[[All characters must enter the castle and step a small distance from the door for anything to happen. The events which will occur afterwards will go as follows:

1. The Blocks used to construct the maze will isolate each knight by descending around the group, forming a maze built by individual pieces. The top will be closed off as well, making a tunnel.
2. The knights are to follow the tunnel (which will glow faintly to allow visibility on where to go), and find where it leads.
3. At the end of each tunnel is a door, which the knights will enter (they won't have a choice. After certain points in the maze, the blocks will close in behind them, stopping them from backstepping. Near the door, blocks will push the knights into their respective doors if they're contemplating entering for too long.)
4. After going through the Swarm Door, the knights will find themselves in their respective locations, fighting their respective opponents. The Doors will close after they go through them, and will bind themselves to the actual entrances to the room. (For example, the Swarm Door leading to Margrel will bind itself to the Library door, effectively sealing the escape)

The only exception to this chain of events is Gwen. Her series of events will go like this:

1. The knights will be separated via the maze, Gwen, however, will be in a small room constructed by the blocks -- simply for limiting her movement.
2. After the knight go through their doors, the blocks will lift off the ground and return to the ceiling, with the exception of a few, which will bind themselves to all doorways in the Entrance, as to seal off escape routes.
3. The event occurring between Gwen and Strom will take place.

@Ares-Hsg
Seeing as Ares will be separated from the group, a simple revision depicting him following the tunnel and entering the room with Vargas is all that is necessary. You don't have to wait for anyone, because the time it takes will be independent.

@Saucce
Scorpio is not in the same room as Ares & Vargas. He will be separated by a near-indestructible void-black maze, which will lead him to his own door; because @Snakey-One has not given an indication that Creos will give a location as to where he will be fighting, Scorpio will be teleported to a large Ballroom whose exits will be sealed by the Swarm Door upon arrival. Strom will then tell Creos that Scorpio is waiting for him in said room; Until Creos arrives, or gives orders for Strom to do something else with him, Scorpio will remain in the empty Ballroom.

I'll make a post with Pippin, considering that the group's next moves will be "Entering the Entrance" (presumably). That should be sufficient for showing how things will happen, I think.]]

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

Pippin:
As the group walked into the entrance, Pippin was on guard. She already had her Cleaver out, and the Grip-Mods on her hands whirred slowly. The entrance was silent... But only until they had left a couple of meters between them and the door.

The doors closed like something you'd see in a horror film, propelled by what appeared to be black blocks; this resulted in a short gasp from Pippin.

"A trap, as expected." was all Pippin needed to say before she, along with the other knights (presumably) noticed more blocks of similar kind dropping from the ceiling.

For a moment, Pippin figured it was all over. A ceiling trap; set in the beginning to crush the knights and end any resistance. Ares could have been fed false information just to take the group's mind away from the possibility of impending doom. The room was too large to make for other possible doors, and blocks seemed to be everywhere within the room anyways. The only thing she could see at the end of the extremely long room was what appeared to be a phantom, with his hands outstretched like he was manipulating an Orchestra... Then... Darkness.

She wasn't being crushed. In fact, the blocks had fallen just around her. She had enough space to take a single step in all directions, but the path before her was longer.

"Hey, can you guys hear me? Still alive?" She shouted. The blocks seemed to reverberate with her voice, meaning it probably came off as an almost mute murmur to anyone else... Com Units might work... But the faint static noise being let off from the walls seemed to suggest against it. Pippin didn't have one to begin with, so it didn't really make much of a difference in her case. Instead of lingering on her new inability to communicate with her teammates, she squinted her eyes and looked around.

'You'd think that they'd install lights if they planned on keeping us alive -- Oh.' was Pippin's thought as the darkness lifted from a soft grey glow from the walls. There wasn't much to light up, however. As she figured, there was a step in every direction, but every direction but forwards was blocked by a void-black material.

'... A tunnel?' Pippin pondered on the thought that her captors were leading them down a path like wild animals. An educated slaughterhouse, as it were. Before she could think too deeply about it, however, the block behind her started moving closer. There was nowhere to go but forward. Pippin grinned to herself.

'Quite the pushy captors, aren't they?' she thought as she dashed through the tunnel. She was scared about what would come up next. She hadn't shown it, but she was. Still, there was no longer a way to get back to the group, and they had been as prepared as they could to face what came next. And what came next was.... A door. Or... Doorway?

It was quite simple looking, resulting in a look of disappointment from Pippin as the cubes stopped behind her, limiting her to the short path towards the odd creation. The only thing with any detail was the Mantle above the doorway, which glowed Magenta faintly, under its similarly void-black covering. Pippin took out a Red Saber and threw it at the contraption, but it was blasted back at her the moment it came a cm close to the glow. Thankfully, the Saber didn't maim her, and she recovered it without issues. She then approached the substance.

If the material wasn't moving slightly, she would have thought it similar to a Mirror... Her reflection could be seen slightly on the surface, but it was wavering slightly, like a reflection on the pond. She pressed a hand on it... And her hand vanished. She withdrew it immediately, expecting a lost appendage, but her hand was fine. The block behind her pressed against her back, urging her forward.

'Well, whoever set this up wouldn't waste the time with the tunnel just to kill me off... So... Let's see where it goes.' the block pushed forward again, until there was only a meter between Pippin and the doorway.

'I don't have a choice, either way.' Pippin held her cleaver in front of her like a shield, and jumped through the doorway.

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

Strom:

As the knights walked into the entrance, Strom made sure to stand far enough back from the Balcony to not be discovered. A couple more steps would be all that it would take for the group to fall into the trap.

A moment was all it took for such a distance to be cleared. And so Strom shut the door with two blocks which he had set beside them -- closing them with his hands would take too much time, after all -- and walked forward. He then raised his hands, casting his influence over the blocks on the ceiling, and bringing them downwards.

'Ɨ wønđɇɍ ħøw ɨŧ fɇɇłȿ... Ŧø ƀɇ ŧɍaᵽᵽɇđ ɨn ȿưȼħ a waɏ. Ɨ đø nøŧ ₥ɇan ŧø ɇnaȼŧ ȿưȼħ ȼɍưɇłŧɏ øn ȼɍɇaŧưɍɇȿ øf ŧħɇɨɍ ɨnŧɇłłɇȼŧ, ƀưŧ...'
'I wonder how it feels... To be trapped in such a way. I do not mean to enact such cruelty on creatures of their intellect, but...' Strom continued manipulating the blocks, bringing them down around the knights without harming them. Before they were covered, however, he spotted the Core.

'Ɨ wɨłł đø wħaŧ Ɨ ₥ưȿŧ.'
'I will do what I must.'

With that thought, the Knights were sealed, separated, and had their paths set before them. Cubes not in use floated above the maze, whose top fit over the knights with a distance of about a meter. It also acted as a One-Way mirror, as to monitor the movement of the knights without opening a path which would merge with another tunnel. It truly felt like he had constructed a maze for Mice. The only exception was the room around the Core Spirit, which was about 13ft by 10ft, and led no where. She, unlike the others, would not have to be treated like a mouse. And would not need to be moved.

'Ŧħɇ øŧħɇɍȿ, ħøwɇvɇɍ...'
'The others, however...' Strom moved his fingers slightly, and the maze began closing in on the knights' backs.

'Ⱥ łɨŧŧłɇ ɨnȼɇnŧɨvɇ ŧø ħưɍɍɏ ŧħɇ₥ ałønǥ wøưłđn'ŧ ħưɍŧ.'
'A little incentive to hurry them along wouldn't hurt.'

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

Min:
Min heard the movement of the ceiling as the odd knight in front of it manipulated them somehow. It wasn't magic which allowed him to do so...

'A different... Way to control.' Min thought to itself while remaining in the shadows. While the knight was distracted with his manipulation, Min quickly moved into the room, and hid itself as he had before -- by simply standing motionless. By staying near the wall down one of the staircases, it remained in Strom's blind spot, while having the ability to sense the movement down in what Min assumed to be the entrance. Other beings, knights perhaps, were being placed within a maze of sorts, set by the knight above. But there was another... A being that was... Artificial.

'The Core.' the thought reverberated within Min's mind. The one it had come to examine was so close... But Min knew better than to move. It would bide its time and wait for the Core Spirit to escape the maze, whether through its own power, or through the manipulator freeing it.

[[Because all knights will be forced to go through their portals one way or another, I'm going to move ahead with Strom. People can still write up their characters' reactions to the maze, but his movement will take place after all characters have left through their portals. Also, it should be alright for each character to act regardless of other people's time-lines as soon as they enter their respective fighting areas. Time coordination can be considered after each confrontation is done.]]

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

Pippin:
'Well, this is going well, all things considered,' Pippin looked forward, over a ridge in her cleaver to gaze at the knight who had probably been set to dispatch her. She didn't have any holes in her, so at least he had some sort of courtesy. Or he just wanted something out of her before he killed her...

"You look a little lost. I don't think you'll find any help here." were the words that came from his mouth.

"Lost..? What... You think I'm like some kid who got stranded from their parents in a convenience store?" Pippin started seething behind her cleaver at the fact that the knight had already belittled her, but she figured that so long as she spoke up, she would last a bit longer without getting shot, so she continued.

"And I wouldn't have thought that I'd find any help, either. I was led here, using blocks and doors -- it was quite the experience. You should try it yourself if you get the chance," Pippin smirked behind her cleaver, "well, that's if you survive meeting up with me. Which is probably what you're thinking as well."

"So. Why would you speak up instead of filling me with holes, Apocrean? Is this what your kind do for fun? Taunt their enemies and then take their souls? Or are you after something else?"

Pippin wasn't the greatest at making allies out of enemies -- all she could hope is that this guy was Pliable... And that any friends he might have around aren't trigger-happy.

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

Strom:
After a couple of minutes had passed, all the knights had either made their ways into the doors of their own will, or had simply been forced through. Strom lifted his hands towards the ceiling, and the cubes lifted to the ceiling, and seemingly stuck to its surface. The doors stopped glowing once their purpose had been fulfilled, and so they simply settled towards the sides of the room, making Five pitch-black mirrors stand together in front of the Fountain within the Entrance. Strom felt the side of his head, looking for the Com Unit which had been supplied to him. Once he located it, he took it off, and set it on the edge of the balcony. The gremlin had also mentioned that the bracelet connected him to his Master... And so Strom took it off. One could never be too careful when it came to cutting off any potential eavesdroppers.

Strom then jumped down from the balcony. Chances are, taking off the bracelet would bring some sort of Armerio to know that something was up... But it couldn't be helped. Time was of the essence, and walking down Stairs wouldn't be necessary as Strom's armor regenerated from the fall.

He then took a couple of steps forward. He was a short run from the Core Spirit, but knew better than to approach her any further. He could feel something from her. She was definitely... Different. Something deep within him seemed to wish to lash out at her, but he figured he knew what that was. He took a deep bow, his blade doing a short flourish before stabbing itself into the floor as a symbol of a polite greeting.

"Ŧħɇ Ȼøɍɇ, Ɨ ᵽɍɇȿư₥ɇ?"
"The Core, I presume?"

He then raised to his full height, and his blade lifted slightly off the ground, fitting itself to his side.

"Ɨ a₥ Sŧɍø₥. Ɨ ħavɇ ƀɇɇn waɨŧɨnǥ ɋưɨŧɇ ȿø₥ɇ ŧɨ₥ɇ ŧø ₥ɇɇŧ ɏøư. Ɨŧ ɨȿ ưnføɍŧưnaŧɇ ɨŧ ħađ ŧø ƀɇ ưnđɇɍ ŧħɇȿɇ ȼɨɍȼư₥ȿŧanȼɇȿ."
"I am Strom. I have been waiting quite some time to meet you. It is unfortunate it had to be under these circumstances."

As she stepped in she saw blocks surround them. She turned her com to broadcast as Ares had told her to, then she shouted out, "See you guys later!" but the next part she kept to herself, "Hopefully..." She stood examining the walls around her. They were made of swarm, no doubt. Then she heard a hissing noise, pinkish flames began errupting from behind her, she sprinted down the passageway with Sarah by her side, she then fell into a pit and rolled down a slope. She crashed into a dank room, it appeared to be some sort of dungeon. She stood up, and felt a presence she felt before. It felt like what she felt when ares cured her of the Swarm. Lyn looked ahead of her and saw someone who looked like Ares*.

"Who are you?" She asked timidly, she was still sore from the fall. "Please tell me your a friend, because if you're not..." Lyn drew her Winter Grave and began charging, "I fell very sorry for you."

Reference

Gwen leaned on Luke's arm and grunted, "Health capsules won't help. Thanks for the offer though." She allowed him to help her through the gateway, only to find...

...the dirt again. She spat out a mouthful and glanced back at the gateway. Luke was gone. Uh oh. The small room limited her traveling options, and the only sign of life was that of a mysterious figure who had just leaped down and began to approach her.

"The Core, I presume?" His complex voice gave away his affiliation. A Void Apocrean...now that would be an interesting concept, if it were true. She would have loved to take him back to her lab for further research, but she was in no condition to be capturing anybody. He continued, "I am Strom. I have been waiting quite some time to meet you. It is unfortunate it had to be under these circumstances."

Gwen shifted her legs in a halfhearted attempt to stand so she could give him a little courtesy, but her legs simply wouldn't bear the weight. Screw courtesy then. "Yes, quite unfortunate," she retorted. "If you're hoping for some kind of epic battle with a worthy equal, you won't get it. The atmosphere in here is disgraceful. You wouldn't be so kind as to help me to my feet, would you?"

She felt a little bad inside, she had felt pretty good about that conversation up until that point. Lyn had no Idea how to react when he began speeding around, how could she track something that fast!?!?!?!? Then she realized something, she didn't have to.
"Sarah, Ray of Light!" Lyn called out.

(If he does run into the beam, Lyn will fire her charge shot at the, hopefully, stunned Armerio. If he doesn't get hit, Lyn will flip backwards and latch onto the wall [with her ninja skillz] in hopes of dodging the charge attack.)

Although he didn't show it, Syber almost felt taken aback. This chef was quite the mouthful.

"Why? Oh I don't know, I haven't gotten to see your side of the expedition. You seem to jump to conclusions very easily. I'm not an Apocrean, just a gun for hire. As so, I've no access to telepathy like the other guy."

Syber shifted stance, changing to a casual, lazy stance.

"I do want to know something. How is Uni- Gwen? Is she up to her usual antics? Masterminding another scheme to wreck the evil once again?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

((Working on Margrel versus Luke.))

*Crud* Lyn thought to herself, seeing the bullets coming at her. Then she remembered her gun, she fired the charge directly at the wall, pushing her off of it, she spun, twisting her body around the oncoming shot, only getting nicked in the heel. She landed and winced a little from the pain, but it was nothing too serious. Lyn then heard his remark.

"Me, why, you could call me a lot of things, like Phyllis, or Dave, or Samuel, or Jack, or even Matilda," Lyn went on in this matter, stalling hoping to locate him. She simply couldn't so she finished her ramble of names, "But one thing you can't call me, is Lyn... Only my friends call me Lyn." Lyn flipped and grappled the ceiling with small spikes in her gloves. She couldn't hold on like this forever, but she did know what she could do... but Sarah would need some time.

Lyn struggled as the chains grappled and wrapped around her. It was now or never...
"Sarah! Heart Attack, full power!" Lyn shouted out. A bright pink light enveloped the room, causing two things to happen. First off, the explosion that followed the bright light snapped the chains. Secondly, pink heart auras and symbols enveloped two things, a hidden Armerio (not so hidden anymore) and a small puddle of blood on the floor had been marked. Lyn looked closer at the puddle and noticed a pinkish and black hint to it, it was no puddle... It was a swarm seed! Lyn landed from the broken chains and looked at where Armerio was now revealed. She fired a shot at him and fired one at the swarm seed.

{If the shot hits Armerio, Lyn will rush him. If the shot misses she'll fire another shot at the swarm seed unless stopped, this second shot will freeze the swarm seed temporarily}
[Also, can Lyn destroy the swarm seed? Just a question.]

Scorpio was angry at Creos. Why? His own stupidity. He had forgotten who had raised Scorpio.

"Creos, Creos, Creos, do you seriously think I cannot balance on a wall?"

At that, he launches a flurry of bullets where HE CAN SMELL YOU!

"DAMN YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-OOF" Scorpio gets to his feet, and goes forward, takes a left, continues forward, takes a right, goes backwards and takes a left.

"Where in Vog am I?"

Lyn grabbed Armerio's sword before he could get to it. Armerio swiftly took out his Sentenza and discreetly had it in his trailing hand. He was out of range of the Swarm Source now, so everything would hurt, but he'd take some hits, it didn't really matter much to him, as he was beginning to question his purpose a little. He couldn't focus on it now, however, as it was the time for battle, not philosophical monologues.

Lyn had a bit more guts than Amrerio had anticipated, as she went for a stab right at his gut.
*Well, to stab, your hand must be on the hilt,* Armerio thought.

Armerio took the stab, and experienced a register of pain for the very first time. It was interesting, but nothing to dwell on, as he had battle to carry out. As soon as the blade pierced his gut, he grinned indulgently, and fired three rapid shots at Lyn ((like so: Click Me ))

while she twisted the blade.

Syber spread his hands in a knowing gesture, "Well, one has to dress the part to get the job."

He dropped his hands and watched the chef take out food, "You can thank Armerio for the hordes he gets impatient when you take too long."

He looked around the halls, and wondered if his troops were getting impatient, or maybe to make sure he was where he was in the mush mash of the maze.

"Do you trust Gwen? I think she might be going for something else besides just defeating Apocrea. I mean c'mon, she's the core spirit, why would she need help from a bunch of knights?"

He looked over at the chef taking out the pack of food. He wondered if she were trying anything.

"I really don't care whether or not you answer my questions, but I got another, besides Gwen, who do think is the most powerful knight in your little group? Including yourself."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bored, Slink looked up from the radar, beside him, Roland and Liam sat silently, Liam sorting through a spellbook, and Roland inspecting the edge of his Obsidian edge.

He knew the one of them planned to kill him and the other, but which? Slink made sure his rifle lay well within easy access and he unsheathed his dagger, laying it on the floor near him, ready to be grabbed in a moments notice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke stumbled as his feet touched the ground. He seemed to be still in the castle but this looked like a completely different room. More of a library. Once he regained his footing, Luke took a cautious step forward, then another. Looking all around as he went.

On inspecting a bookshelves, he found interesting looking books. Ineligible symbols floated around.

"Hello?"

He looked around the library, and noticed a slight chanting. The words were soft, but they were there. He followed them, and they led to a woman holding a book and reading out loud.

She was a middle aged woman covered in a purple and black cloak, a hood covered her head but dull gray hair lay around her shoulders.

In one hand an open book glowed brightly, responding to each word chanted. In the other, held loosely, was a sharp looking shortsword.

Suddenly, the chanter looked up and finished the spell, a bright green energy shield appeared in a half dome around her, and she smiled evilly.

"Goodbye."

She pointed her sword at him, and energy sparked around it. When the energy reached the tip of the blade, a bolt of electricity shot from the tip and arced towards Luke.

Pippin:
"Armerio, huh... Then it really was as the real Ares said." Pippin thought out loud as she relished in the smell her own creation, becoming notably calmer by the second.

"Do you trust Gwen? I think she might be going for something else besides just defeating Apocrea. I mean c'mon, she's the core spirit, why would she need help from a bunch of knights? I really don't care whether or not you answer my questions, but I got another, besides Gwen, who do think is the most powerful knight in your little group? Including yourself." the Mercenary continued to ask his questions.

"Well, if I stop answering questions, then we'll probably end up fighting, right?" Pippin closed the food container and held her hand out from behind her cleaver.

"I'll answer, but are you hungry? From my honor as a chef, this food isn't messed with." She waved it slightly while keeping the rest of her body behind the cleaver as cover from the mercenary.

"But to answer your questions: No, I don't trust her. So far, she's been leading us from the nose for her own agenda." A bit of annoyance is present in Pippin's voice as she continues; "But we don't really have much of a choice when it comes to going along with her. I guess I could always surrender, but... I still have my pride, y'know?"

Pippin wouldn't mention the answer as to why she thought the Core Spirit needed the help of knights... The fact that Gwen was seemingly weakened and had been collapsing regularly since they arrived here was something that would not be a good idea to give away.

"As for the most powerful... Like I said, I have my pride. So I'll go with "Me." " Pippin sat for a moment after saying that, and then added, "Then again, how powerful a knight is would be dependent on the opponent they're facing, right? So, how about you, Non-Apocrean Apocrean-Mask-Wearer? Who out of your group do you think is the strongest?"

((I'm assuming Swarmbane is in the hands of....ugh gimme a minute...the form of Mark?? I'll edit if you need me to. In any case, with the re-introduction of Core energy, remember, back when Armerio first absorbed Swarm from Ares, Core energy only became a slight weakness for him. Let me do a copy and paste:
All Armerio's abilities mentioned in the Discussion thread http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/106177?page=6#comment-972350 are buffed.

They are all increased by 100% with additions being:
His Swarm body regenerates extremely slowly, in a limb limb torso limb limb head fashion. One per hour.
He can also create Swarm sources.

Otherwise: his time-related stats for corruption are cut in half, and his physical stats are boosted 100%. So Core energy is only a slight weakness for him now. ))

*How the hell did he get in?* Armerio wondered.

First he had to deal with the annoyance of the Battle Sprite, which was pretty much the pain it inflicted, and now this prissy upstart Core spirit from back in Haven just showed up and thought he could just stroll in and interrupt the battle. What was it with these people?

"Do I get no respect?" Armerio moaned to himself. This was all so odd, nothing like he'd expected. He should've kept Ares as his choice. Mentally checking in on Vargas, it seemed Ares was about to blow his brains out. Armerio wanted to help, but he had bigger issues to deal with. Nevertheless, he sent a pulse of energy to Vargas's bracelet and then focused.

His pink eyes turned purple with annoyance. The Core was the bane of the Swarm's existence. The Swarm had been created to kill The Core. And Armerio was going to start that right now, with this upstart white and gold bastard and his shiny Nightblade. ((Pokemon shoutout))

"Before we start, how did you even get here?" Armerio asked, then paused, and grinned.

"Never mind, dead men don't tell tales," he said, and started laughing maniacally.

He summoned a little more of his energy from the depths of his mind and the air in the dungeon seemed to be thinner, there seemed to be more pressure in the air as well. The lighting dimmed even further, as Armerio turned the walls into Swarm Sources. Summoning the chains, he gripped all 8 chains and corrupted them completely, then smashed them into the ground, serrating the metal, so they were sharp no matter where gripped the person.

He did all this while laughing. One might think he had gone insane. He regained composure abruptly, and said,

"Core spirit, I will take no pleasure in ending your existence, even though your very occurrence digusts every particle of my being. If I am to take over The Clockworks, I must eradicate the pests that took it over first. I started with the Knights, but first the sprite, and now you show up to make a mockery of my battle. Rest assured, I will kill you all. Seeing that you want the dubious honour of dying first, let's make it as quick as possible, shall we?"

Armerio drew his Cold Iron Vanquisher, and Hail Driver. He fired a shot from the gun, which was immediately charged, directly at Swarmbane's chest.

***

((By the way, I should note, Lyn just saved Vargas's life.))

Ares tightened his finger a little. Then his Com Unit crackled to life.

"Ares, you might want to get over here. You won't want to miss this." Lyn had said.

Ares was surprised at first. Why did she sound like she was having so much fun? Did she get a Tier 1 Jelly Cube or something? Ares moved the gun from Vargas's head and replied,

"Kinda in the middle of something right now, what's even happening?"

During this exchange, Vargas had noted a sudden resurgence in energy from the bracelet. Undoubtedly from Armerio, and it actually touched the Vanguard that Armerio would spare the energy, even if he didn't need it.

"Screw the order," he muttered. As Ares was going to display, they didn't care at all. He picked up his weapons, and charged his gun, pointing it at Ares's face, should he have chosen the moment to turn around.

He did, with gun raised as well, and seemingly unsurprised. The short distance between the knights seemed everlasting in the tense moment.

"Round 2, then," Ares declared.

They both fired.

Armerio blurred into the darkness. As he ran through the room, he shot at Swarmbane four times each from each wall of the room with his Sentenza.

((Remember, the Swarm Source is felt from all over now))

Swarmbane performed an elegant spin deflecting all but one shot, which he just missed and caught him in the leg. It stung, that much was true, but he could keep going for quite some time, being made of energy and all.
"Well then, I guess a fair duel is out of the question, if you are going to double your strength and attack from everywhere. I'll do the same," Swarmbane stomped his foot again, and his energy split, forming the rest of Mark's team standing around him. There was a small, stout knight in Ironmight plate set and wielding a Sudaruska. A tall, female knight with a gilded griffin and an argent peacemaker. And an average sized, crazed looking man, with bombs strapped wherever he could fit them.
"I have my team, now strike!" The squad members each moved to wall, ready to attack Armerio should he show his face.

[Each is weaker than the whole Swarmbane, but strong in there own way.]

The gunner, being the most disciplined of them all, ignored Armerio's trick. She did not fire, but stood still like an owl, scanning the area for him. The bomber was less lucky, 5 chains had grabbed him and tied him up. He began to struggle and foam at the mouth as if something was wrong with him. The Ironmight Knight noticed this and lopped the one chain off the wall allowing the bomber to hit the floor with a thud. Markbane (yup... sure) was not so lucky as to deflect all of the sentenza bullet but took the end of one charge to the gut. He stood up, and was in mild pain, the gunner ran to his side and he stood up fully. Only Lyn understood what was going on, and she didn't like it one bit. This was just like with the phantom, and that didn't end very prettily. At this Markbane called out, "I wish to see your face you coward. If you think us weak, then you will face us head on... would you not?"
The bomber's froth began to grow more and more frequent, and no part of swarmbane liked it.

{Tell me when it's okay for Lyn's team to pull through, I'm planning on winning, if that's okay with you :3}

Lyn shouted as the bomber fell to the floor, there was a strange hissing sound as this occured. Sarah threw up a bubble. There was a bright flash of light, and a huge explosion. All of the chains lay on the floor (That okay?). The remaining swarmbane team all merged back into one, and then the one raised his hand.
"You have bested me Armerio, your fighting style is very grand indeed, but you forget that I am not the only one here..." Swarmbane winked at Lyn. Swarmbane had kicked himself to her moments before. Upon the wink his energy leaped back into the blade and Lyn went for another thrust right to Armerio's chest... from behind.

She was horrified, her face would've shown fear if she hadn't been frozen solid. A deep heat began welling up with her and the ice rapidly thawed. Sarah began twitching and leaving an aura. There was a sudden burst of energy as Lyn arose in a fallen angel set wielding Vengeance, except at double size. She and Sarah both seemed corrupted, but not with the swarm. It was something twice as dark and evil, pure rage. Sarah had become a black kat, there was nothing holy or good left within the two, they had but one desire... Destroy. Lyn screamed out and suddenly they were in a blood soaked field. The chains, Swarmbane, swarm sources. All seemingly gone here. Lyn beckoned for Sarah to move back.
"ARMERIO!" Lyn shouted in a voice not hers in the slightest, it sounded like the voice of a warlord and a broken, crying child combined, "I WISH TO CHALLENGE YOU IN ONE ON ONE COMBAT. SWORDS OR FISTS, YOUR CHOICE." This dark version of Lyn awaited his reply...

{Lyn's personal color is now red. If she does win, she will not revert. Rather go to attack anything else. She and Sarah cannot be reasoned with in this stage. If Lyn looses, she will revert. If Lyn is talked down by another knight. She will revert. Her mother's necklace is now red. And she will not stop till she or her opponent is dead with her current mindset. Armerio could manipulate this though... maybe}

But they did not focus, she appeared to stare right through Armerio, into his mind, she let out a berserk battle cry and charged mindlessly forward at Armerio, nothing mattered now. Hit or miss Lyn would berserk charge after Armerio swinging. There would be no foreseeable end to ehr onslaught but something was different in her swings. Each swing grew repeatedly faster, and so did Lyn. Vengeance soon hit a speed where it combusted, Lyn charging across the battlefield senslessly. She was mad alright but there was no stopping her.

(Basically describing Lyn's actions for the next two to 3 of Armerio's. The only way Lyn is going to stop is for Ares to talk her down once done with Vargas. Her rage will continue growing 'till then, and you don't want it to get too high)

[[I may have to revise if Slink had some sort of Silencer on his Rifle. But I don't think he does... There wasn't any mention of it. I think. Also, I still can't move Strom and Min without Gwen.]]

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

Pippin:
"Hmmm? That's pretty humble, considering your job occupation. If I was a potential employer, I'd be very disappointed by your loss of bravado." Pippin replies smugly at the Mercenary's analysis of the power levels of his allies. She then clicked the container she had opened shut, and returned it to her SMC.

"Then again... A Heirarch would be pretty powerful, I gue--"

Before finishing her sentence, she heard a single "Bang" from somewhere, cutting her off. She instantly snapped her hand up to her cleaver and cracked the weapon towards the noise of the shot but... No collision came. An echo of some sort?

She had noticed it before, but this place really had an echo... It must have been something to do with the fact that the entirety of this place was made of stone-like obsidian. It was the equivalent of walking on polished marble tiles down a long hallway; sounds were partially distorted (probably due to the internal structure of this area), making the origins of said sounds locations hard to track, but they still traveled.

Regardless of the fact that echoing was easy here, the fact that what did echo didn't result in a hole in Pippin's head surprised her. Clearly it was some sort of Gunshot, but who had let it off? It certainly wasn't the Mercenary in front of her, which meant that it was probably one of his partners -- which had yet to reveal themselves, as Pippin had guessed. Had whoever let off a shot missed? Or was Pippin not the only opponent that this Mercenary had to deal with? Resulting in combat on two ends? Pippin dismissed that last thought -- if the group was separated so easily, why would combat be put so close together?

She figured that she may as well ask the Apocrean-dressed Isoran right in front of her after lifting her SMC up, and fastening it to her back. Even if he was a composed fellow -- which Pippin didn't even know whether he was or not -- surely a stray shot would end with some sort of information-giving reaction.

"So... Seeing as we're having such a wonderful time of Q and A, I'll just go ahead and ask another question. What the heck was that noise?"

Armerio parried the first few swings, noticing with interest the increased intensity of the power and speed of the swings. At his current level, he'd actually pop a few beads of sweat. Then Armerio sensed a critical point in the sword. Jumping back a bit, he watched the sword combust, and Lyn charge senselessly across the battlefield.

*"This won't do,"* Armerio thought, bemused and bewildered.

Blurring to behind Lyn, Armerio used the Divine Avenger charge quickly. It aimed right at Lyn, primed to knock her off her feet, and force her to look into Armerio's eyes.

***

Vargas shield bashed Ares, who was naturally distracted by his sudden hold of momentum, which had been rudely bashed out of him. Vargas ensured he grabbed his Valiance, at shot Ares 4 times for good measure.

"Scum, should not touch the weapons of a warrior," Vargas scoffed haughtily.

Ares was already back on his feet, shaken, but not letting it affect him unduly. Drawing his Acheron, he said,

"Who knew excrement could have a sense of pride? Does this mean my toilets have a sense of nobility?"

Vargas took exception to that. Charging at Ares, he dodged an Acheron swipe at the last second, much to Ares's surprise. Vargas slashed Ares with his Leviathan Blade in the side with surprising force, even knocking Ares backwards. Ares took advantage of the space by firing four shots with his Sentenza, but due to the reaction to the previous two attacks, he was still unsteady, therefore he missed each shot badly.

Vargas pressed the issue. He fired two shots from the Valiance, and batted Chomp aside with his sword as if the sprite was nothing but an irritating fly. The battle sprite landed violently, chipped into dormancy by the harshness of its expulsion from the battle. Vargas fired three shots at a rolling Ares, missing the first two, but the last one hit, as Ares was attempting to get back to his feet. He was rocked backwards by the hit, but did not fall again.

Ares stood as ready as he could possibly be, which in this case meant he was in a drunken stance with his Acheron held unsteadily, and his Snetenza wavering.

Vargas laughed, and drew his Leviathan Blade for what he assumed would be the final assault.

Pippin:
Pippin noticed the Mercenary looking back towards the hallway, and smirked behind her Cleaver. Something was happening, and it wasn't looking good for the Knight in front of her.

"Oh? If you don't know what's going on despite being the leader, then there are only two possibilities..."

With one hand, she lifted her cleaver off the ground and rested it over her shoulder. With her other hand, she rose her index finger, and continued.

"One, no one in your group knows what's going on because those who do are no longer able to tell you, or..." Pippin raised her middle finger for a 'two'

"Two, your merc. buddies are cannibalizing one another. Traitors looking to remove others for a bigger cut of the prize money, maybe." She then brought her hand to her chin, as if in deep contemplation. She even closed her eyes for the added effect.

"Either way, things aren't looking good for you... So how about we make a deal?" Pippin opened one eye and gazed at the mercenary. If she could somehow pair up with this guy to unravel what was going on, she might gain some leverage to get out of this situation...

"Seeing as I'm stuck here with you, I wouldn't mind helping you find out what the situation is. But in return..." Pippin raised her cleaver and swing it forward to point at the knight. "You'll guide me out afterwa--"

Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment and the excitement to escape the situation, Pippin didn't activate her hand's Grip-Mods, resulting in the cleaver flying slightly to the side of the mercenary and crashing through an obsidian pillar behind him.

Before she could somehow correct the situation, however, a knight clad in the Apocrean getup stumbled to the side of the pillar -- probably from being hit by a couple of crumbling stones, shook his head to correct his mind, and ran towards the mercenary.

He shouted something, too, but Pippin was too aghast at the fact that she had almost ruined a deal to rid her of all this stress to hear it.*

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

[[@Colray
The * at the end means you can come up with what the Apocrean says. It really doesn't matter whether it's a friendly merc clad in the same armor as Syber coming to warn him, or if it's an enemy who just got his cover blown. Do whatever you feel is best -- it's your (Delta) plan, after all!]]

But Armerio had seen all he needed to. The girl was almost gone, and if she went, Armerio would need to kill her. Quite frankly, he didn't see the point in killing her. It would be a waste. Plus, he suddenly had a whim to kill Ares first, if Vargas hadn't finally gotten his wits about him.

He focused on the moment of eye contact he had with the mentally slipping Lyn, meanwhile blurring around most of Lyn's sword strikes himself. He was hit and slashed several times, but he was beyond noticing those at this point. He had reached mental contact with Lyn.

Armerio attempted the hypnotism.

________
Lyn would suddenly see Armerio as Ares. She would hear her mother's voice telling her

"Lyn, calm down darling,"

Then, Ares-Armerio ((if that makes sense)) speaks to Lyn.

"Lyn, Lyn, back to earth Lyn. Calm down, I'm here now. Armerio's gone," he says.
________

((That is if the hypnotism is successful. If not, you determine what Lyn does next. Armerio has a few nicks and slashes, but it all constitutes to another minor injury he can regenerate from and come back at you.))