Ardiente

The base of operations for the Dominion of the Hakaishin's Earth caste. Ardiente, formerly known as the Kremlin, is the headquarters of the Gladiators: Geppro, Mareije, Bayoll, Elzante and Shelly.

## Layout

Ardiente is a heavily fortified and restructured Kremlin, which has been given great Roman Empire, Ancient Greek, Mayan, Incan, Spanish, Fuedal Japanese and tribal-esque motifs and themes, as well as a great deal of fire, signifying the Dominion's flare and presence. The former Kremlin's Tsar Bell has been repaired and moved to the Tsar Tower. The building has over 50 floors below ground level in addition to those above ground..

### Sectors and Chambers

* Judicial Gate - The Judical Gate is a gigantic gateway that serves as the main entrance of the base.
* Hall of Grace - The Hall of Grace is a gigantic hall with various artifacts and statues contained inside it. These seem to be a culmination of all of the artifacts the Gladiators and those assigned to them have collected or stolen, and used for decoration purposes. Some of these artifacts appear to be ancient weapons.
* Seats of the House - A former war cabinet that was repurposed for the Gladiators.
* Escalon Tower
* Tsar Tower - A tower that houses the repaired Tsar Bell.
* Legion Tower - A tower that is used to remind former Legion of Phazon members of the Dominion that the Dominion is in *complete* control of them. It is also used as a "trophy case" to show against any opposing forces, as it contains a giant statue of Phazorus Rezfarda that has fallen into a state of decay.
* La Subida - Also known as "The Climb", this tower is one of the tallest towers in Ardiente.
* Florence Tower
* Sky Tower
* Indigo Tower
* Drought Chamber - Geppro's chambers.
* Storm Chamber - Mareije's chambers.
* Plague Chamber - Bayoll's quarters.
* Fog Chamber - Elzante's quarters.
* Great Chamber - Shelly's quarters.
* Heart Chamber - The chamber where the former Legion of Phazon's Heart lies. The Heart is used as one of the main power generators of Red Square.
* Gate Chamber - A chamber housing a Numen Gate, a doorway that allows one to transport themselves to far away locations which also have Numen Gates, such as bases on other worlds.
* Portal Chamber - A chamber containing a large portal that leads to an undisclosed location in Downation.
* Trion Insurgence Quarters and Lounge
* Military Quadrants and Barracks
* Shrine of Embre - A shrine of currently unknown origin. It is one of a few shrines that are known to empower Makaiohs when active.

## Building Ardiente

*A pair of pods and two ships land on the Kremlin, one of each to either side. Geppro, Tanaan and Rourke arrive to greet them. The ships seemingly attach themselves to the building and parts of them spring open and rise. Circular plates on each open up, revealing them as cannons. The pods open up as a larger ship lands in Red Square, and tons of soldiers march out. More than half approach the building, while the rest begin moving to the other parts of the square, with cargo containing what seems to be gigantic bricks. Two figures from the pods approach the trio.*

Geppro: Welcome, Elzante, Shelly.

Elzante: This place is ugly.

Shelly: Is beauty seriously the only thing you care about?

Elzante: Ugh. You have no taste. Even for a woman.

Geppro: Cease this nonsense! We are **Gladiators**, the Hakaishin's finest warriors!

Shelly: Fine.

Elzante: Fine.

Geppro: Anyways. I see that his majesty prepared us with the best equipment to help us convert this place.

Shelly: Yeah, everything's here. Decorations, infantry, weapons, defenses, the lot.

Geppro: How long do you thing it would take to complete?

Shelly: Depending on circumstances, about two hours.

Elzante: Hmm... Where are the other two?

Geppro: Mareije is still carrying out his mission. Bayoll, however...

Shelly: ... What has he done now?

Geppro: A man known as Patrikolos tried to stop us in our tracks. Bayoll took things to head and left with the man to fight elsewhere.

Shelly: Damn it. Why does he like fighting so damn much?!

Elante: We shouldn't worry about him right now. We should focus on Ardiente.

Geppro: Ardiente?

Elzante: That is the name the Hakaishin has chosen for our new base. That reminds me...

*Elzante turns to Rourke.*

Elzante: The Hakaishin wanted you to return to Phazon. Your work here is done for now.

Rourke: Ok, I guess...

*Rourke flies off.*

Shelly: There was the Hakaishin's second Phazon-related order, too. Soldiers from the former Legion are to be converted rather than disposed of.

Geppro: Good. More hands are better than few.

*The Gladiators and Tanaan head inside Ardiente.*

## La Tormenta

*Mareije and Equilatrium appear in the centre of Red Square.*

Equilatrium: This place has changed rather quickly.

Mareije: Indeed. That large building over there is Ardiente. We will take the Heart there.

*The two head towards the base. Soldiers approach them. They point their guns at Equilatrium.*

Mareije: Stand down. He is one of us.

*The soldiers comply.*

Mareije: Now that you are all here, deliver the Heart to its destination.

Captain: Yessir!

*The soldiers scurry over to the Heart and begin leading it inside the base. Shelly and Elzante appear.*

Elzante: When the Hakaishin said "the Heart", he wasn't too far off from one.

Mareije: Spare your humour, Elzante.

Shelly: Who might this be?

Mareije: This is Equilatrium, he's one of us.

Shelly: Ah, I've heard about you. Records say that you're dead. You look different too.

Equilatrium: This is my true body.

Shelly: True body, eh? Any more secrets you want to share with us?

Equilatrium: Yes, actually. My true allegiances, the Trion Insurgence, will be arriving here later today, and they *will* be entering the grounds of the base. They, like me, are part of the Dominion.

Shelly: Ok, ok. Cool down.

Mareije: Was this the insurgence you referred to?

Equilatrium: Yes. The Trion Insurgence is a collective of Trion mercenaries led by myself. There are twelve of us.

Elzante: Reminds me of Order VI, our other mercenaries.

## The Twelve Insurgents

*A small pod landed somewhere on the square. Equilatrium and Mareije approached it.*

Equilatrium: They're here. The Insurgents.

*The pod opens, and eleven figures step out. Each of them looked different to one another. Some of them seem to be hybrid Trion beings. Some of them appeared to wear varying types of hats.*

Mareije: This way, ladies and gentlemen. Your arrival is most opportune for the Dominion.

*The Insurgents are led into a spacious round room inside Ardiente.*

Mareije: The Hakaishin was willing to allow the twelve of you to use this room and the one next to it as your lounge and quarters.

Equilatrium: Good. We have a good place to lay down our own private plans and such.

Mareije: That reminds me. Are there any targets of yours we should currently know of?

Eleven: We have a few currently, but they are just a few loose ends.

Ponche M.: We only have one notable to the Dominion at current.

Mareije: And who is this?

Equilatrium: Former Legion of Phazon head scientist and third general, Dracorex.

Mareije: Ah. I was going to tell you that he was one of the people the Hakaishin wanted you to deal with.

Nubila: And who are the others?

*Mareije hands Equilatrium a few sheets of paper, wanted posters.*

Mareije: Along with Dracorex, we have his followers, the brothers Typhoon and Zero Huyabusa, high-risk Dominion oppressors Angel-Ion Excalvur and Ronin Sabor, space pirates Arbiter Zirøkras and Bellamy Razul, and another ex-Legionnaire, Cato's right hand man, Vakron Quatiche.

Equilatrium: Six heads, eh?

Mareije: As you can see, Dracorex and his cronies are considered the highest priority, while the two space pirates are the lowest, as the Hakaishin may attempt to sway them under his wing.

Equilatrium: So it is agreed. Dracorex and the two brothers are who we hunt first.

Mareije: Indeed.

Equilatrium: We'll begin our hunt as soon as we have set up.

Mareije: Good. I'm glad we have you in our company.

## The Portal

*A giant ring shaped device has been set up in a special chamber. It has caught the attention of several curious soldiers, including Elzante.*

Elzante: What's this?

Shelly: This is a special portal that leads to an unknown point in a location called "Downation".

Elzante: Huh?

Shelly: It's reported to be a place in a realm of some sort called "Fantasy". The former Legion of Phazon has had some staff head there to do missions. Equilatrium and Mareije retrieved the schematics for this portal from their old base.  They're just about to activate it.

*The portal is activated. A blue light eminates in the centre. Two soldiers approach it and head through.*

Shelly: It looks like they're testing it.

*They emerge. One sticks up his thumb.*

Shelly: It works.

Elzante: How'd ya know strangers won't get in?

Shelly: They won't. On the other side we're setting up a stronghold. It will have the same defences as Red Square, meaning the average stranger can't get inside. Even if somebody *does* get through, we will shut the portal down and apprehend them, and have them carted off to the dungeons.

Elzante: Why do we have this, anyways?

Shelly: It's under orders from one of the Oka Eritoshin, Zurakiel.

Elzante: Z-Zurakiel?! You can't be serious! That bastard?! He's gonna lead us to our deaths!

Shelly: Relax. One of the other Eritoshin has handled the issue so that Zurakiel's plans don't go sideways and kill us all.

Elzante: Oh... That's a relief.

Shelly: They've already sent us schematics for some operations to carry out in there. But they don't want us to do any until we've set up shop here on Earth. We still have objectives that they want to carry out here, too. The Insurgents are already handling one of these, fortunately.

## Bayoll Returns

*Soldiers begin flocking to one side of the Red Square barrier. Bayoll has returned. He walks through the barrier and removes his cloak, before throwing it at a soldier.*

Elzante: Had fun?

Bayoll: No.

Elzante: So I'm guessing you didn't kill him.

Bayoll: Nope.

Geppro: You fool! He is likely not going to hesitate. He will come after us.

Bayoll: If he **does** return here, he isn't gonna get through the barrier. I want it's capacity amplified to the maximum level, and I want a Negation Field set up around the perimeter. If that doesn't work, we'll have to summon one of the Oka Eritoshin. *That*one in particular.

Geppro: I see. You've thought this out.

Elzante: He technically has no real reason of attacking now, anyways. As far as I'm aware, their battle is over, and that means the agreement has been settled. If he comes back, the only action he's allowed to take is to leave, per his own agreement.

*Actually, my agreement was no violence so long as you left because I wanted to spare you a terrible death at foreign hands.* Patrikolos' voice echoes through the area shortly before Bayoll fades away. *If you will not leave without fuss, though it is unfortunate, I will have to remove you personally. Don't think a barrier of that caliber will stop me, I can **easily** break through such a flimsy thing without adjusting my limiters or using Gravitas.*

*Bayoll suddenly reappears, having activated his effect reversal to a great level than before.*

Bayoll: Ugh... I really hate using that... First times are ok... Then there's the second...

Elzante: What just happened?

Bayoll: Effect reversal again... Like the black hole incident...

Geppro: Look. We are merely acting under orders. Our Hakaishin has made no intention of capturing any land outside here. We are merely occupying what belongs to us.

Bayoll fades for a third time as Patrikolos continues.

*And you happened to choose the worst possible moment in history to date. Look, I have absolutely no qualms about you being here, but my viewpoint isn't shared by most indigenous people to this world, nor is it shared by the forces comprising the growing storm on its way. I'd rather you live and not be here for a brief period than stay and be decimated by the oncoming disaster. To put it simply, I'm acting for your greater good and if none of your forces can rival my fully limited self, let alone any of me without my limiters, then you stand no chance against the coming forces in the slightest.*

*For some unknown reason, Bayoll doesn't seem to disappear anymore. Elzante eminates a strange, spooky aura, his shadow cast over Bayoll's presence.*

Bayoll: Tch. What makes you think we can't defend ourselves? I told you that I wasn't using my full power, for a reason. The power of the plague spreads on a large scale, and if left unchecked it renders worlds uninhabitabls.

*Just so you know, in that little game of ours, I didn't use a measurable portion of my power, let alone any part requiring me to lessen my limiters. I literally was toying with you to cater to your obviously over inflated ego. The ability your ally is using for example, were I to be actively be trying to get rid of you, you'd be gone without ANY way to be returned. Instead I'm letting you gradually create a tear in time space that will act as a pair annihilation the moment it reaches full power because I honestly don't care enough to actually erase you. Now allow me to reiterate my point: If you can't make me get remotely seriously or take advantage of the huge numbers of openings I purposely left you, you will stand no chance against the invasionary force coming. You will literally be ground to dust by the simple troops, which is why I've warned you to leave before things get remotely serious.*

Bayoll, regardless of Elzante's aura, fades once more.

*Elzante's strange power seems to be keeping Bayoll's presence intact.*

Elzante: You seem to be misunderstanding my power. While I'm not really a fighter or anything, I have a little something called "Negation". This is one of the reasons behind my epithet, Elzante "*of the Fog*". I am using a negation field to keep Bayoll in the safety from whatever it is you're trying to do to him, which I can assume to be elimination by how you explained. As for Bayoll, he is the most egotisical of all five of us. The rest of us hate his tendecies.

Bayoll: Hey!

Elzante: Don't complain. I can just as easily *stop* negating.

Geppro: Picking up on Bayoll's weak point, we aren't here to start wars with any other "invading forces". We Gladiators are capable of defending ourselves against other opponents, maybe to a better extent than what Bayoll thought he could pull off, but we would rather not make any rash decisions that could result in our deaths. We also have considerable care for our own soldiers. I am under personal order to withdraw from Earth in the event that a powerful foe is able to stand against us, something that you're actually proving on your own.

Elzante: Now hold on. If you're claiming an army of sheer power, as you say are "on their way", shouldn't you be concerning your attention with them, rather than us? Besides, our two existing orders relied on the capture or destruction of two things: Former general Dracorex and Red Square.

Geppro: There is also the means on how we are taking Ardiente and the rest of Red Square away from Earth. Under the orders of one of our Oka Eritoshin, we were instructed to use a machine, which is soon to arrive, to cut away the land below, which would allow us to safely remove our presence here without any disturbance. Either way, we aren't here to cause any issues aside from our current hunt for Dracorex, and we've already planned our leave. We'd request you to allow us to do so.

*A shadow is suddenly cast over the area.*

*You really are an idiotic one aren't you? I'm trying to prevent you from getting caught up in a struggle you needn't be in and I'm doing so preemptively. If not for that, I would care less if you were here, so long as you didn't cause trouble as I've said many times. Also, you with the Fog epithet, Negation is weak, especially with how you're using it. Then again, I find the way most children handle their power to be misguided. My opinion aside, if not for the fact that I'm allowing you to negate the attack I used on if, which I really am, he would be gone as I've said before. You really have no visible ability to stop me based on the readings I get from each of you.*

Geppro: I'm not being idiotic. I'm following orders. Our Hakaishin and Oka Eritoshin are unforgiving for disobedience. Not only that, they would rather avoid petty conflicts with other factions over just one world.
*Elzante and Bayoll notice the cast shadow.*

*A gigantic ship begins to loom above Red Square, covering its enitre radius. It draws close to the ground, prepared to cut out the ground.*

Geppro: It seems as though chance has decided our fate.

*Light pillars from the structure beam down on the three Gladiators. They each vanish into the light. Similarly, two other light pillars beam down in other areas, taking up Shelly and Mareije. The structure looms down before devices are suddenly shot into the ground. Soon, dozens of gigantic, thick chains are fired down. The machine begins to lift. Patrikolos notes that the ground around Red Square is rising. Soon, the landmass is found tethered in the sky. The chains retract, and the entire disloged landmass is pulled upwards. A gigantic hatch opens up, and the landmass is pulled inside. The hatch closes up. Below the colossal spacecraft is nothing but a gigantic crater. The craft begins ascending. Patrikolos spots a mysterious, caped figure standing on top of the structure, watching down. Assumed to be an Oka Eritoshin. The figure turns and walks out of Patrikolos' visionary reach. Various ports of the craft light up. Within a matter of minutes of charging, the craft suddenly zips away, into space, leaving a trail of light behind it.*

*This is why I hate this secondary job. Not that it matters anymore, since they've left and hopefully won't return until after my primary job is complete.*