‘Matthias, we have your dungeon after all. Except we’ll be facing monsters involved with science and technology, an odd experience given the Ocean Gods hatred of technology. It doesn’t make any sense at least to my mind. They reduced me in their own way, did you arrive here with your own sword or was it a gift from the Ocean Gateway System and your own initial rescuer?’ asked Carissa.

When she received no response she read over the message in front of her eyes, trying her best to save it to memory before she decided on the simplest course of action. Any system would likely have the same basic functions and a little test like this wasn’t trying to usurp authority but a simple following of untold rules.

For a moment she wondered why exactly Mike had given her so much information about the Ocean Gods but no real practical explanation for how to interact with the system beyond a few vague remarks. If she saw him again, she’d need to be in a stronger position for answers.

‘Save the message or record it for later recall.’ said Carissa openly.

She’d query Matthias on his own experiences at a later point. The young man with platinum hair remained focused with his own gaze focused on an unknown point of the corridor wall in front of him.

Then he shook his head deeply before he reached inside his spatial bag attached to his belt and pulled out a sword.

This was different to the pure metal of the one that he’d openly held before and kept a near death grip on even when the Ocean God calling itself Apkallu had temporarily possessed him. He’d been forced to drop it but she could see why he had put his original weapon away and kept it hidden.

For a Knight of Avalon, even one in training to lose his weapon must have been humiliating to say the least. If he wanted to talk later then Carissa would give him her full attention. Being directly controlled by a higher power wasn’t a pleasant experience and even less so when they removed or disabled a part of your person.

Carissa was satisfied that her own bone weapon was stored away as was enough food and drink packs to last the both of them. They’d both been given fairly clear objectives and tasks by the system but it appeared to her that they’d seen be in the middle of a war zone.

Her own experiments with the system would need to wait for a time when she wasn’t going to be fighting for her life. Ideally, in a safer zone if anything existed.

Turning her attention towards Matthias she saw him cradling a familiar looking object in both of his hands as he flipped it over and then back onto a screen. A buzzing sound rang out but Carissa opted to ignore it and she’d get Matthias to do the same.

‘Matthias, I don’t know what kind of experience you had exactly when that...being took control of you and you need time to decompress and discuss it but we don’t exactly have the time right now. I know what that device is and who it’s likely directly connected to but put it away. Also, I like the new sword. It suits our newly found...dungeon. All I need to know right now is are you here with me in the here and now? You promised me support and we’re a team according to the message from the puddle water gods. Either, you begin to talk with me or I’m taking off on my own.’ said Carissa.

A noise rang out further down the corridor, out of their line of sight but close enough to give them a basic warning. Footsteps, first slow and then a person breaking into a run

The klaxon in the corridor rang out with a familiar message. Matthias raised his head away from the small screen and gave it a little shake before he softly put it inside his storage bag attached to his belt.

Readying his sword and occasionally glancing behind him Matthias took a combat stance, the style of it was unfamiliar to her eyes as he kept his sword gripped tightly on the side but kept the other arm loose with clenched fingers opening and closing.

‘Yes, yes. I’m fine. There was a message from a man. The name was unfamiliar enough that I prefer not to judge your own personal tastes. Still, it was sad. I was sent here by my Lady and my mentor. It was agreed that I would represent Avalon and I would either learn from my own failings and return or stay here. Your club. You’ve never held a weapon properly before. Not an issue but...never mind. Hold and swing and don’t overreach.’ said Matthias.

The footsteps slowed down a little and the sound of someone breathing heavily came from a little way down the corridor as a figure emerged. Carissa and Liam began to advance steadily, each one taking turns in checking behind them and keeping an ear out for any further interactions.

Given the nature of the quest from the Ocean Gateway System Carissa had been expecting an immediate armed threat, an armed soldier to challenge both of them. Not a scientist dressed in a white laboratory coat who was holding out a small handheld device in front of him closely while planting a hand against the wall catching his breath back.

The man was middle-aged with dark hair and brown eyes, Carissa detected strands of grey running through his hair. His body looked strong enough though, firm muscles showing beneath his tightly buttoned white shirt and coat.

If he hadn’t been dressed like he was Carissa would have taken him for security personnel or a soldier from his bearing. When he saw them, the scientist changed his posture and straightened his back up, even as he gulped in several deep breaths.

‘Keep back! Stay away from me! I’m not being taken! I’ve seen the hidden reports! I didn’t sign up for this, none of us did. I just want to be released to the surface and find my family again before we all die. I. Keep back! I’m warning you!’ said the scientist.

Matthias showed no signs of his previous hesitation or doubt as he pushed forward off his back foot with his coral style sword held in one hand. As the scientist raised the device towards the oncoming young man, Carissa was sure that she saw sparks coming from the hand-held device and held her tongue from warning Matthias.

To the surprise of Carissa, the young man pivoted his sudden movements and switched his sword into his other hand before he held out a single hand palm out and fixing his gaze directly into the eyes of the scientist before he stuck into what Carissa supposed was a combat pose with the coral sword facing edge down.

‘Put it down. We all know what this place is. You have two choices, surrender and become our prisoner or fight your way past us. I won’t repeat my offer again. I treat you as an opponent out of respect for your station and the fact you approach us armed.’ said Matthias.

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If he could fight then let him show her how capable she was. A dungeon scenario meant threats, but the specific type was a little vague to her own mind. If she was to place it as a scientific experiment then she and Matthias were the testing subjects who were placed under a series of threats and pressures designed to elicit a response.

Carissa had never been that interested in fantasy or made-up stories beyond those about mermaids and creatures of the oceans and not since her parents had decided when she was old enough to focus on academics and not waste her valuable time.

Focused on her own thoughts, Carissa was still able to take in the sheer speed and ferocity of Matthias as he covered the scientist with his sword. He half-turned his head towards Carissa and shook it slightly as though to warn her back a little.

It hadn’t stopped her parents’ colleagues or old fisherman and fisherwomen telling her tales about myths and legends of the creation of the sea and magical inhabitants but it had dampened her interest as she grew older. Entertainment for her became a case of physically pushing herself with water sports or throwing herself into self-study.

‘Keep back! All I want to do is leave this place. The research I was promised is a lie, everything was a lie. The Director sold us a false dream. Please. You understand don’t you, you escaped the experiments. I’m sorry for what you’ve gone through but please, just put down your knife and let me get past you. I won’t tell security I saw you. All I want to do is see my family just one more time before they drown. Before we all drown. Please. Please let me go.’ interrupted the scientist.

The sound of his voice drew Carissa out of her own self-introspection of old memories towards her own situation. For a dangerous situation and given the warnings of the Ocean Gateway System and the detailed description of the Deep-Water Purification Facility as a place of mad experimentation and horrors a single scientist clearly wasn’t the worse threat here.

Information would be more useful than trying to fight a single lone scientist. Armed as he was with his taser or variant of it she doubted that he could do much more. Unless he had hidden a gun or a small hand-held laser inside his white coat then he wasn’t much of a threat. She noticed that Matthias had frozen in his position but had raised his coral blade up slightly, prepared to react but he failed to strike the first blow.

‘Matthias. Hold your position. You. What recombinant DNA techniques do you work with?’ queried Carissa.

The pristine white corridor had yet to show any signs of further intrusion and the previous klaxon warning was silent. All she could hear was the sound of the scientist taking in a deep breath as he held out the same device.

‘No. You’re trying to trick me. A prisoner who understands science? I don’t recognise you…unless...who was your Head of Department? Which section did you work for? I heard they ran out of experimental subjects and were using those who were deemed unsuitable. Broken under the mental pressure. They...I can’t. I can’t talk about it. You...your clothes...are. Knife. That isn’t a knife...cult. Cultist. You’re cultists! No. My family are already dead, aren’t they? No. I’m not going to worship those...things. Back away from me. I’m warning you. I’ll kill you, if you try and hurt me, I’ll be forced to kill you.’ said the scientist.

As he began to back away slowly back down the corridor, he reached one hand inside a side pocket of his white coat and Matthias stirred to action once again but this time he readied his coral sword and took several measured steps backwards before he called out to Carissa.

‘Carissa. I promised to train you and give you a degree of protection. When we became a group, I made a promise to work with you, to survive. I am owed a favour in return but you need to listen to my words. I will not force you but you need to listen to me carefully.’ said Matthias as he raised his free hand and put a hand on his own spatial bag attached to his belt.

Backing away the scientist pulled his hand free of the pocket of his white coat and wiped it on his shirt discolouring it with his own blood. He held out the taser device and examined it strangely as though it was an object which he had never seen before group, he let it drop to the floor.

The clattering sound echoed along the corridor but inside Carissa was secure that the man was no longer a direct threat.

‘Code Zeta. They enabled Code Zeta. It’s too late. We’re all going to die down here, only the Head of Security or the General know both full codes. Promise me. I can tell you something of value if you do something for me. My family, I’m going to show both of you a photo and if you see them then please give them my last words. Please. My name….my name is Hui Pengfei. I was a research scientist here. My work...my work was…’ said the scientist as he faltered over his words.

The man stumbled slightly as he put a bloody handprint against the side wall of the corridor.

Matthias had shifted his own position close to Carissa this time as he side-stepped gently, his feet not making any sound on the floor as he kept his head and eyes clearly focused on the scientist.

‘Carissa. Stop thinking to yourself and ask yourself. Do you trust me? Carissa, I need an answer.’ queried Matthias as he placed a free hand on Carissa’s grey suit covered shoulder shaking her gently.

The dark-haired scientist in front of them had collapsed into a sobbing mess, his words harder to break out between his deep sobs but she recognised the tears falling down his cheeks. Carissa had been in that state before when she has lost all hope. On the ground in front of him several objects were strewn. The taser device, several photos and what came across as a wedding ring. It certainly glinted like one.

‘Do not focus on him. I know this trick. They’re trying to humanise him. To draw you into a weakened state. Carissa. Do you trust me?’ asked Matthias.

His hand on her shoulder gripped tighter and Carissa shrugged to brush it off. She didn’t appreciate his physical contact on her, even if they were stuck in the same situation together.

‘Matthias, you don’t touch me without my permission are we clear? Also, I trust you. This man is a wreck, we can ignore him and move forwards. Whatever threat he posed is negligible at best.’ said Carissa.

Matthias shook her head violently as he touched his spatial bag on his belt and opened it before putting his coral sword inside and closing it.

‘Kill him. Kill him right now. Believe me. You haven’t killed someone before, I can tell. You have the signs of hesitation and the will to kill but you need to take the action. You have your bone club and I am no longer armed with a weapon. Protect me or yourself and kill him. You said that you trust me, then kill him. And do it quickly while he is distracted. I remind you we are inside a dungeon. I am not familiar with this one but I recognise the style of this encounter.’ said Matthias.

Carissa wanted to turn her head to reproach him for his words but she had learnt her lesson clearly enough. Her interest in the scientist had been academic at best, in truth she hadn’t felt an emotional response when the middle-aged man had begun crying or called out for his family. There was no reason for her to try and fulfil the requests of a complete stranger.

Either her experiences in this place had begun to condition her or her brain chemistry had remained unaltered from her own personal experiments designed to reduce her need for human style ethics.

‘Good enough. This might get a little messy though.’ said Carissa with a look of boredom on her face.

She held up her own bone club and ran a gloved grey suited finger along one of the sharp protruding tooth edges. Even though she was going to kill a man who worked in her previous profession who was crying for his own family Carissa felt little.

‘Don’t learn to enjoy it. Treat is as a task, nothing more. To enjoy it is to become a monster and humans don’t accept those. Even for survival, killing is a necessary task. Now go.’ said Matthias as he stepped further behind Carissa.