Despite her hands being near useless at the moment, the tips of her fingers moved slightly as they were dragging the moomba shaped figure into the room. How she wanted that somehow they didn’t get informed she had pickpocketed a guard earlier. That was the reason she was in such state where she couldn’t move her arms now. If they didn’t realize it, she was going to be free by this point and probably everyone else around her, but now she was powerless at the very ehh… what was the word… ordinary torturers. She had seen better ones than this. These guys lacked a certain fire in their eyes, they were boring, plan and simple! For better or worse, Rachel was one of those people who can lie directly in the faces of people with no remorse. She had a very professional attitude towards everything and this wasn’t an exception. She was ready to lie, cheat and even backstab if the mission demanded it so. “ Just ask your questions! Why are you torturing the poor creature!” She cried out, her voice full of concern, which of course she as faking as a pro, that damned workaholic. She had her undercover identity she could use in case they demanded identification… It should be more than good enough to buy some time at least before they realize she was lying about that.

Ashton listened as Duncan continued to try and question her but he was soon interrupted as their supposed tormenters entered. She didn't make a sound as her teal colored eyes glanced toward the light that emitted, it her eyes and she had to shut them in order to get used to the flash of light. Before she forced them to open again so she could attempt to make out the silhouette and memorize them. The happy man called himself by the code name Mako. Speaking to them like guests to a dinner party. He spoke to Duncan first, whom responded in a sarcastic manner. In which case, he got pulled further to the darkness, before agonized screams vibrated from his throat, bolts striking his groin before being electrified. Her face scrunched up slightly in discomfort as she witnessed the scene, concern in her eyes as she frowned. The tall blonde tried to shift her shackles slightly, to see if her slender wrists were able to slip through the shackles. But to little avail as she ran the tan skin a little raw.

Mako asked if anyone felt sociable and one of the women of the group piped up, calling herself hell and pretty much egging him on. Mako then sent a man out and soon their tormenters dragged a Moomba in. The terrified cat like creature struggling against its chains. Ashton's frown deepened as she saw the poor cute cuddly creature. The poor things were generally quite friendly, despite usually being used as slaves. Yet, despite how she did want to help the poor thing, there was little she could do at the moment. Otherwise she probably would.

But instead, she remained silent unlike the others. She simply watched the tormenters and listened to everyone's voices.

Despite the searing pain in his crotch, Duncan was more or less able to follow what the others were saying. Most of the team had kept quiet, which was good, but here and there a few of them had let their emotions show. Could be bad if the torturers knew what they were doing... 'Why, you ask? Why must Mr Fluffywumple suffer so? Well it's quite simple really. You have information that I require, specifically the true purpose of SeeD as an organisation. Not exactly top secret details, eh? So surely to save this... poor, hideous little beast, you'll be open and honest with me, no?' With the moomba firmly secured, Mako went back to sauntering around the room, this time stopping before Xerox. 'You there, friend. You look like a man who speaks from the heart.' He clicked his fingers. In the centre of the room, the contraption affixed to the moomba's head began to whir and clank ominously. 'And so I'll ask you something easy to begin with, more of a choice that a question. Which would you prefer to watch; Mr Fluffywumple being sad, or the rest of your friends being sad together?'

The whole situation was ridiculous, and Heliose was annoyed at once more being without her weapons. Then the be asked to give information about the SeeD organization, while possibly harmless, could have serious implications, was just insult to injury. She could read between the lines. Answer the questions, or someone gets hurt. Answer the questions and someone's going to get hurt any way. Don't answer the questions and they'd get hurt anyway.

Heloise narrowed her eyes but didn't say anymore, deciding if this idiot was going to underestimate her, then that was just fine with her. He'd be paying for it later when she kicked his butt. If only she had a dagger. She eyed the man and his comrades, wondering if there was any possibility of getting out of here, and passed them. She hadn't had time to check herself out, to check if they had found everything and she wasn't going to do so when they were in the room.

She bit her lip, watchful now, looking for any sign that they could do anything. Her eyes flickered to Xerox when he was addressed, before going back to watching. Anything could be a help. Her gaze flickered over the others, and she knew in those few seconds that she wasn't the only one with ideas. Of course she knew that, but ideas and putting them into practice were different things.

She gave a frown as if something concerned her, shifting again, and giving a grimace as if something pained. Which it did. She returned to watching

Xerox watched as the torturers came in, 'Mako' and 'Royce'. Most stayed quiet, others insulted the torturers. Xerox mostly watched. He was pained to see Duncan clamped, but he didn't show, he had a stern expression for most of the time, until a moomba appeared. His breathing changed, it was heavier. Unable to get a good look, he couldn't tell if it was Rue or not at first glance, he tried to peer at it. Others asked them to stop, and some just watched.

His face contorted a little, holding back tears. Mako approached Xerox. 'You there, friend. You look like a man who speaks from the heart.' the torturer spoke, clicking his fingers, leading to a contraption affixing the moomba's head 'And so I'll ask you something easy to begin with, more of a choice that a question. Which would you prefer to watch; Mr Fluffywumple being sad, or the rest of your friends being sad together?'

"What do you want!? You damn monster!" Xerox replied with rage and tears. Xerox showed a deep sense of emotions. The moomba, it wasn't Rue. However, Xerox imagined it was, giving him rage, while the pain from the bullet still lodged in his back, gave him a pained expression and tears. He was acting, but with real emotions mixed in. "Leave it alone! Damn it!" he cried out in anger. Xerox was controlling himself, but it would be hard to tell, with the fact that tears were coming down his face, with his pained expression, and the raw anger that quivered in his voice. Because these emotions were at least half-true. But Xerox would not tell the truth with these emotions.

An expression of the utmost joy spread across Mako's smiling face at Xerox' obvious distress. What his actual motives were were unclear and he let nothing slip. Duncan couldn't help but think they were just being toyed with. 'What do I want, my friend? I want what we all want! Freedom and equality! Freedom of information, specifically.' He flicked at two of the others seemingly at random and Royce pressed a few more buttons. 'Unfortunately, certain people tend to be rather... let's say unsporting and for some reason refuse to share their information, so-' Once again there was a harsh mechanical screech and two SeeDs were pulled back into the recesses of the wall. After a long heartbeat, a dozen needles rammed into Jericho's sides, filling him with a noxious cocktail that set his nerves on fire. Across the room, Rachel could feel the pressure mounting on her kneecaps and the tell-tale whirr of a drill spooling up. 'See? Since no-one has volunteered to share anything, I'm forced to rely on these handy-dandy convincing machines.' As the screams echoes throughout the room, Duncan felt a fresh wave of rage flow over him. They were his team, his responsibility. And there was fuck all he could do to help them. As he struggled in futility against the shackles, Mako continued his tirade. 'And since you didn't answer the question, poor little Fluffywumple is gonna be sad...' Sparks leapt across the helmet strapped to the moomba's head as the poor beast cast it's eyes around in abject terror. After a few long seconds, the bolts on either sides began to slowly screw down, gently crushing him alive. 'Unfortunately moombas tend not to last long when they get sad, so if you have anything to say, now would be the time. Otherwise...' Mako's affable grin suddenly turned very dark indeed. '... we have all night to get acquainted.'

---

He wasn't sure how long he had been out. When Duncan came to, he was lying on a cold metal floor in a dark cell. Aside from the shitter, the room was completely barren. He pulled himself up to the bars, managing to slump against the door. He could see the others in similar cells just feet away, all in different stages of conciousness. The torturer had spent time with each of them as he made his way back and forth across the team. Duncan didn't think he had given anything away, but with the combination of truth serum, sleep deprivation and good old fashioned torture, it was possible. Funnily enough, Mako had taken the time to gas them all before shipping them back to their cells; probably so they could be healed without the chances of them escaping. If nothing else, it confirmed his theory that a strong anti-magic field was in place. 'Oi... Sound off, people. If I'm still alive, so are you.'

“This was bad...” Rachel managed to say as she heard the voice of Duncan. Everything on her body was hurting despite the fact they had healed the SeeDs somewhat. She felt like she could still hear that drill and feel it in her knees. That was very uncomfortable thing indeed. It's been ages since she was tortured this bad... last time was actually in her training to be able to endure tortures. She put herself voluntary to that one, but man did it hurt. Even after managing to produce a sound, she couldn't really control her body right away as she was just coming back from the land of forced dreams. So confused she was at the moment that it took her about a minute before she realized she was laying face down on the ground. Pushing herself a little, she managed to roll on her back, taking a heavy breath.

“I seriously want to kill that guy... “ She managed to say, before going for an attempt to sit next to the wall. She failed as her arms decided to give out on her and she fell back to the ground.” Okey, what do we do now?” She asked, almost not expecting an answer. The situation was very bad, they simply weren't given the chance to try to escape to this point. Not that all of them were in case to do so right now. Worst case scenario, they were going to be locked away for a good while, before they die or be broken and begin to talk. She didn't want to get to that point, so she made another attempt to sit next to the wall. She should have hidden a small metal nail under her skin earlier, but she got sent on a mission before she could do it...

Ashton was sorta awake by the time Duncan made his voice known. The tall willowy woman was a bit delirious, her lungs felt like they'd collapse and her body ached from the torment she received. Despite the whipping, the cutting, the electrocution, or choking, the dirty blonde had barely uttered a sound. Mostly pained grunts and gasps. But no information was brought out of her. No name, nor even voicing her feelings about this cruel situation. She did feel bad about the poor Moomba, and she did want to deck the man who tormented a innocent creature and the SeeD members, but there was little she could do at the moment. Normally, Ashton wasn't in favor in killing, even when she had to. But at the moment, she probably wouldn't mind popping 'Mako' in the head with a nice bullet from her sniper rifle.

Listening to Duncan ask for a sound off, Ashton slowly sat up in her cell. Leaning her body up against the cold wall. "....." she said nothing, but did tap her fist against the bars to notify she was around. Though Duncan still didn't know who she was, she might as well answer that she was present and not dead as of yet. The sniper glanced toward the direction as one of the female voices spoke up. The girl who got drilled in the knees. Mildly nodding in agreement with her words. They needed to get out and soon. She wasn't sure how long they could take the torment until they either break and spill information, or just die.

There were few things that could get Heloise to talk, when she didn't want to. Pain wasn't one of them. Although it was hard knowing others were being hurt, did test her will power, but she didn't let anything slip. She looked for any opportunity to grab a weapon, or anything she could use to escape. She didn't have much chance, and she suspected even if she managed to get something, it would be taken from her.

Being in the cell again, Heloise sat, deliberately trying to look vulnerable which her knees pulled up to her chest, head resting on them, watching everyone and looked to see if there was anyone else coming to do more torture to them. What now? What now, they try and escape. How? Well, that was a little bit harder to do.

"Oh, shove it Duncan, Alive or dead, we're still trapped here" She said, but her tone wasn't angry or bitter, simply resigned. It was also a way to let it be known that she was okay. "Anything manage to keep and get something that can be used?" She shifted, wondering if there was a weakness to the bars, but not expecting there to be.

"Ripping each other's heads off won't help either." Jericho sat up with a groan, having woken up earlier just enough to find a comfortable spot, relatively speaking, to sleep off some of the hurt. This Mako guy had been at his job a long time, and he started to think that the PSA was a set of puppets more and more, though if these guys were linked to the PSA, he had no idea. Standing with assistance from the wall, he added another way to kill the bastard to his mental checklist before working his way to the bars. "Duncan, when we get out, fuck the drinks, just get me a vacation on a beach somewhere." Jericho wasn't normally one to keep things light, but if he was, it meant he was fighting demons of his own. He hadn't given anything away, or at least not anything these guys could legitimately use against SeeD.

“It may not help us escape, but it sure helps focusing on something.” Rachel said, her mind starting to clear more and more. She quickly ran through everything that could be done and she remembered a little something, something.” I have a poison capsule inside one of my teeth and antidote one in another… if I get one of the guards to do a mouth to mouth I can kill him…” She said with pretty collected voice overall.” But it still won’t help us for they will realize it before I can open any of your cells in my condition.”

“Seriously though, any of you has any knowledge of the layout of this place?” Rachel asked, trying to run a check in her memories. She had taken the time to memorize a good number of prison layouts. She had no idea about this place though.

'What do we do? Uh... we could go on hunger strike?' Duncan had never been particularly good at resisting interrogation. Pain was one thing, but the fatigue and stress weighed on him far too much. Dark humour was his only relief and somehow Heloise snapping at him made him smile. 'Oh, I'd love to shove it. It can go right up my arse and we'd be the best of friends... Dunno what 'it' is though.' Luckily the others seemed to be in a better mental state than he and began to bounce ideas back and forth. For his part, Duncan was sure that these cells were being monitored, so any plan they discussed would be shot down immediately; after all, its what he would have done. 'Let's see... Overpower a guard, steal the keys, then... what? Break out? Fight our way through a small army of prison guards with stolen weapons and no junctions?' SeeD or no, there was only so far you could push your body without magic. With the implied anti-magic field in place, any attempt to escape was doomed to fail, if only by attrition. He was about to elaborate on the point when he heard footsteps outside the cell.

Listening closely, he could identify three, possibly four sets. They were talking quietly, grumbling perhaps... He drank in every piece of information, knowing that even the most trivial thing could be useful later. Finally the door swung open and four Galbadian soldiers edged in, clearly scared out of their wits. 'A-alright... You guys take that side, we'll take this one.' For a long moment Duncan wondered if they were going to shoot them in their cells, until a plate of mixed rice was slid not unkindly under his cell door. He stood, painfully, to look the soldiers in the eye, noting their damaged uniforms and timid mannerisms. They clearly didn't want to be here. Maybe he could use that... 'Hey, soldier boy... Got any fags? I'm dying for a cigarette...' The nearest soldier jumped near out of his skin, fumbling to draw his sword. 'Don't worry, I'm no threat... I just need nicotine.' He did he damnedest to put on a reasonable face, mentally begging the others to do the same. Getting the wardens on their side could be a ticket out of here, especially given how badly mistreated the poor fucks looked. 'You sir, what's your name?' Duncan nodded to the first soldier, the only one to speak so far. After a furious round of whispering with his fellows, the man produced a cigarette, lit it and passed it through the bars. '... Sergeant Fresno, Galbadian Army. Y-you guys are the SeeDs, right? The ones who whacked the Prez?' Curiously, he didn't seem particularly upset about that. Duncan could practically smell the opportunity.

Heloise maintained her 'vulnerable' position, but she did laugh, an almost easy, cheery sound as Duncan replied to her comment. She felt herself longing for the simple human companionship of....well, good feelings. She rarely got that, unless Hector forced her out somewhere, and that typically ended in Heloise saving his butt from a fight or something. She smiled to herself at those memories, and then thought on her father. He had taught her some small skills, and right now, she couldn't use any of them. She just something to pick the locks. Obviously that wasn't happening.

She sighed, and looked about at the sound of footsteps. clearly they were being fed, taken care off, perhaps simply because they wanted to torture them some more. Deliberately, Heloise waited until the wardens were away from her cage, before darting forward, and pulling the food towards her, resuming her vulnerable position. She kept her eyes down, as if she were afraid, but did look up in quick, darting glances. She was trying to make it seem like she wasn't anything much, to lure them into a false sense of security. Her stature probably helped with that.

As the solider asked if they had been the ones to kill the president, she looked up, and this time didn't look away. "Does it really matter if we did or didn't? Do your bosses need a reason to mess with people?" as if afraid that she had spoken out of turn, or said something wrong, Heloise lowered her glance quickly, and moved uneasily.

*Double post*

Voices spoke, Xerox's eyes seemed dead and lifeless, before suddenly gasping and waking. He was tired, extremely tired, playing the role of appearing to be in pain. Letting Mako seem like he was getting what he wanted, to get him to open up when he was feeling 'good' about what he was doing. Xerox mostly spouted nonsense during the torture, but as he got tired of it, pretended to look lifeless. Letting his conscious fade like he did during a lecture, eyes open, yet lifeless. Although in a lecture, he wouldn't look lifeless. Due to his "crying" Xerox was most likely left off with some of the lightest of torture, not that it wasn't rough. Whipping, chained water dripping, iron maiden, it was still tough.

There was one benefit to this though, when they patched up his body, they finally dislodged the damn bullet stuck in his back. Still, he was wondering how the others were, as his conscious was starting to come back while the others spoke. Discussions on ways to possibly break out, pills, maps, anything useful was being asked for. "If I wasn't stark naked, this would be a different situation." he mutterred.

Footsteps emerged, and Xerox could hear people talking. From the sounds of it, they were giving out food. Xerox could hear Duncan, currying for a favor, for a cigarette. Getting the guards to come to our side huh .... Xerox could understand what Duncan was doing, and followed suit. "Um... excuse me...." Xerox weakly called out behind the bars. "Could I at least have some clothes. It's awfully cold." He waited for a reply, and for his share of food to arrive. Hopefully, he could keep the utensils. That would provide him at least something to work with.

Ashton listened to the conversations around her, her teal colored eyes half-lidding as she looked toward Duncan in mild 'what in the utter heck' expression at his supposed humor. She supposed that was one torture she was glad that didn't happen. Sexual torture. That one was rough for anyone. But it probably be a bad idea to get that close to a SeeD member. Snapping necks was part of training. Or worse. It be quite foolish of them to expose themselves that close to any SeeD member. They probably thought so too, even if they had ways to immobilize them. Still not worth the risk. The sniper blushed a little at the reminder that she was stark naked as she tried to shake her head to clear her mind and the embarrassment. Being a scout, it was normal for her to have quite a few tools up her sleeve to get out of sticky situations.

Still indecent of them to do this to a girl. Probably thought she was a guy until they actually removed her clothes. At least they left the tightening bindings around her chest.

When the two guards came in and the others jumped at this opportunity, Ashton blinked her teal eyes before scooting closer to the bars. Her expression soft, hurt, and desperate as her slender fingers gripped the bars in a weak manner. As if hopeful for some understanding and sympathy from these guards.

Despite Heloise's weak appearance, the soldier flinched when she spoke. He appeared to mull it over for a moment before replying. 'Well... It kinda does... to us at least.' Duncan's eyes narrowed as he observed Fresno's body language; confusion, indecision, conflicted emotions. It wouldn't take much to make an ally of these men. One of the others passed his overcoat into Xerox' cell, further strengthening his confidence. 'Well boys,' Duncan began. 'Thanks for the smoke, really needed it. If you ever need anything... I'm your man.' It was a clear dismissal, but a respectful one, which Fresno seemed to appreciate. Gotcha. The soldiers nodded to them with a mix of relief and gratitude as they left and as soon as the door swung shut, Duncan began to speak rapidly. 'Alright, here's the plan. Next time those lads come in, we turn on the charm. Ask them why they look so beat up, how things are going for the-' The door suddenly swung open again, cutting him off. Fresno and his men stood silhouetted in the doorway, looking both utterly terrified and determined.

The Sergeant marched right up to Duncan's cell, looked the SeeD in the eye and asked, 'Tell me straight SeeD. Did you kill the President?' Duncan couldn't have hid the shock or confusion on his face and didn't even try. Appearing human and reasonable was part of the plan, more or less. 'Uh... Well, I didn't, not personally. I think Jericho had the honours?' He nodded over the soldier's shoulder to Jericho's slumped form. Fresno didn't turn around, instead casting a grim look toward his men. They nodded. 'Oookay... Here's the idea. We get you out of here, you get us out of Galbadia. Take us to Garden, give us sanctuary. I've got the keys for these blocks and I know the place far too well. I don't wanna be a goddamn prison guard, I'm supposed to be a soldier.' When he subsided, Duncan paused for a moment in wonder. A trick? Something Mako cooked up to lure them? Or just... ridiculously good luck..? Either way it wasn't as though they could afford not to try. '... Deal.' Trust was a liability in the special forces business, but Duncan was willing to give this man enough credit... for the moment. The soldiers marched in, terrified by what they were doing, but determined to see it through. One by one they unlocked the cells and handed each SeeD a makeshift weapon. Duncan received what appeared to be a dinner fork; not exactly a perfect weapon, but it would suffice. 'Alright Fresno. Got a plan? This AM field needs to go down first, or else we won't get far.' The soldier handed the last of the cutlery out to Jericho, then paused uncertainly. 'I... dunno. I think you'd be able to hit the control room upstairs, but there's a lot of guards.'

Jericho thanked the man and inspected the butcher's knife. "Even without magic, SeeDs are trained to be deadly. We'll just have to be smart about it. And as one Galbadian to another, damn straight I killed that son of a bitch." Walking out of the cell, Jericho realized he didn't have his junction. "Hey Duncan, taking down the AM field is pointless if we don't have our junctions."

Yes. Heloise supposed it did matter. Musing on that, she let the time pass, avoiding the food simply because it might be drugged or poisoned. She didn't particularly care. As the guards, soldiers came in, letting them out giving them weapons, she shook her head at the offered fork, and said almost sweetly "I'd prefer a knife. It was my dagger that stopped the float, after all" she reached out, taking one of the last knives, and testing the weight. It was imperfect, unbalanced, and definitely not a satisfactory weapon, but she could make do with it.

"thanks, I suppose this will be good enough" she smiled, toothily this time, and held the knife. She looked about, intent of getting close to Hextor and Selena

Frowning, Duncan grasped at his wrist. Jericho was right, kinda. 'You've still got your junctions, they're in your body. But yeah, no junction drives...' There were techniques to use GFs without a drive, but most people needed the digital aid; without a drive, using magic was a huge drain on one's stamina. Still, they might be able to get by without them, assuming the others had been trained on driveless combat. 'You ever tried fighting dry? Your junctions will still be there, ish, but you won't be able to use magic or anything. Just stick to close combat and for God's sake, don't try to summon your GF.'