and condense into a Spirit's form, for a moment it struggles against her, then bows to her will.

"I grant you of my power. Aid me in my quest and we can then both be free of this place"
Light skips between their forms and the Spirit swells with new found power, magics flow to its hands.

Alyena watches as Bjorn casually picks up her inert form and throws it over his shoulder.
"Careful!" she winces as her head narrowly misses the edge of the hole.

In a flash Alyena's astral form follows her body to the floor above. She begins to cleanse the area, an action necessary to reduce the background to zero, thereby aiding all of her comrades.

[00:01:06 Jun 2070 - Basement Storeroom][/b]
background count:0

Bjeorn coughs wiping the concrete dust from his mouth. It's a shame its not edible he thinks...dreaming of a giant fish...umm.

Snapping back to reality, he looks round. Only Alyena and Fearghas left downstairs. Fearghas is tough and look after himself, but Alyena is out doing astrally things.

Bjeorn throughs Alyena's unconcious body over his shoulder and bounds up the new vertical corridor that he has just made and prepares to deal with any that follow.

[00:01:13 Jun 2070 - Basement Storeroom - Aztec Pyramid]
[Background: Tainted 4]

As though by magic the door to the store room explodes open and an army of people appear. The arrive in perfect parade ground lines. 4 rows of 5 people abreast. The first two rows kneel and take aim. In the middle of the third row is the cyber-zombie Major Nopaltzin. An impressive figure in clamshell armour. A gyro mounted minigun spinning held in both hands the minigun is spitting lead in a bright cylinder that looks like a death ray. This is clearly what has destroyed the doors, and major begins to walk the line of fire towards the waiting drones . It touches the first, which explodes in a fine display of pyrotechnics. On his shoulder is remotely controlled grenade launcher the size of a mortar. It "phuts" and a grenade lands on another drone. Any sane observer would wince, as the lines of troops are easily within blast range of almost any grenade.

The front two rows of troops begin firing all around the room without care of consideration of what they hit. The back 5 people spin round, kneel and face the ruins of the door, they lay suppressing fire upon the doorway.

The Major clearly believes in shock and awe and this is pretty shocking and awe inspiring.

The two remaining dobermans open fire on the troops. Their fire control is impressive, and even though they are clearly outnumbered, four of the guards on the front row go down.

On the astral plane it is equally unpleasant. The major is cold vortex of hell fire, his hate and vitriol obvious to all. The twisted energies that keep him alive penetrate for many metres around him, creating a fog which is difficult to see through, and distressing for astral forms to be in

A dozen chained and tormented spirits obviously suffering from the long exposure to the Major's horrific form hover around the men. Two of them larger than the rest seem to revel and swell in the Major's presence their foul beings feeding off the hate.

[00:01:15 Jun 2070 - Research level, Room 12 - Aztec Pyramid]
background count: Golden Beauty 4, Force: 6

Mandala materializes in the room, as nothing seems alive here on the astral. The reason becomes clear, as there is an armed drone in the room, various electronic instruments, and some kind of life-support chamber in the room. "Kill", "Sleep", "Wake" and "Hyper" are options on a control panel. Fortunately, they are painted on buttons, not on an electronic display. Mandala looks inside to see to what these options might apply.

As the drone begins firing at Mandala, he is mesmerized for a split second by the beauty and innocence of the child in the chamber.

This one must be protected, no matter the cost.

The bullets prove annoying, but no more than that, though they are making short work of the machinery in the room. I hope they don't hit that one button.

[00:01:18 Jun 2070 - Research level, Room 12 - Aztec Pyramid]
background count: Golden Beauty 4, Force: 6

Mandala looks around the room and selects a likely cabinet, and with his Psychokinesis jams it under the door latch. That should delay them a bit, anyway. Now back to the child. Mercifully, the drone runs out of ammunition. Mandala reaches for the "Wake" button and presses it.

[00:01:10 Jun 2070 - Basement Storeroom - Aztec Pyramid]

3...
The flamboyant Fearghas moves quickly to the back of the storeroom, where Bjeorn has so kindly and gently pushed aside the ceiling tiles to make a path to the first floor. He catches Bjeorn's eye for a millisecond, and that millisecond seems to last forever. They exchange a knowing glance; Fearghas smirks ever so slightly, and winks at the shifter with a spark in his eye; then the millisecond is over, and Bjorn moves up and out of the storeroom with the nethermancer on his shoulder.

2...
The elf turns towards the door and readies himself. ~~Everyone, if you'll excuse me for a moment, I'd like to dance with these Aztechs myself for a bit. This is going to be very risky, I'm sure, but hey, what's life without risk, eh?

Wyrmhacker, Ryl, I need you to hack these grenades in the storeroom for me. I need it now, if not sooner. If it's too far away up there, then send an agent with Exploit to do it from my comm. But I need this done immediately.

Oh, by the way everyone, you might want to avoid the part of the floor directly above the storeroom doorway for the next few seconds.~~
He begins chanting in his racial tongue, "Imar raen. Imar semeraerth. Cirollar Draesis ti'Morel. Imo raeint sa... (I am an elf. I am a Warrior of the Paths. I walk the Wheel of Life. I am true to myself/the people)."

1...
He is in position now. He moves his finger in front of him, and draws an invisible five-pointed star enclosed by a circle in the air. He swishes his hand through it in an arc, and the beginnings of a spell appear in his still-moving hand.

Let's dance, boys.
The door explodes open. The troops and their fearsome major enter. Some of them spot the elf, standing alone in front of them, armed with only a spear. A couple of them look briefly surprised by how easy this will be for them.
He pushes his hand forward and unleashes the spell.

[00:01:10 Jun 2070 - Room 12 - Aztec Pyramid]
[Background: Golden Beauty 4]
[Resonance 2]

<<Angel wakes. Sleepily she looks around. MR CHIPS is there as ever. "It has begun. ZERO's plan is underway. GREMLIN is attacking on the world of atoms, and SPIKE will be attacking on the real world. We need you now. Remember your training, only this time do not hold back. Unlike the training exercises, we must hide nothing. The Major (Angel winces...she remembers the Major from training exercises...unpleasant exercises) is attacking our rescuers on the world of atoms, and without your help our rescuers will be slain. "

"ZERO cannot help you as he is dealing with the Surface to Air Missiles in the world of atoms."

"There is little time to spare...you must go now">>

[00:01:10 Jun 2070 - Room 12 - Aztec Pyramid]

<<The flushing of drugs wakes Angel from her slumber, and the thrum of the network calls to her. The groggieness leaves her mind as MR CHIPS tells her of the plan's progress.>>

No, no, no... not the Major... But I have to... Scary... They'll die if I don't... I can do this.

<<Finally gathering her fragmented thoughts into a composed beginning of a plan, she reaches her consciousness deep into the digital pulse that brings her more awake by the moment. A silent entreaty to the will of the matrix is met with some resistance, but finally is answered as the form of a knight templar appears before her. "Greetings my dear knight, I would be most grateful if you could lend me your shield for a while. A powerful adversary threatens our domain, and I do not think I should face him alone."

Turning back to MR CHIPS, she asks, "Did ZERO give you the Major's accessID? I'll need that if I'm to face him, and it would save time if you already have it. And if you could let our rescuer's know how to get in touch, that would be helpful too." She grins at her long-time companion, reveling in the energy that powers her abilities. Its pulse a siren-call too strong to ignore after such a long rest.>>

[00:01:18 Jun 2070 - Research level, Room 12 - Aztec Pyramid]
background count: Golden Beauty 4, Force: 6

The child's breathing and pulse quicken. Her aura takes on a more natural tone, less connected to the machine. But something is wrong... or different. Mandala sees her essence drift away, somewhere else. Not astral. Strange. Maybe she is one of those who can access the Matrix directly, but he can't be sure.

Well, until she comes back to this world, I will have to wait.

An uneasiness comes over Mandala. Not that he fears the confrontation that is about to come, for he is relatively sure the priest doesn't have his Spirit Formula. And anyway, Buddha has taught us that this existence is a mere illusion. But Banishment is a painful process, and all the philosophy in the world doesn't change the sensation of being torn from one realm and hurled into another.

Fortunately, in this room the Azzies will be disadvantaged as well, though not as much as Mandala is.

He breathes deeply, centering himself. Almost absent-mindedly, seeing the child controlling her own physical being, he pulls the plug on the machine. The enemies' signals in his detection spell come closer to the door. Looks like the Blood Spirit is on my side! Good.

[00:01:18 Jun 2070 - Above the storeroom - Aztec Pyramid]
background count: Aztech 4, reduced powers: Drake powers, attribute boost, photgraphic memory, enhanced perception

Ryl moved away from the hole in the floor to allow Bjorn to engage the hostile coming through after them. With one eye on the battle to avoid any flying claws she engaged herself in finding the link to the Major through the tacnet running beneath her.

In the matrix her glowing icon, now protected by glistening armour courtesy of Jonathan, found the link she was looking for, and wincing at the lack of subtlety, began to strip away at the code to find the access she needed...

<<Ok SPIKE, let's see what we can do to stop this bastard!>>

[00:01:13 Jun 2070 - Above the Basement Storeroom][/b]
background count: Aztech 4

Bjeorn looks somewhat out of sorts as some kind of Aztech Ninja leaps through the smoke and debris, trying to escape through the door.

"Oh no you don't he" he thinks as he unleashes a quick one/two. The Ninja was just to skibbly. "Stand still and be hit" he grunt's, preparing to follow this fast but fragile individual out the door.

Then the sounds of combat started from below. "Decisions. Decisions" he muses, then jumps back down the hole. That was a lot of gunfire from below.