Caged Animal (Vox)

[Rex]

Tic. Toc. Tic. Toc.

Was all that Rex could hear...Or rather...All he was focusing on, inside this group cell, while other parties fought, or talked, or pleaded for freedom, the only thing on Rex's mind was time. The timing of the matches, the timing it took to get from the ring to the jail cell, the timing the guards took around in shifts, ect, ect. His mind was full of numbers, paths, and patterns. He needed to make sure everything went right, nothing could be a moment off. It wasn't like there would be another chance at this. If he messed up now...That would be it. Still...He wasn't about to just sit around anymore. It was time he made a move, and today was the perfect day to do that. 

His eyes started to wander around. Aiming to waste time, plus his mind was curious to a few other things. Like the ability to seal off powers...Something like that seemed almost impossible to him, and yet something...Or someone has made that possible for these holding cell's. Was it a material? Maybe something in the bricks? Could it be a gas? A scentless, colorless, invisible gas that was wafting through the air? He didn't know, but whatever it was, it was effective. He let out a tired sigh in his corner, letting the darkness engulf him, as his eyes began to wander once more to the kids inside the cell's. For the longest time the prefects, and battle front had a silent oath not to go for the Neutral party, and leave them as...Well just that, a neutral party, a force that wouldn't be involved in either part of the war, and would..In fact, be the key protecting point for both sides...However now...They threw that whole belief away in one swing. Not only were Neutral's allowed to fight against other, stronger ranking members of both sides, he guessed that was a givin' sense the tournament was open registration...No, what was really upsetting him, was the rule that forced anyone not taking part in the tournament, to be thrown into a cell. That wouldn't be a problem...If most, if not all the prisoners, that weren't fighters from he tournament, seemed to be neutral of some kind...Prefects seemed to get a better end of the stick as more of the watchers, and battle front members seemed to avoid capture when the time came to rope up the kids. Givin' another look at the neutral students...He could tell, without a fraction of a doubt...That they were confused and scared. They weren't expecting to be thrown into anything, and now they were in the middle of almost everything...

Tluck....Tlock...Tluck....Tlock

Was the only sound Rex seemed to be making...Though not of his own accord. Whatever the thing was that was making the sound around Rex, it was unable to be seen, as Rex, almost as soon as he was brought into the cell, moved his way into a corner, making sure it was the darkest, and furthest away from most of the other students. No one seemed to come over to mess with him either, or at least, no one had tried sense the first group were still trying to recover from some broken noses. Even without his power, Rex wasn't some push over, and he made sure these kids knew that, though he knew why the kids went after him...After all, when your in prison...Your first job is to take down the biggest guy in the room...He hated calling this place prison for multiple reasons. He never expected this place to sink that low...But of course, if you can think of it, Ashford will surely do everything in it's power to achieve that low status. By any means. The sound started up again, as he shifted his body, it seemed like it wasn't going to stop anytime soon...He hopped the other kids wouldn't get annoyed with it...He didn't want more fights to break out...Well...More then there had already been.

Chk! Chk! Chk! Fwoosh!

Was a new sound that came from Rex's area, which was instantly followed by a spot of light. The light illuminated his face, and features, as he brought the flame of the lighter closer, to light the broken, and crumpled up cigarette in his mouth. His face was busted up. A cute above his eye, blinding his right eye from it's constant stream, a black eye on his remaining left eye, blood dripping from his nose and mouth, and a few scrapes and bruises as well, his body would obvious hold the same. He let out a sigh of smoke, and brought a hand up to his nose, and tried to stop the bleeding once again, his mind couldn't help but to race back to how this happened. Remembering the two guards who...Weren't so found of his smart ass remarks, or his laid back attitude, after throwing his match. They...Made sure he fit right in with the other tournament fighters, wouldn't want to make a liar out of him, would they? Though luckily enough for him, they let him go without taking the smoke they spotted him, or really searching him like they were suppose to. Frantic to move on to the next round loser, they through him into the cell, leaving all his items with him.

A wandering eye stole a glance at the clock once more. It was almost time. A small smirk began to play on his lips, as he reached in, patting an object behind his jacket, deep inside it's inner pockets. He slowly pulled his hand out, and closed his eyes. All he needed to do now, was wait...It would only be a matter of time. His plan was coming into motion rather nicely. It was nice...having everything fall into place after so long. He let out a small stream of smoke while he waited. 

[Jin Shidehara]

The Edge of the Forest

Jin could swear these agents were getting slower. Then again, maybe he was just getting better. "Duck, guard the left, predictable haymaker incoming." Even as he fought, enacting those thoughts as quickly as they came to him, his mind was a million places at once, and none of them were here. Had Ash gotten away? Did they suspect him of his Battlefront ties? He had drawn the two left standing off after him towards the forest, but the whole thing had been risky business. If they didn't trust one of their competitors, everything could be compromised. He was fairly certain they hadn't seen his long-time friend's face, but still, this had to be executed precisely if this was to work. "Oh, right, the haymaker. Use the target's momentum to counter, upset balance, attack structural weak point." The boy pivoted his body, slamming his elbow home into the diaphragm of his opponent, quickly forming a dagger of purple energy in that hand and snapping his forearm up from his elbow, slamming the construct home into the larger man's chest. With a cry of pain and shock, his eyes rolled up in his head and he crumpled to the ground like a dead leaf. Jin rolled his shoulders, the dagger disappearing from his hand. Yup, definitely getting better

The boy smirked to himself, closing his eyes and centering for a moment. That was all the agents who had been escorting him to the dungeons down. No one to report him missing, and in the chaos of the matches and getting all the losers and non-participants to cells, it was entirely likely that he would go unnoticed. He looked down at the unconscious body of the agent he had just dropped, his companion lying prone a few feet away. He set to moving the two out of sight. They would be unconscious for a good while, long enough for him to do what he had planned. But he needed them somewhere they wouldn't be accidentally stumbled upon. The brown haired boy found a large bush nearby, moving the bodies there before tugging his leather jacket off and walking several feet in the complete opposite direction, leaving him in a black tank top and matching fingerless leather gloves. He sighed and looked at the coat. This was his favorite one, dammit. But desperate times. He braced the back against a low tree branch and pulled hard, ripping a long tear into the fabric before hanging it from the tree. There. Now all bases were covered. Jin took off at a run towards the dungeon, using the trees at the edge of the forest as his cover as he made the trek the long way round towards the east wing's main building. Onto business.

Outside the Main East Wing Building

There were a lot of entries to the tournament that were curious to Jin. He supposed that everyone wanted off the island, but still, he couldn't believe that so much of the school's population was actually that gullible. One entry that caught his eye in particular was a neutral by the name of Rex. That particular name probably meant nothing to the prefects or the agents, and he supposed that worked in both of their favors. Staying under the radar was important around here, especially when one had an agenda. There were few unusual things at the school however, that Jin didn't notice. And one of them was a fairly good chunk of students that weren't affiliated through a school group meeting frequently, especially in places like the forest or the waterfall. A little digging into the records through an...acquaintance in the prefects confirmed his thoughts regarding their connections. A gang. With a leader who just so happened to enter the tournament? A leader who's fight had taken place before his. He'd observed from a screen in the waiting room, and seen him lose. At least it had been made to -appear- that he had lost. Jin also knew a thrown fight when he saw one. He wanted to be put in the dungeons. There had to be a reason, and with so many of his apparent crew in the tournament, he had a guess.

Jin crouched behind a large tree outside the south end of the main east building, watching the rotation of the prefect guards outside. He couldn't risk starting an open fight with them, not yet. And given the numbers, a direct confrontation was a fight he wouldn't win. No, he would have to play this one carefully. The west side of the building had a low window into the media room, a good entry point that would allow him to make his way down the main first floor hallway, where he was quite sure no one would be, and towards the entrance to the dungeons. He closed his eyes pulling up a perfect map of the school in his mind, laid out like a top down view of a 3-D model. He nodded when he had his route laid out, and then crouched in the shadows and waited. When he saw the rotating guards overlap and continue on, leaving the window clear, he made his move. The boy sprinted forwards, crossing the distance in a few moments and summoning another, flatter dagger of purple energy in his hand. He jammed it in the crack between the two panes of the window, levering his weight against it until the lock on the other side snapped open, and the window swung open. He smirked. "Still got it." He climbed into the window, closing the panes behind him and re-locking them, then dropping into a crouch and making sure that he was clear before crossing the large room, jimmying the lock open with the flat bladed knife, then taking off down the hallway towards the prefect offices and the nearby entrance to the dungeons.

The Belly of the Beast (Also Known as the Dungeon)

Jin quickly closed the door to the dungeon stairwell behind him, flattening his back against it and closing his eyes, keeping his breathing slow and steady. He had only just managed to slip past one of the prefects outside, who had left the lounge just as he passed by it. He hadn't had to fight, thankfully, but had come extremely close to being seen. Luckily the male had been distracted by a call from his companion inside the lounge and turned back just in time. After a moment, Jin flexed his fingers, the leather of his gloves creaking ever so slightly as he made his way lightly down the stairs. He dropped into a crouch as he reached the bottom of the stairwell and slowly pushed open the door into the dungeons, looking left and right.

It was dark, very dark, and somewhat noisy. Jin shook his head lowly in the darkness. He knew Ashford could sink low, but this? There were students packed down here like it was some kind of internment camp. He heard arguments, talking and fighting in low voices, and the slightly musty smell of too many people jammed into one place. He couldn't help but note the similarities to the dungeons and the warehouse where he had spent much of his childhood, and the torture he'd endured here only a few months before was still fresh in his mind. Jin shook off the memories, scanning from left to right with his eyes again. It was indeed very dark, but he could make out at least that the cells on the far left end of the hall were empty, which meant he had only to go from left to right and scan them one by one. Just as he was about to start moving he froze as he heard footsteps from the stairwell behind him, immediately slipping into the dungeon and flattening against a wall and going completely motionless as the door swung closed just in time for the newcomer to find it so. The prefect from earlier pushed it open again and made his way in, obviously here for patrol duty. Jin squeezed his eyes shut, but the boy thankfully turned to the right and started making his way down the line, confirming what Jin had assumed about the cells. 

Silently, Jin followed behind him in a crouch, putting a finger over his lips to signal silence to anyone who caught sight of him. Thankfully, most of the students either didn't, or were more than pissed enough at the prefects to oblige. As they reached the far end of the hall, a small noise could be heard from the back of one of the group cells, and it caught the prefect's attention, as well as Jin's. Chk! Chk! Fwoosh! Jin couldn't stop a little grin from crossing his lips. He knew the sound of a lighter when he heard it, and apparently so did the prefect. Jin flattened against the wall again as the prefect made his way to that cell and went up to the bars; speaking to the source of the sound. Jin followed silently and settled behind the prefect as he spoke. "You, in the back! What are you doing there?" Jin took a moment to look past the prefect to the face illuminated a bit by the small light from the brightly glowing cigarette butt, the figure breathing out smoke. Jin stood in one swift motion, seeing his moment, and looped an arm around the prefect's neck, forming a dagger in his free hand and stabbing it into the boy's lower back. His face went rigid with pain, his eyes rolled up in his head and he crumpled to the ground, Jin silently lowering him to reduce the sound produced. Afterwards Jin stood, rolling his shoulders and looking through the bars at the small stream of smoke coming from the back of the cell. "Rex, I presume?"

[Rex]

"Oh...?" Rex let out quietly, as he began to shift, slowly pulling the hood of his somewhat scuffed and torn hoodie up over his head. A small smile playing on the corners of his lips, as he overheard a conversation with one of the guards coming into the Dungeon to do his rounds. It seemed that some guards were unresponsive, and the main hub of communications couldn't locate where they were through there tracking system. It seemed...Someone, a rather skilled someone, was thinning out there numbers, and was starting to start an early stir of chaos. Then, something caught his attention...Something that made his little grin, oh so wider. With the two guards seemingly MIA, the main hub was started to worry a bit, and asked for extra security at a place called the observation wing. It couldn't get any easier. "Heh...Perfect." He gave a low chuckle...One that...Made the other kids around him, slide away just a tad.

It seemed like now, was as perfect time as any to lay his plan into motion. He slowly reached his hand into his hoodie pocket, and pulled out, what looked to be a small tube of blood...possibly his own. "..." Staring into the tube, his mind went back to the whole string of events, that lead to this...All of this.

One week before Rex's Match.

"Alright...A-Alright...I T..Think we can leave this as...As a tie...Ya?" The seemingly tired, and battered Rex was holding his hands out to a male of seemingly equal fatigue. Mako, a rather recent friend of Rex's, whom was saved by Rex, almost as many times, as he's saved Rex. It was a friendship that was seemingly hitting of rather well, and rather fast for what it started out to be. And today was no different...It seemed Mako was interested to see if Rex's power was strong enough to make him a leader, and the two went at it in a rather violent, seemingly no hold's kinda brawl, that left both panting and sweating on the ground. With a pained laugh, Rex slowly sat up holding a nice gash in his stomach tightly. "H-Haa...Been abit...Sense someone's...Done me in like this...Haa...You still...With me...Sharky?" He asked, though didn't seem to wait to see the response, knowing Mako wouldn't go down just like that. "I...Have an idea for ya..Something...Something I'm about to start...I'm...Thinking of finally...Coming outta the dark...And...Setting something big...In motion...Heh...Sound...Interesting?"

Present Day

"...No turning back now...I hope he's ready...We've been planning this part the most..." He sighed, and gave a soft grunt as he slowly stood up, using the light of his smoke to guide him somewhat, not wanting to draw to much attention to his motions. He then took the vile of blood, and moved over to the seemingly only window in his cell. He shook the blood around in the Tube once more, before he reached his arm out of the window, and broke the glass along the wall of the building, letting his own, condensed, and somewhat altered blood roll down the wall. "Get a whiff of that...Sharky...And hurry up...I doubt we'll have much room for error..." he said to seemingly no one, though his gaze seemed to be fixated out into the forest...He knew the plan was to attract Mako's sense of smell, to the altered blood, he spent a whole week getting him used to the smell...As creepy as that was...He was sure it would work...Wait...What was that sound? It sounded like...A twin set of foot steps...


"You, in the back! What are you doing there?"



The male shined his light in on Rex, currently back in his sitting position against the wall, the smoke slowly rising from the end of his cigarette. He was lucky he caught the steps when he did. His reaction helped him be quick...But not that quick, he barley made it in time to get away from the window, and go back to his spot, seemingly doing nothing but smoking, something the guards gave him, if he needed a good excuse. The guard began to open his mouth again, if it was a lecture, he got off lucky. He didn't need him bringing any attention over to this side of the building. However, before he could get out any more 'wise' words, he was quickly, and efficiently silenced by...Well he wasn't sure, the light fell down and rolled over to the bars, leaving the attack caped in the darkness still. He was sure it wasn't anyone he knew...Or at least it wasn't anyone he was planning on coming so...Wait, maybe he was the one taking down the guards...It would make sense, seeing as he did it so effectively right there in front of him...But then, why was the question...Luckily enough for him, the male began to speak...To him...Asking, strangely enough, about him.

"...Yeah...That's me...So...To who do I owe the pleasure of meeting with-" And within' that moment, he slowly reached up to grab the stick, from his mouth, before flicking it through the bars, and right in front of Jin's face, before falling at his feet. Lighting up his face long enough, for Rex to grin. "Jin...Shidehara...Head of Battle Front?" He knew this man...And his 'tactics' a little to well. He looked into him, almost as much as Jin looked into Rex. He was well aware of how he seemed to run, and how he seemed to act, and sense he was seemingly recently appointed head, there was a lot more leaked dirt to cover, that he didn't seem to caution on cleaning up. Which, as Rex knew, always happens in a time of confusion, and what's more confusing, then a sudden change of power. 

"Hm...By the look on your face...I can tell you have a lot of questions...But before you start with yours...I have a few of my own...Then again...I'm sure time isn't something your willing to spar...So answer whichever ones you want...And leave the others unanswered, if you want." He didn't even look up at Jin, when talking to him, he was somewhat busy gathering another smoke, to replace the one he so shamefully wasted. "First question...Are you the man running around like crazy...Thinning down these guy's numbers...And to follow up to that question...Why...?" He then let out a small stream of smoke, before looking up into the darkness, and surprisingly, though Jin's face was shrouded in the dark, locking eyes with the man. "Second question...What's your game in all this...What's your plan...Your groups plan...And how does it involve the neutrals...I warn you...Depending on your answer...This conversation might stop dead in it's tracts..." His eyes were serious...If Jin gave him a answer he didn't except, he would silence all talks with him, and seemingly ignore the male, no matter what he offered or did...Rex, wasn't playing around here...Not today.