Chapter Seven

Upon closer inspection of the tablets, Jacron noticed the people were voting on the next person by face. While they were scrolling through, Jacron saw one person greyed out and saw Masa's face not too far from the odd one. "Ooo! A new one has been added!" One of the people shouted. Several others shouted in agreement before pressing her face. The crowd thickened around the tablets, so Jacron couldn't see them.

They both heard several buttons being pressed, several dings going off before a timer buzzer went off. A voice came from the overhead, "Next girl is our newest addition! Please give a grave welcome to Masa!" The crowd roared as two large men threw Masa onto the stage before exiting.

Soon, after they left, Masa got up and started pounding on the glass, looking faces to other faces, looking for hope. She saw a familiar face in the back of the crowd and her face lit up with glee. Jacron lowered his stance and unsheathed his sword. One of the people heard it and turned around. Without hesitation, Jacron decapitated him, sending his head rolling to the ground. His body soon followed as all the rest people moved to the walls, opposite of either of Jacron or Dain.

Masa cheered and took a few steps back as Jacron pointed his sword at the glass and pressed the trigger and the blade fired a shell. The glass shattered, and Masa jumped out, cutting her feet on the broken glass. Jacron and Masa embraced each other.

"Did they hurt you?"

"Y-yes. They were fairly brutal with their treatment, except the one who brought me." Jacron scowled at the men as the bodyguards came back into the room. Jacron fired a shot at both their door control panels, making them unable to open once more. He motioned Dain and Masa to the elevator and they walked onboard.

They looked back to Jacron who was going around and pressing one of the buttons and placing a very high cash amount. The buzzer dinged, and several pipes filled the stage. The people began to scramble towards the elevator, which had already closed with Jacron and friends inside. Just as Jacron pressed the next button on the elevator, a voice on the other side chimed, "Great selection! Gas Chamber, here we go!"

They went down another level, each yielding the same result as the last. Unfortunately, they had to watch a few die as they escorted bunches up at a time. Jacron had no problem at setting the entire room on fire. Using the same strategy as the floor before, he selected the same punishment and tossed a match at one of the pipes before leaving. One guy got on the elevator for a second before Masa picked him up with one arm, cut his legs’ tendons and threw him back in the room.

At the last floor, they noticed there were no more girls able to be selected on the tablets. The room was actually empty save for one girl on stage. She gave Jacron a dirty look and spat at him, but landed on the window. "That's no way to say thanks, but I'm not one to judge preferences." He said before tapping his sword on the glass and slowly inserting it.

The glass cracked at the point and the girl leaped back, clearly confused. The glass shattered and Jacron helped her over. She was like all the others, but she was the one greyed out. She was a Mantu, the only one in here as a hostage. She stepped over, hesitantly. "What do you want? You wanna kill me yet? Here to torture? What?" She shouted impatiently. Jacron gently, but forcibly put his hand over her loud mouth.

"Shush it, damsel. We're here to get you out. This place is dumb, so wanna come out alive or just waste away here?" She looked back at the stage and almost excitedly grabbed Jacron's collar and drug him into the elevator with the others. "Hurry up, I got this guy. He's with the bounty squad, but not by choice. I'm their bargaining chip and as soon as he sees that I'm out, he'll going to help out."

"Uh, what's he look like?" Jacron asked. "He's a Mantu, like me, but bigger, slightly bulkier. He's normally gentle with his targets, as I've heard. Instead of taking them in by force, he just drugs them with a special paralysis syringe." "Oh!" Masa intruded, "I know him! He's the guy who actually took me. At least I know he didn't mean it." "Yeah, guess he just wanted you to be safe. For as long as you had left, anyway." Jacron added, looking at the girl.

She blushed a second, showing the slightest smile, but then her expression hardened again, "He’s gotten several people killed because of me... I wish I would've just died to save him from having to do all this." The elevator went quiet for a second before she spoke again, Jacron and Masa not knowing how to respond to her, "It's nice that he cares, though. Anyway, at the top floor, probably the one you guys came in on, there's a door not too far from there. It's the men's holding chambers. They don't care for killing the men in a sadistic game, mostly because they torture them for fun. They keep them alive to entertain. They're not fed or anything. Brendon, my boyfriend I mentioned before, is in there if he wasn't called for a mission yet. Oh, and my name is Lisa. Try to remember that."

The main elevator doors opened and there were fires and sirens going off. Several people rushed by, all men in ragged clothes. "Well, at least some of them got out. Must’ve heard the commotion. C'mon, we gotta find Brendon yet." Lisa added, looking both ways in the hall before stepping out. She motioned everyone else to follow and they did, strolling around the corner just to have Lisa shove them back against the wall as a large platoon of guards ran past the hall.

Lisa leaned out and waited until the men disappeared. Motioning once again to follow, Lisa opened the Male's holding area. The chamber was large and empty. "Crap... Brendon must've been in that crowd." Lisa muttered before Jacron walked in front of her. "Nah, there's someone still here. He's, like, in the corner over there." Jacron pointed to a large sum of chains in a dark corner. There sat Brendon, still chained up and looking at the ground with no expression.

"Brendon!" Lisa shouted as she ran over and almost melted in his arms. Jacron cut the chains off with ease and Brendon happily met her embrace. "How is this possible?" Brendon asked, wiping tears from his eyes. "These guys saved me! They're the reason we're going to get out of here alive!" Lisa cried back with joy. Jacron gave Masa a look and she winked. They shared a giggle before Brendon's face turned serious. "I can't leave yet, though." "Why not?" Lisa said, feeling less sure of herself. "The things these people have done... The things they've made me do... They aren't people. They're monsters. Monsters who can't be left alive." He said, gaining momentum as he stood up. He took one step and fell back to his knee, clearly in pain from hunger. "Here." Masa said as she stepped forward and handed him a bit of scrap food she found on the containment floor. Brendon ate it with clear disgust. "Gross, but thanks." He nodded. "Hey, there's a vending machine out here." Jacron said, leaning into the hallway. "Leave it to Jacron to think about food at a time like this." Masa said, rolling her eyes. He obviously wasn’t tuning in to the conversation Lisa and Brendon were having.

They all approached the machine and Jacron pulled out some prize money. "So, whatcha want?"

"I'll take the Kwazouski."

"You mean that green ball with the candy eye? That's gross, but each to their own, I guess."

"Hey, I like my Kwazouskii, alright? It's an acquired taste." Brendon said. Jacron rolled his eyes as he inserted the cash. It rolled in, slowly then came back out. "Ugh, just take the bill." Jacron said, pushing it back in. It buzzed in then back out. Jacron gave an irritated look to the machine. "Come on, dangit." He grunted as he inserted the cash back in once more. The machine took the cash this time. "Finally." Jacron said, pushing the right buttons for the item. The rotating screws began to go, bringing the Kwazouski towards the front before stopping right before it would've fallen.

"Screw it." Jacron said as he smashed the glass with his hand and manually took it out. "Here you are! One Kwazouski, as you requested." Jacron said triumphantly. After Brendon ate it, he smiled, and they all shared a short laugh before Jacron began feverously taking all the stuff he could and shoving it into his pockets. Masa rolled her eyes again, picking up what she wanted. Afterwards, he picked up the vending machine and threw it out the window. "Now, we are even." Jacron said before they continued.

They rode another elevator up and Lisa turned to Brendon. "Feeling better?" "Yeah, good enough to put a few bruises into Cyprus." Jacron leaned forward between them. "Who's Cyprus?" Lisa turned to him. "Are you dense? He's the leader of Bounty HQ. He created this entire place from scratch." "Oh, right." Jacron responded, feeling stupid.

They reached the top floor without another word and strolled into a lobby-styled room with a receptionist desk, which was empty. There was a door opposite of them where talking could be heard inside. Brendon called over a huddle and the group gathered around him. Masa spoke first, "Okay, the boss is most likely in there, how we should approach this?" They looked at Brendon. "Cyprus is a cruel man. He will no doubt have bodyguards around him, considering the alarms and such going off. We should go through the vents to catch him off guard-"

They all looked up to see Jacron walking through the door. "Well, there goes the plan." Brendon sighed as they ran after Jacron. "Hey, this room is pretty cool." Jacron said while walking in. It gave off a gothic-royalty sense to it. There was a long red rug leading up to an elevated throne that had several screens and computers around it.

A deep voice came from the throne. "Ah, there you are..." Brendon stepped forward, "Cyprus! You will pay for all the pain you have caused! All the people you have killed!" Jacron leaned out from behind him, "Yeah and, uh, someone broke your, uh, entire building." Cyprus gave a short, deep chuckle. "Are you forgetting that I have your Lisa still trapped here? I can kill her any second if I so please. Just because you had a riot doesn’t mean she’s safe. So, unless you want her dead, would you be so kind as to go back to your holding chamber. Actually, You know what? Kill these intruders. Kill them or I'll kill her." He let out another laugh before becoming surprised that Brendon was smiling.

"Do you want her to die? Have you gone mad? Kill them! Kill them or she WILL die!" Cyprus said, sweat beading down his face. Brendon began to laugh as Lisa walked out from behind Jacron and Masa. "Surprised to see me?" Lisa said, pointing a finger into her cheeks. "I should've known you would've been the first target out. To get HIM on your side and fight ME! I'm not surprised at the fact you're here. I'm surprised that even with this little 'strategy' you managed to come up with, you'd come to challenge me!" Cyprus boasted.

Jacron leaned out again, "Yeah, um, that part was a mistake. I just wanted my friend and to go, but Brendon," Jacron looked back at him, "that's his name, right?" Masa was already pinching her forehead and slowly nodded, "Yeah, Brendon just wants you to die because of some personal grudge or something. Me 'n' Masa are just here for the ride, oh and loot the place." Jacron finished, rubbing his hands together and looking around.

Cyprus scowled and motioned his guards to attack. There were about seventeen total and they were all looking like they were fresh out of Steroid Milk. Sadly, they were all Machans and that particular race has never been known to stand up to Cunes or Mantus very well. The bodyguards charged and the group of opposing five branched out. "Everyone take three!" Masa shouted. "What about the last two? Never mind, I'll take 'em." Jacron said, taking on the set. "Everyone stay alive and don't get hurt too bad!" Lisa shouted. Dain scoffed as he went towards the set on the left. "Don't plan to, so that means you gotta make it out too!" Brendon shouted, taking the middle. Lisa stuck with Brendon and Masa with Jacron as they took on the crowd.

Jacron and Masa stood back to back as the few gathered around. The first two charged on both sides. Jacron tackled the one going for him and Masa did the same for the other one. As Masa got up, one of the guards came up behind her, ready to attack. Jacron got up and swung his blade all the way back and fired a shot as a booster to speed up his attack. The shot hit Masa's attacker and he fell to the ground, blood slowly oozing out of his back.

He let out a little grunt and tried pulling himself to the side before passing out short of the wall. Masa giggled a bit before taking on the next one, who swung early and cut Masa's lower calf. She let out a short gasp before cutting the guy up, landing several slashes to the face and making him go blind. Jacron was about to engage the last one before his leg suddenly exploded.

He fell to one knee and looked over to Cyprus, who was laughing and holding a smoking cane. "I saw that little injury you had there, and I just couldn't resist!" Jacron scuffed as he tried to put weight back on his leg, but couldn't get it to move. A bodyguard stood above Jacron, ready to swing. Masa turned around to see the guy swing his augmented arm down towards Jacron. She let out a scream before there was a loud clash.

Jacron managed to block it just in time, but couldn't move from his spot. The bodyguard didn't let up, swinging at Jacron several times. Jacron was barely blocking them as he managed to slowly hop backwards on his good leg. Masa tried to help, but was occupied with her last bodyguard who wasn't about to let her go. "Jacron, NO!!" Masa screamed as the bodyguard disarmed Jacron and moved in for the final strike.

Dain ran towards his group of thugs and took out the first with a solid dropkick to the face, knocking him out instantly. The other two turned around to see their friend flying through an opposing wall and turned back to Dain. He gave them a smug shrug and put his blade for the next round. The two swung in unison, making it hard to block attacks from both of them. Dain took several steps back, making distance while blocking constant attacks. They both lunged for a forward stab in which Dain jumped and landed on their swords.

They both swung up and he used their momentum to propel him high up before coming back down. The guards raised their swords, aiming for an easy kill and kept their form steady. Dain twirled in the air before beginning his decent. He exhaled slowly and two flaps on either side of his sword opened to reveal a syringe on either side. They fired a dark, glowing liquid which began to melt the tip of the guards' blades.

It stopped fast enough to make the swords weld together and he stood atop them. The two guards tried to get the swords unstuck from one another, but before they could get a good pull, Dain kicked one square in the face. As the one let go of his side of the sword, Dain grabbed the top of it and swung it down on the other one, making a clang on the other's head. They both fell to the ground and Dain stood up to see Jacron losing his battle fast. He began to move in.

Lisa and Brendon made it their mission to take out the center group. The guards charged them, and Lisa raised her talons up and Brendon lowered his. Lisa ran towards Brendon who launched her into the air. The guards stopped and looked up at Lisa, preparing their stance. "Don't look at her." Brendon said, closing the distance fast on the ground. The guards looked at Brendon and began to panic. They looked at one another and nodded. The two on the outside raised their swords up to Lisa in unison and the other one pointed his at Brendon. Brendon used his Mantu blades to swipe away theirs, making a path for Lisa. Brendon wrapped his arm around the middle guard and threw him, who was previously looking at Lisa, straight to Cyprus. Lisa parried the two remaining guards and choke slammed them by surprise. The remaining two guards got back up quickly, arcing their blades in unison towards Lisa. Brendon tossed Lisa aside as he blocked both guards.

Lisa looked over to see Cyprus stand up and fire a shot, exploding Jacron's leg. She looked back to Brendon and then to Jacron. She stood up and ran towards Jacron just as Brendon cut off the other two guards' legs. Jacron's sword flew out of his hand and clattered to the ground. He held up his arm in a vain attempt to guard the final strike. Just before it landed, Lisa stepped in front of Jacron.