Tony felt his heart sink at the mention of Anne having almost jumped off a roof and needing rehab. "Damn..." he said softly. "Shit... is... is she gonna be OK? What clinic are you sending her to?" he asked, drumming his claws on the steering wheel as he pushed the pedal down a bit more heavily here. He suddenly had the inclination to go and see how she was doing; it was his day off, after all. "Oh yeah and I was just calling to see how things were... I think Vergil gets back in town today, and I wanted to discuss well... Kalis, and what he means for the future of Ivitz." Tony outlined.
Vergil had to admit, the ride on the motorcycle was kind of thrilling. He'd never been on one before... or perhaps he had, but he certainly couldn't remember it. Looking up at the rather foreboding building, he kind of doubted Triste at first, but figured it had to be true. Entering the lobby, a stoat with wiry spectacles greeted the pair. "Agent Acyle... Agent Speicher... welcome to Section G. I'm Preston Fugate, special liaison for the special forces. Agent Speicher... it's good to see you back with us." he said seriously but sincerely too, despite his somewhat wooden posture. "This way, please." He motioned with a paw, and led them to an elevator in the rear of the lobby.
Swiping a card he had, the doors opened and Vergil regarded them with a smirk. "Thought I'd had enough of these for one day." he cracked to Triste. The elevator took them down several levels, deep into the heart of the underground beneath the building. Exiting into hallways that appeared as sterile as the greenery had been, the stoat led them down several passageways until they reached a door with heavy security out front. The guards however stood aside and didn't give the newcomers a second glance however as Fugate led them into a large conference room.
A round table dominated the chamber, and a giant screen with the Ivitz Federation's logo on it hung above them. Seated around the table were various species, some dressed in military attire, and some not. They regarded Vergil as if he were a curiosity, but then, curiosity melted away to smiles, though some seemed force while others were genuine.
"Sit down." Fugate instructed the two of them before taking a seat himself. "These gathered here are the upper echelon of Section G, Ivitz's special forces. They were, and hopefully still are your direct superiors, Agent Speicher. First though... I assume you have some questions."
"Do I ever..." Vergil began, looking around the room at the new faces. "So uh... first things first I guess... since uh... Agent Acyle seemed to know... who exactly am I... and what's my connection to Rex Sardolemuel?"
A pause here, and a dignified looking pangolin in a military uniform spoke up after a moment. "I can answer that. You're Vergil Speicher, Agent 127072. You were recruited by us five years ago in the aftermath of the Scorched Earth War. Before that, you had been a soldier in the Federation's service. Rather than me bore you with the details, we could permit you access to your personnel files..."
"Do I have any surviving family?" Vergil quickly broke in.
"No, I'm afraid not. You were orphaned at a young age, and under Federation welfare for some time. But getting back to what I was saying, we recruited you specifically to Agent Acyle's squad to act as a double agent when Rex Sardolemuel began acting... against Federation orders. You had served under him previously, and he trusted you quite a lot. You were reporting to Agent Acyle frequently on any developments that occurred with Sardolemuel. As he began turning more and more rogue and his power grew, your assignment became increasingly dangerous, until we decided to pull you out. No sense in having a corpse on our hands, after all. What you had discovered before that though... was of vital importance." The pangolin tapped a keypad in front of him, and the screen burst into life like the rising sun, bringing new light into the room.
"Sardolemuel and Kalis were starting to hunt for a place where the sea flows into a gaping hole... a place known as Torment's Cataract. We believe a city once stood there, but suffered some great calamity, and sank into the sea, leaving the Cataract behind in its place. The location is notoriously difficult to find, not only because it's one giant waterfall and sinkhole, but also because it sits in a region of massive electromagnetic interference, making locating it remotely impossible, as well as sending any aerial reconnaissance in to be a risky proposition at best. According to our research, the civilization that built their city at the Cataract also constructed a massive battleship, ten times greater than anything we've ever been able to develop."
Concept art appeared now on the screen, and Vergil whistled at the sheer size of the projections. The ship was estimated to be almost 4,000 square miles*, which would rival some small countries in size. "We know this vessel exists from ancient records we uncovered, but so too did Sardolemuel. However, it's believed to sit at the Cataract, and the location of the former city was carefully hidden by this civilization in a series of waypoints they set up across the globe. Sardolemuel had located about half of them before we pulled you out, but before he could finish his quest, we took him down." the pangolin continued. "He grew overconfident, and we were able to bring his fleet to battle before he could find the last waypoints. You and Agent Acyle were part of a team sent to infiltrate his ship and kill him personally. The mission was... mostly a success, as Kalis turned on Sardolemuel and fired on his ship with his own, getting a bit too greedy as it were. But in the destruction of Sardolemuel's flagship... we assumed you were lost. Agent Acyle reported she wasn't able to save you... and much to our relief, here you are."
Vergil glanced at Triste now, then back at the pangolin. "Why relief?" he asked.
"Hm... well you see, Vergil, you're an incredibly valuable asset to us. Outside of Kalis and his forces, you're the only one who witnessed the location of the waypoins, and even though you might not be able to remember them, we know they're there... buried within your memory. You're the only link we have to those waypoints, and your memory is coming back. Just now you were researching the location of one of them, after all. We think if you could unlock those memories... remember how to find these things, then you could help lead us to Torment's Cataract before Kalis."
Vergil chewed his bottom lip. "But I don't know..."
"But you have to try." the pangonlin reiterated. "It is there, Vergil... and if Kalis beats us to the Cataract... it'll spell devastation for not only Ivitz, but the entire world. If he gets his hands on that ship... we will fall... and if we fall... nothing stands between him and total domination of this planet, do you understand? You've seen Kalis at work... you know he doesn't care for life. His only goal is chaos and destruction. There is no alternative to this... we need your help in stopping him. He's had zero defectors since assuming control of Sardolemuel's forces, and has killed every agent we've sent to infiltrate his organization. You're the only one who has prior knowledge of the waypoints. Please... this is really our only hope." he pleaded.
Vergil looked up at the ship's projections again, and then down at the table, thinking carefully. "I have a few more questions but... first..." He looked over at Triste. "Agent Acyle... if we're going to be working together, I'm going to need people I can trust. I'm sorry but working with complete strangers isn't going to fly with me... at least... not right away. Since time is of the essence, I really can't sit on this one, and I know that. Would you have any objections if I brought in a talented group of individuals I've come to trust over the past six months? None of them represent a threat to Ivitz, and as they say, desperate times, right?" he asked, looking around the table. "I can vouch for these guys, and I want to work with them again... provided they say yes, of course. If not... I'll settle for your guys instead. Deal?" he asked, looking back at her now, as he needed to be able to trust her first and foremost on this.
*4,000 square miles or roughly the size of the country of Lebanon.
