Red VS Blue

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After making her way to room 11B, Crystal stopped and stared at the entrance-- it was a large door, easily big enough to fit a dragon. However, the the blue reptile knew all too well that her dragonic appearance could easily set off or provoke whatever was inside, and the last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself in a restricted area. Making a brief decision, Crystal began to shape-shift: a soft, white light began to envelop her body, causing her form to change. The once-dragon was now a human female, wearing a cyan sweatshirt and a pair of dark blue jeans to match her previous colors, her hair now snowy white with silver streaks. Despite the hair, however, she looked around her mid-20's as far as age went. The only things that remained from her original form was her marcelite amulet and turquoise eyes, which still looked somewhat reptilian.

Still peeking out from behind the corner, Shayn slightly cringed at the sight of Crystal's transformation. What does she need that for? It's not like anyone's going to see her. Well... except for me, of course.

Crystal, who was still unaware of the following Saf and Shayn, opened up the control panel located on the door's side and once again entered the password. The door immediately slid open in an upwards fashion, granting the now-human entry into the room. It was dark inside; a solitary confinement cell with only two security cameras hanging from the upper corners, whose views were locked on the prisoner that was sealed behind a transparent force field. The human Crystal continued to linger just inside of the doorway, careful not to get in the view of the cameras.

Inside of the cell had rather simple decor, most of it consisting of cable wires that hung from the roof. The prisoner contained behind the force field was a giant compared to former dragoness, easily capable of snapping up a man with his jagged mouth. He stood completely motionless; standing upright with arms crossed in a rather defensive manner and his head lowered, preventing what could be considered his eyes from being seen. Any weapons or armor that the creature previously had had been confiscated, leaving him with nothing but the polyward across his cybernetic body and the mask on his face.
Prisoner 11B was no other than Zein.
 
What's so special about this guy? thought Saf, as he had never seen Zein before. Records indicate that he is an avian cyborg by the name of Zein, who has tried to kill Crystal and the entire dragon race more than once in the past. replied Fik. Then why is she visiting him? She doesn't seem like the kind that would gloat. Now I'm really curious, let's see how this plays out. Saf thought to Fik.
 
Not too long ago, the cybernetic raptor had been unwillingly imprisoned at the Centre on Crystal's request. It seemed like the best decision at first, being a practically inescapable keep thanks to advanced human technology, though it didn't take long for her doubt to grow. After all, Zein wasn't exactly known staying in one place for too long, and he had previously shown to be capable of overpowering multiple sentries.

The former-dragoness's reason for being here was simple: to make sure that her enemy was still indeed imprisoned, and to possibly make things a little easier on him. Crystal may have hated his guts (or whatever was left of them), but that didn't stop a lingering feeling a pity and remorse that she had always felt. As soon as she was sure everything was still in place, she would sneak back up to the main hall and prepare for the group's next round.

Suddenly, a red light that was the raptor's eyes flickered to life, giving off a faint glow in the dimly lit room. Raising up his head, Zein looked over to the doorway to face his new visitor(s). "...Back again, are we? I really didn't expect for you to be this persistent." Each word that came out of the bird's beak was rather slow, as if he hadn't spoken to too many people for a long time. Though in this case, he probably hasn't. "You must be very paranoid, aren't you?"

"Yes, well you know how it is," Crystal replied, feeling rather defensive. It was almost eerie how calm her enemy was at the moment, and knowing that he could burst into anger at any moment. "I can't exactly leave you alone for too long. Someone could get hurt." Or you could get out...

Zein simply grinned at this and looked past Crystal, and towards the exit behind. The cybernetic raptor then opened his mouth, briefly flickering his tongue in the air like a snake smelling for nearby prey. "Well if you don't want anyone to get hurt, then you shouldn't have brought any of your friends along. Don't act so surprised-- I can smell them." He then stopped in mid-sentence, slightly tilting his head with curiosity. "Well, who in Hell is it this time? Come on out... I enjoy a good human."

---

"Hey, man... I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry for calling you 'Arnold' earlier," Danny said to Danny, and held out a drink in attempt to make peace with the previously enraged shotgun guy. In truth, he was only a little bit sorry-- the dragon just didn't want to make enemies with the human before their next game. At least, not for now. He saw what the maniac could do on the field, taking down Shayn (with a little aid from the blue dragon, of course), and was fairly impressed by it. "At least we won. No hard feelings, right?"
 
"Alright Fik, this guy's got a pretty good sense of smell, power down the cloaking field." said Saf. "Affirmative, cloaking field powering down."replied Fik. As the field powered down light once again made contact with Saf's armor revealing a 7 1/2 foot tall suit of black armor with yellow markings standing just behind Crystal and to the right. At the same time, Saf's armor's hologram projectors activated, creating Fik's hologram in midair next to Saf's helmet. "So what was that you said about a good human?" Saf asked. "He was likely talking about eating you, and was trying to intimidate you." answered Fik. "I know that, I was trying to be intimidating too, and now you're making me look bad!" exclaimed Saf.

---

Danny took the drink and poured it down his helmet's filters. "Damn this is good, what is it?" the still armored human asked. "It's considerably better than the sarsaparilla I drank back in my home universe."
 
"What? Where did you come from?!" Crystal exclaimed, pointing at Saf and then stepped backwards out of surprise; the former dragoness hadn't noticed nor expected his presence until now. "...And who's the little green guy?" Reaching out one of her hands, she attempted to swat at the floating hologram that was Fik. It's kind of cute, in a small way.

"Your hologram is surprisingly accurate," the cybernetic bird admitted, who was feeling rather amused by Fik's statement on intimidation. Though despite the company, Zein still hasn't moved from his spot. Actually, it didn't seem that he could move much at all-- strapped to his feet were cable chains, keeping him grounded to the cell. "Right now, I would like nothing more than to get out of this cell and slaughter all three of you. Though it's not exactly like I'm able to at the moment," he confirmed, tapping at the force field that was preventing him from exiting. The raptor wasn't even trying to hide his feelings towards the newcomers. Still looking at Saf, a new statement suddenly came to mind: "Who exactly are you supposed to be, anyways? Another one of Crystal's stray dogs?"

All three..? Shayn thought, an uncomfortable knot suddenly forming in his throat. Alright, that's it. I'm out of here! The indigo dragon had briefly met Crystal's nemesis before when he had helped them snag the raptor's armor, and had no intention of trying to do it again. Transforming into a ball of mist, he dashed out of the hallway and headed back to the elevators.

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"Heh, I don't know. I mean, I've never had it before-- the description said it was some sort of Earth beverage called alcohol. I had to buy it from one of those crafting stations over there," Danny said and gestured back to the counters. "Wanna try some more? I'll pay."
 
"Stray dogs? Hardly. However I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Safudor, and I'm a multiversal traveler. This guy here is Fiklonus, a UNSC military grade AI." stated Saf, "And trust me, a slaughter is not how things would end here, but, I am very interested in your armor. If I made power armor like mine out of that material, I'd be unstoppable." "I doubt you would be unstoppable, but you would see a significant increase in damage reduction." replied Fik. "Oh, who cares." said Saf. In any event prep the warp chambers in my ship to send me an assault rifle and a sniper. Saf thought to Fik. Affirmative, preparing warp chambers. replied Fik.

---

"So non-irradiated alcohol really is better then. Too bad my helmet filters keep me from getting drunk." stated Danny. "And what was that about crafting stations?"

---

"Man this burger is really good, I'm going to have to get more!" exclaimed Jazek.
 
"Really?" the raptor began, though it sounded more like a claim than a question. Saf had rather flattered him with this last statement, something that not many people did; he liked it. Finally! Someone who I can hold a decent conversation with. "It's a form of biotech of my own creation: polyward, automatically repairing itself upon damage. There's a few... errors, of course, but nothing that can't be fixed in good time." Zein's pride was starting to get the better of him, spilling a bit of information.

Crystal looked fairly uncomfortable due to the fact that the two were 'getting along' so easily, and especially since her enemy was showing a sudden interest. This usually wasn't a good sign. "I think it's about time we head back... we have a game to catch in a few hours, remember?" she said to Saf and began to tug at his armor, trying to pull him towards the exit. And I still haven't eaten yet... ugh.

"Oh, this is just like you! Of all the people you've brought along, I finally find one that I decently like and what happens? You run away, leaving me here to rot!" Zein screeched, who was beginning to lose it. The cybernetic bird then took a step forward, but the chains attached to his legs prevented him from going very far. Turning his attention towards Saf, "Hum-- I mean, Saf, won't you let me out? Please, I'm dying in here! Quite literally.."

The former dragoness simply shook her head 'no' and inched back out of the doorway, still tugging at her friend's armor.

---

"Yeah, crafting stations. Those silver boxes on the end of the buffet? Apparently you can order certain items that aren't available on the tables, though it takes somewhat longer to get here. And costs a few credits." The blue dragon then pointed at the nearby stations, holding out what looked like a red card of some sort. "Fortunately, Crystal left her pass here with me. Don't tell her I'm actually spending it, though... she'd kill me."

Gem briefly looked over at Jazek upon hearing his statement. "Eh? Whatcha talkin' about?" the pterroct questioned, still lingering around her spot on the table. Her arms were folded against the smooth surface, giving off a rather bored look. "Well whatever it is, could you bring me back one? I still have enough room for another round."
 
"Well, Crystal is right, we have a game soon. But now I'm definitely interested in your polyward, and will come back. Because unlike Crystal here, I have the proper clearance to be down here." replied Saf, "But we have time, so I'll tell you a little bit about my armor. This is MJOLNIR Mark VI power armor made by the UNSC for Project: SPARTAN, a program to train genetically modified super soldiers. Mine has been modified with tech from other universes however, so I've codenamed it GUNGNIR." "Are you sure it was a good idea to tell him that?" asked Fik. "Oh, calm down, will you? Everything will be fine. Anyway, I have to go now, see you later." replied Saf. If I can get more info about that polyward out of him, I can relay that info to The Scientist and he can modify my GUNGNIR armor even further. Saf thought to Fik. Oh I see, your "interrogating" him. Fik replied. "Alright let's go."announced Saf, "Oh, here have this." Saf then had Fik warp a couple of steaks into Zein's cell.

---

"Those crafting stations remind me of the vending machines at the Sierra Madre." Danny replied, "Just insert some Sierra Madre poker chips and it makes things for you. Courier Six told me about how they helped him survive in the place. Oh and if you're curious about what I mean by 'survived' I come from a universe where Earth was destroyed by a nuclear war in the year 2077. Saf found me in the year 2281."

"It's called a cheeseburger, and it's some kind of Human food. But, yeah I'll bring you one." Jazek replied before leaving to get more burgers.
 
The former dragoness slightly blushed and gave off a rather cheesy smile upon 'because unlike Crystal here, I have the proper clearance to be down here'. She didn't like for her lack of privileges to be pointed out, but it was true nonetheless. The only thing she actually had a problem with was Saf coming back here, though that debate would have to take place later.

Zein looked faintly surprised by this. Lowering his fists, he then stepped backwards into his original position, his expression turning into a look of wariness. "You'll be coming back..?" Excellent! Though he would never say it aloud, the raptor indeed was interested in this newcomer's company, even though he probably intended to eat him later and steal the GUNGNIR armor. At least, that's what he usually did. "Well then, I look forward to it." A slight smile had formed across Zein's beak by now, though it wasn't exactly friendly. "And as for you, Crystal, be sure to bring by your friends more often. I'm sure that I could find some sort of use for them.. heh." Leaning against the wall, the raptor held up one of steaks to his mouth and devoured it, not even bothering to chew.

Feeling disgusted and unnerved, Crystal then stormed out of the room, not even bothering to drag along Saf and his (adorable) hologram. I can't believe this guy. He's worse than Noah! she thought to herself, not really specifying which one of the two that she was mad at. Probably both.

---

"Wait... so exactly how old does that make you?" the dragon questioned. As far as he knew, regular people didn't live nearly as long as dragons. "Sounds like you've been stuck there for a long time." Whilst still chatting with his mutually-named friend (or at least he thought), Danny leaned over and poured another shot, handing one of the glasses to the shotgun guy.

"Sweet," Gem grinned and leaned back in her chair, tapping her wing talons of the table and waiting for the blue galaxy to return with their order.
 
"Hey, come on now Crystal! No need to get so huffy!" Saf said while following Crystal out of there.

---

"I wasn't born before the war, dude. I was born in 2251" replied Danny, "It's just that the date that the bombs fell is common knowledge in the wasteland. Oh, and by the way, the Vegas strip is still up and running."

"Alright, here you go!" Jazek said as he gave Gem a burger. He then proceeded to dig in to a pile of burgers that he had brought.
 
Despite Saf's reassurance, Crystal still felt somewhat 'huffy'. Turning back to look at him, she casted a look that clearly wasn't amused. "You better know what you're doing, because I do not want for me or anyone else to go through this mess again," she said and poked her friend in the chest, just to make a point. The former dragoness then continued her way towards the elevators, and pressed the 'UP' button on the side. After entering the password, the door slid open and she stepped inside.

---

* * * * *

"Oh.. sorry," Danny apologized. How was he supposed to know, with all this futuristic techy stuff going around? Suddenly gaining a new idea: "About that Vegas strip... do you think that maybe you could take me there sometime? I could use a good trip." It's more fun when dangerous, anyways. The blue dragon then tossed his empty glass into the trash bin, waiting for the shotgun guy's answer.

The pterroct grinned at her new refreshment. "Thanks!" Gem said and picked up the burger, chomping down on it. Pterrocts, being naturally similar to prehistoric birds, had a few teeth positioned out from the sides of their beaks, helping in food consumption. Though this burger wasn't exactly tough.. "Hey, you're right. This is pretty good," she agreed.

Meanwhile, Shayn had eagerly left the barracks and made his way back to his seat in the cafe. His food had fortunately been left untouched; it was a little cold by now, but nothing that would bother him too much. Man, Drehvir was right. It does pack a kick! Not really sure if I like it that much, though, he thought to himself after taking a bite of durfon. However, the indigo dragon's thoughts soon strayed away after watching as Crystal and Saf re-entered the cafeteria: Oh, there they are... no, don't make eye contact. What they don't know won't hurt them. I was never there...
 
After emerging from the elevator Saf had Fik warp his armor back to the ship. Noticing that Shayn was back in his seat, Saf walked up, "I see you made it back ok." he said low enough for only Shayn to hear. He then walked on to sit back in his seat across from Jazek.

"You'd have to ask Saf, he's the one with the ship that takes him to other universes." Danny replied after pouring another glass of whiskey down his filters.

"I wish I would have discovered these sooner." said Jazek through a mouthful of burgers.
 
Shayn made a face as if he'd just got done witnessing an very awkward situation. Dammit... how'd he know!? After this sly comment, the indigo dragon had lost any remaining appetite that he had left. Getting up from his seat, he dumped the rest of his meal into the trash bin. "I'm going back to the arcade... see you guys at the game," he muttered, feeling somewhat discouraged.

As soon as Shayn left the room another person entered, accidentally bumping into the indigo dragon along the way: it was a human male with messy brunette hair, and deep, brown eyes that looked almost sad. He wore a beige trenchcoat and standard blue jeans, along with simple white T-shirt. He was rather short, at least by male standards (5'4"), and had a small physique. Strapped to his side was a pistol, and what looked like a thin cylinder with buttons laid in his right coat pocket. "Oops. Sorry," the human male awkwardly apologized, though Shayn shot a rather dirty glare at him and simply went on his way. The newcomer then continued into the cafeteria, and a few of the surrounding staff stepped back upon his entering; not out of fear, but more out of respect, though he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he looked almost uncomfortable by this.

It was Noah, the Executive of Alien Relations.

"Good gosh, you would not believe the fuss that the Toru'ki Empire are making right now!" the executive stated and threw up his arms out of frustration, sitting down beside Crystal (who was still in her human form). The two apparently knew each other by the way that he so causally spoke to her-- he had a somewhat Australian accent, though there was a large hint of American in there as well. And, despite being a boss of the Centre, Noah seemed like a fairly laid-back guy.

"Nice to see you too," Crystal replied in a rather sarcastic way, though she was already beginning to recover from her previous mood. This was the person, her friend in a high place that had given her the password to the barracks. He may not have looked like much at first when she first met him, though the human male turned out to be a much more valuable ally than she had expected. And, of course, a really lovable friend.
 
Noticing Noah walk in and having put Crystal in a bad mood, Saf faced away from Noah in an attempt to keep from being noticed, so as to let Crystal have her conversation. I hope he doesn't notice me. I'd hate to upstage Crystal after putting her in a bad mood like that, Saf thought. With your feeble attempt to hide by simply facing the other way, he's pretty much guaranteed to notice you if he looks this way, replied Fik.

"You know, we definitely should go to New Vegas together sometime. I just hope you're ready to fight real people with real guns when we go through Freeside to get to the Strip." stated Danny, downing more whiskey, "And we'll need to earn 2,000 caps to get past the south gate greeter to enter New Vegas."

"We're going to go back to the arcade now too." said Drehvir, speaking for himself and Kulorim. The two then went to follow Shayn back to the arcade.
 
Noah was about to continue speaking until something from the corner of his eye caught his attention: was someone watching him? He wasn't exactly the nosy type-- in fact, the executive would do just about anything to avoid trouble, but judging by the way that the person had look at them he knew Crystal as well. "Hey, who's that?" he questioned and discreetly gestured towards Saf.

"Safudor," Crystal replied, though she didn't sound particularly mad anymore. Simply neutral. "He and his group are participating in the Red VS Blue game with us."

"Oh, right, right. That." the executive acknowledged and nodded his head, though he didn't really seem to know what the former dragoness was talking about. This wasn't in his department, after all, and he had been too busy to notice. "...What game?"

Crystal silently face-palmed at this-- not out of frustration, but out of amusement. Whether if the guy meant to or not, he was putting her back into a fairly good mood. "Go ask him yourself, moron! He doesn't bite," she playfully teased and reassured, pushing Noah in the direction of Saf. Hopefully Saf will take him off my hands for awhile. I still haven't eaten yet.. "Introduce yourself with that cute human accent of yours or something. I'll get back to you later." She then left her awkward friend standing at Saf's table.


"Yeah, sure. I'm in!" Danny agreed, but then suddenly changed his expression more to that of concern. "Well... whenever I get a free day, of course. I have a faction to run back home, though I supposed my second-in-command could handle things by himself. As long as there's not much that needs to be fixed." The blue dragon was enjoying their conversation thus far, but was beginning to feel somewhat bored. After all, he wasn't quite used to standing in one place for too long; he had to be constantly doing something. "Speaking of which, I should probably go make a call. They tend to worry when I'm gone for too long. See ya!" Upon that note, Danny jumped out from his spot and rushed out of the cafe, looking for anything outside that could send a message.
 
"Oh, you must be Noah. Richard told me about you. Hi, I'm Safudor." said Saf when he noticed Noah standing next to him.

"We'll probably have to go after some bounties to get 2000 caps," Danny said to himself, "I wonder if we can get Saf to put us in an alternate timeline, so we can do things I've already done with Saf and Courier Six. I'm going to the arcade now." Danny then poured an entire bottle of whiskey down his filters and left.

Having finished his burgers, Jazek decided to go as well, departing for the arcade without a word.
 
Crystal finally sat down with her plate of feed, most of which consisted of the Aurophian sugarfuit. The dragoness had transformed back in her natural form by now, scales, wings and all. There, she began to eat her meal whilst silently listening to Saf and Noah's conversation from afar. Everyone else, including her pterroct friend has left by now, preparing for their next game.

"Wha-? He did? Well whatever Richard told you about me, it's not true!" Noah defensibly objected and blinked for a few seconds, trying to gather the right words to say. The executive had a noticeable history of ridicule (mostly because of his rather awkward personality), and because of this he was usually uncertain when it came to meeting new people. In a way, he was almost child-like. "But, uh... yes. Nice to meet you." Reverting back to a more formal approach, Noah took a seat next to Safudor and attempted to continue their conversation. "So, you and the dragons are participating in a game of sort? Which one?"

Suddenly, the intercom source began to softly echo across the area: "A quick reminder to the selected groups; the next Red VS Blue game will be taking place in thirty minutes. Please make your way to the arcade if you still wish to participate."

"...Oh. That one," the executive acknowledged, and knitted his eyebrows slightly out of concern. How had he not noticed this until now?

Pushing back her chair, Crystal leapt out from the table, not even bothering to finish off the rest of her fruit. "Gods, it's that time already?? We gotta go!" she announced to Saf and began to tug him out from his seat; the dragoness had developed a bad habit of pulling people around. Noah, on the other hand, looked somewhat relieved by this-- that is, until he found that Crystal's talons were wrapped around his arm as well. "You're coming along too, shorty. We have a lot of catching up to do!" Crystal then began to dash for the exit.
 
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Not wanting to make Crystal angry again, Saf decided to just go with it and let her lead him. "You know, I think me and Danny should be on opposite teams this time, for balance." he said. I wonder if she knows which Danny I'm talking about...
 
"Danny? Yeah, sure. I'll tell him," Crystal replied, not really considering the fact that there were two Danny's in the game. Her mind was locked on something else at the moment, anyways; getting everyone to the arcade. And after a bit of wandering and dragging, she and her two friends eventually made their way to their destination.

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Upon entering the arcade, the dragoness watched as Nikaan spoke to and held up a list of instructions to what appeared to be a lady in a generic labcoat. She then nodded, taking a virtual copy of the list and exited the room. "Good news," Nikaan began to speak and trotted over to the group, "The head of TD accepted! And I've just got done programming the options menu."

Meanwhile, Shayn and Danny were bust looking at the chambers, trying to decide which team they should be on next and whether or not they should work together. Gem was simply staring from the corner, watching with amusement as the two disagreed with each other. That is, until she caught sight Noah. "Aww, come on! What'd you have to bring him for?!" The pterroct moaned, not even trying to hide her feelings towards the executive. He's useless in a fight!

"Thanks, it's nice to know that I'm wanted," Noah remarked with deep sarcasm. "Though you have a point. Why am I here, anyways..?"

"Because I want you to be," Crystal reassured. "Oh, and Danny-- Saf wants you on the opposite team this time," Crystal announced, not really specifying which of the two Danny's that she meant.
 
"I see your point Saf, you and me on one team is just broken as hell." replied Danny, "So I guess I'll be on blue team."

"Heh, yeah. I guess I'll stick with red team then." stated Saf.

"In that case, I'll move to red team in place of Danny!" shouted Drehvir.

"Meh, I'll stay on blue team." said Kulorim.

"I guess I'll stay with the blues, then."
 
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