Dungeon Raider System

Despite clearing the building and double checking for enemies and cryptids, Atkinson didn't leave Gordon's side the entire time. As the only engineer in their team he was the most valuable member for the mission. Even if they all died, as long as Gordon managed to fix communications and send a message back to base their mission would be considered a success.

But this didn't mean he didn't care for his people's lives, just that for him the mission would always come first. It wasn't for nothing that he was made a captain despite being old already when he acquired his trait, as his superiors considered that even if his career was short lasted it would still be well worth the resources they invested in him.

Gordon worked tirelessly for hours without help and in an uncomfortable position under an electronic device no one but him knew. Just like his fellow soldiers, Gordon wanted to be done with the mission and return to the city as soon as possible and although he tried his best, he was nowhere near completing his task.

A loud creaking noise startled the engineer and he hit his head on the electronic device, causing most of what he did during the last hour to be undone in a second of clumsiness. Not that he cared about something like that when the sound announced the presence of someone or something attempting to open the bunker hatch.

In complete silence Atkinson climbed up the stairs followed soon by Gordon, Brown too showed up as the noise had woken her up and by the time the hatch had been open the soldiers were already pointing their weapons at the entrance.

The first thing they saw were a pair of black boots that slowly climbed down the vertical ladder and it wasn't until they saw the camo pants that they spoke.

"Who's there?" Atkinson asked, his voice accompanied by the clicking sound of his taking off his automatic coil rifle's safety.

"Don't shoot, we need help." Uriel said, frozen on the spot.

Atkinson asked the newcomer to climb down 'slow and easy' and didn't relax until Uriel showed he was completely unarmed. Thanks to his ability to conceal his flux energy Uriel emitted the same amount of energy an evolved would which also helped the soldiers to relax.

This changed the moment Kristina followed and they became guarded for a couple seconds, until they noticed the tiny huntress on her arms. They were all dressed in military outfits, a small precaution Uriel took before entering what he identified as an abandoned military base.

"Please, she's hurt." Uriel pleaded.

"State your name and rank first, soldier." Atkinson replied without lowering his weapon.

"I'm lieutenant Sage, on a secret mission and you better stop wasting my time." He replied, his face was a stone mask devoid of emotion.

"It's one thing to pretend to be soldiers, but pretending you're an officer can get you in a lot of trouble with the army." Kristina whispered into Uriel's ear.

"Well, lieutenant Sage, it seems you're mistaking on more than one account. You can't come here and boss us around because first, there is no way another squad was dispatched here. It is impossible to come or go from this place by air and the only ship available will only return once we call, which I must mention can't be done until the comms are fixed. And second, even if you were a lieutenant, I still outrank you." Captain Atkinson sneered as though he caught Uriel in a blatant lie.

"That is because we didn't come by sea or air, we came on foot all across Paris. Or do you think my friend is just pretending to be poisoned by radiation?"

"Yeah, that's definitely bull. No one can just waltz their way across France." Brown said as she cocked her gun, but Atkinson stopped her and asked for proof. As unlikely as Uriel's story was, evidence suggested it was still possible, especially their bold claim of being part of a secret mission.

"You want proof, how about I call the Quill," He said as he grabbed his phone and dialed a number. His mind was so focused on Luna's poor health condition that he completely forgot he was inside an underground bunker in another continent and that there were no signal repeaters nearby. "I do have his number, but we probably should contact him using the radio."

"Get Evans here STAT, he'll know what to do." Atkinson commanded. If Uriel's claims were true or false, he would be able to confirm it once the comms were up, but if the little girl died there would be no way to fix thins.

"If he's not here it means he must be asleep, I'll go fetch him." Gordon said, but Brown intervened.

"No, I came from the dormitory and he wasn't there. Last time I saw him was in the shower, but..." It was only at that moment that the soldiers realized one of their men was missing and although they would have liked to pin it on Uriel, there was no way he could have entered before without opening the noisy bunker hatch.

"Whatever, I know what's wrong with her. We just need to give her some potassium iodide." Uriel grunted as he went to rummage through the emergency medkits placed here and there along the bunker.

The soldiers, though, had lost all their interest in Uriel or his companions as they searched for Evans throughout the building, eventually finding his body by the bathroom's entrance. He was naked just like last time Brown saw him, but his body was completely dissected as though all the moisture from his body had been painstakingly extracted to the point of being mummified.

"He attempted to exit the bathroom." Uriel said with disinterest. His sudden appearance startled brown who couldn't help but think for a glimpse of a second it was Evans pulling a prank on her despite his body laying directly in front of her.

"Do you know what did this?" Asked Atkinson.

"No, but if we're lucky, Luna will wake up and tell us soon enough." Uriel said with such confidence it made them forget his identity had yet to be proven.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, despite Uriel giving her the anti radiation pills Luna remained unconscious for hours. In that time Gordon had gone back to work while Atkinson and Brown pointed their weapons towards Uriel with caution, though they still made small conversation.

The Quill was well known among the soldiers, though for those in ranks lower than colonel he was mostly considered a legend. The feats attributed to the Quill were as fantastic as the supposed strength he possessed and for those who didn't even know about the existence of holy rank hunters it was hard to believe he even existed.

As luck would have it, Atkinson not only was among the few captains that did know of the Quill's existence but actually saw him fight once. It was a life changing experience that managed to turn him into a half assed soldier into the disciplined army man he was today and he loved to listen to the stories Uriel told about Mister Scofield, despite not knowing if he could trust him or not.

Claiming to possess the phone number of a general, let alone the Quill himself was too much to believe. Even more when Uriel spoke so casually about him and his daughter, which could only be attributed to an extremely good liar or someone utterly insane. Two characteristics Uriel had been accused of before, though it became evident he was neither when relief showed up in his face when the communications were fixed and they managed to contact the ship.

Atkinson himself had no clearance to contact the Quill directly, which meant his request had to pass through several hoops until Mister Scofield finally picked up the radio.

"Young bookworm, is that really you?" Asked Scofield with a benign tone, the same an old man would use with their grandson.

"Hi, Mister Scofield, how are you doing?"

"This campaign has been rough, I would love to chitchat, but I can only spare a couple minutes." He said dejectedly, then followed up with a question that left everyone in shock. "how is Lizzie doing?"

"I don't know where she is yet but I have confirmation that she's alright and I'm working on finding her, but you see, there's a few soldiers here giving me trouble. I would really appreciate it if you set them straight for me." Uriel stood up from the chair leaving Atkinson in front of the radio.

Doubtful at first, Atkinson asked whether or not he was actually talking to the Quill himself and turned pale as a ghost when the man replied. Gone was the soft voice and the casual chat, Mister Scofield was now severe and brief. By the time Atkinson stood up his mouth moved like a fish out of water as he tried to find the words to apologize to the lieutenant.

Needless to say, Mister Scofield had Uriel's back as always and although he was against intervening directly, he figured that giving him authority over a small squad was nothing much. He also understood that by telling the soldiers to fall back and just do as Uriel commanded, he was not just helping Uriel but also saving the lives of those who were unfortunate enough to stand in his way.