“Wait, so you saw the Coca-Cola recipe? Think you could make it with what we got in this place, you’d have a monopoly.” Empusa sighed once more, wishing that she wasn’t the only female in their strange ragtag group of three human-looking Bio-Chained and a strange lock-picker.

“Totally man, but I don’t think it’s worth it, I mean, there are drinks in this place, and getting the machinery, let alone protecting the place, would be too much trouble.” Aaron replied to Minotaur’s questioning and the burly man looked contemplative at the reply.

Minotaur had agreed to let Typhon use his ability on him, and thus underwent Stabilization. When the process was done, they had a man in pants bigger than him with two small forward facing bull horns, though they weren’t as noticeable as before.

He still held all his strength though, he was even slightly stronger… and as for his shockwave redirection ability, it worked even better now, as his horns had become the focal points of the redirection, allowing him to channel force through his horns making them vibrate similarly to a chain-saw would.

The strangest thing about this, in Aaron’s opinion, was that Minotaur had a mane of hair reaching his shoulders. He had expected bald. Even Minotaur expected bald.

Minotaur, though Aaron argued that calling him Mino and Empusa Imp was an option… Minotaur agreed, Empusa obviously didn’t, anyway, Mino was glad that he had hair actually, and he had shrunk to two point two metres tall… still huge, but not as big as before. With the physique of a bodybuilder though, he was still noticeable…

And the GT-R was a bit cramped now. They had made due with having Mino sit in front, and Typhon and Empusa in the back.

Aaron thought Empusa would go supernova when Typhon decided to lie down with his head on Empusa’s legs… the moment was ruined when he threatened to kill her if she moved.

Aaron also wondered why the heck a member of the world’s oldest profession would be so shy about liking someone, but apparently she hadn’t actually been one. She’d used the idea of being one to kill someone though… don’t ask about it, makes her sad.

Anyway, they were really having issues involving their transport, and Aaron finally decided to address the issue when Minotaur almost poked a hole into the windshield with one of his horns.

“Okay, we can’t keep travelling in a GT-R… I mean, I love this car, but…” Aaron opened the conversation as Mino looked sheepish at what he did a moment ago, before he looked up in thought.

“Well, pardon my assumptions Empusa, but I believe I have more information about Tartarus and the Chained around this place than you do… correct me if I am wrong, by the way.” It would have sounded like a threat until one noticed Mino’s clearly questioning face and tone of voice.

It was surprising for everyone involved that the Minotaur they were weary of was actually a reasonably calm individual, beyond the fact that he committed mass murder to end up in this place… he wasn’t shy to admit it was a gang-war gone bad and he was the only survivor, but by the time the police arrived, it just looked like he killed everyone….

Not really, he just killed most of the people there… he was angry, okay?

But as mentioned, he was calm, and quite reasonable. Mino was smarter than he looked, and Aaron approved of that idea, even if Typhon was more dangerous than Mino and Empusa combined… after all, Typhon only struggled against Mino due to his lack of knowledge, which he now knew the weakness of Mino, and he had already had little problem defeating Empusa.

Typhon was still their ‘secret weapon’ but he didn’t need to be as uptight as he was used to, as shown by his light snores from the backseat. Typhon found Mino to have honour and Empusa had shown him that she wouldn’t try anything, even if Typhon wasn’t there.

“So, continuing my thoughts, we’re entering Area 6, the Vehicle Sector. It’s the best place to get replacement transport… and I know just the guy to get the stuff from…”

Mino looked a bit hesitant after mentioning the guy, but coughed before he turned to Aaron, making sure not to hit him with a horn or obstruct his vision, and spoke.

“There are a few Chained over the different Areas within Tartarus. Some rule, some hide, and that’s up to them. Now within Area 6, the most famous Chained in the area would be Pegasus, who somehow managed to make a hover-craft worthy vehicle, though it can’t fly.” Aaron was ready to salivate at the idea of finally having a hover-car, seeing as the idea of needing suspension in case of bumpy roads was annoying.

“Pegasus doesn’t do much when it comes to visitors though, so I don’t think we’ll get help from him, seeing as he just sits calmly upon his throne as the best car builder within Area 6. He does have a rival though, who might be more open to helping us.” Mino added, and Aaron frowned, not wanting to give up on the hover-car.

“Cyclops, despite his name, is not an idiot or a brute, but a very advanced car maker, despite his lack of understanding hover technology, the fact that he was born in Tartarus just adds to his genius considering he builds things capable of almost competing with Pegasus’ hover-car tech… due to his skills, he has been referred to as Cyclops the Chariot. He’ll be more likely to listen to our needs.”

Aaron started at that… a car needing wheels was able to barely keep up with a hover-car? That sounded next to impossible, seeing as the ‘friction’ worry that cars had, as well as weight due to wheels and suspension was eliminated…

Cyclops made cars capable of almost matching a hover-car even with wheels? Aaron needed to meet this guy.

“So, how do we get Cyclops to help us, I mean, we have very little to offer him unless he requires Typhon’s unique touch.” Aaron joked about Typhon’s ability but was beginning to realize what a boon it was, especially when around sixty per cent of Chained were Bio-Chained and all had some form of physical mutation…

The scariest Chained were still Cyber-Chained apparently though… mostly because they were messed up mentally, not just physically.

Nonetheless, just a bit over half of the Chained would be able to be bargained with, and Aaron realized that upon meeting Minotaur, and it was interesting to note.

“I’m afraid that’s not likely. See, Cyclops is one of those Cyber-Chained, and while he’s still kind of crazy, he is at least focused when it comes to things like vehicles…” Mino noted, and Aaron sighed, realizing he wouldn’t be able to make a simple deal with Cyclops…

They soon entered the sixth area, halting the discussion as they noted the insanity that was the layout of Area 6… it was basically a huge amount of race-tracks, with the occasional crash being heard, shouts of joy and sadness coming from watchers who were likely betting on one of the many races somehow going on simultaneously.

They made sure not to enter the track, as they’d automatically be entered into the race apparently, and that would be bad, considering some races were at the finishing stages and they’d be counted as having done no laps.

They soon found a spot to park, glad to know that, at least in this area of Tartarus, they didn’t need to worry about their car being stolen… it was a strange sense of honour that happened in this area, speed was power, and stealing another’s power just proved you were weak, or some kind of variation of that logic.

“Okay, okay, we need to speak to Cyclops… you said he’s practically the second ranked Chained in this place? How do you think we’ll get him to help us out?” Aaron asked as they parked and got out of the car.

Nice thing about Tartarus was that everywhere was a place to sleep, as long as you got there first… and even if you got there second, you simply had to make the first person leave… either permanently or through deals. Typhon terrified most into leaving…

Mino was scarier than a sleepy Typhon though.

“Depends… I had spoken to Cyclops before, about getting a car big enough for me… and he refused, saying that he was interested in the idea of a vehicle that big, but unwilling to help me out… mostly because he knew I only stayed in my labyrinth, meaning his car wouldn’t get much use.” Mino admitted with an annoyed look.

“So, he likes seeing his vehicles being used? That still doesn’t help us much, even if we’re going to go use it all the time… hold up a second.” Aaron spoke, Typhon yawning as he followed, Mino and Empusa deciding to keep their new sleeping spot secure.

Aaron noted a guy handing out flyers… blank paper with pen drawings on it, then copied apparently… how quaint. Aaron asked for a flyer, looking at it with a raised eyebrow as he showed it to Typhon who was removing the dust from his eye.

“It says ‘The Area six Grand Prix’; winner gets… a hover-car from Pegasus?” Typhon noted, and Aaron grinned and nodded at Typhon.

“Yep, sounds like a nice deal right? The GT-R might not be the fastest car in this place-” and it really wasn’t… not in the area filled with speed junkies. They had seen a Ferrari 458 Italia, parked next to a McLaren P1 GTR and had driven past a Lamborghini Aventador… twice.

Of course, considering the fastest car Aaron knew of was a Krieg Bolt, a newer hover-car built a year ago and went roughly five-hundred and seventy three kilometres per hour at its top speed, which couldn’t be reached unless the automatic driving function was on, then the max speed was around 420 km/hour for people with good reflexes, 300 for slower… it was tested before you were allowed to buy the car actually. These cars, while fast, weren’t that fast anymore…

The GT-R was still monstrously fast though, with the proper upgrades to it, it could just about reach, possibly go over, four hundred kilometres an hour… which was a bit faster than other supercars, even considering that the GT-R was older than them.

“-but it’s still fast, and can possibly help us win, depending on the track and how we tune the car. And yes, I know how to do that.” Typhon had long since stopped wondering how Aaron knew the obscure things he knew…

Lock-picking, psychology, how to make smokeless fires, homemade C4, an idea on how to fight, and how to make locks too…

At this point, Typhon just assumed that Aaron at least had an idea on how to do just about anything, if not actually studied it in some form.

“Still, we were planning on getting Cyclops to help us right? This is a long-shot. I think we should go talk to Cyclops before the race, just in case.” Aaron thinks about Typhon’s words, acknowledging it as making sense.

The race was only going to happen in a week apparently, so they had time, time which could be better used looking into other options, rather than racing against super-cars.

“Fine, fine, we’ll go visit Cyclops… let’s see… okay, you and Mino will come with me, and Empusa will watch our sleeping spot.” Aaron planned, picking his ‘bodyguards’.

He had picked Mino because he and Typhon would get lost in this new place and Typhon because he hadn’t had time to chill with Typhon in a while… Typhon, despite his apparent dislike for Aaron’s strange habits, was his first friend in a long time… and Aaron would rather not remember what happened to the last friend he had.

He could still see the blood when he closed his eyes, and it wasn’t a pleasant sight. He was just lucky that he long since stopped screaming when he awoke from his nightmares.

“Alright… let’s go.” Typhon agreed, some people noting his collar and giving Typhon and Aaron a wide berth, though Aaron noted that they weren’t as afraid of a Chained as he would have expected… guess that was what happened when the two most popular people around were Chained who made fast cars, and you were in a place where fast cars were everything.

After getting Mino, Empusa pouting at being left behind when Aaron mentioned wanting to have guys talk, they began moving, following Mino… Typhon was ready to destroy everyone around them though, noting that the sounds of engines and tyres screeching at take-off were annoying.

“Oh, you’re going to hate it here then… those sounds aren’t going away, ever. It is part of the culture of this place after-all.” Typhon grumbled to himself as he glared at people glancing at them, forcing them to step back…

Despite looking like the smallest out of the three of them, it was only Typhon and Mino who had Chained collars, meaning the two of them were scary as hell automatically…

And Aaron who could calmly walk and talk with both was a strange existence, as most people acknowledged that most Chained looked down upon ‘normal’ people. Some Chained had assistants, but with how they were walking, with Aaron flanked by Mino on his left and Typhon on his right, it was clear that he was the one in charge there, an oddity of extreme proportions.

Those collars were annoying to Aaron by the way, as he occasionally wanted to go by unnoticed in an area, but they couldn’t be removed, even when considering Typhon’s nanotech claws, making Aaron wonder what they were even made out of.

“Okay, here we are, this is Cyclops’ work-shop.” Mino added, and Aaron and Typhon snapped out of their light conversation, notably discussing how lock-picking was just as important as fighting depending on the situation, and looking at the work-shop, noting the massive size of the building.

“Wow, he lives in luxury huh?” Aaron asked, and Mino gestured with a shake of his hand in uncertainty.

“Kind of, he actually wasn’t that cared for, when compared to Pegasus and his hover-tech…” Aaron blinked at Mino’s words and looked to him in questioning.

“Cyclops grew up in this sector, unlike Pegasus. Cyclops vanished one day and came back as a Cyber-Chained, and by then, Pegasus was also here, coming in from outside. Cyclops grew up thinking the world of cars, and Pegasus was a car-dealer that cheated his customers and used his cars to smuggle drugs. Their love of cars is different… and because of that, Cyclops actually races, instead of just churning out high quality cars.” Mino explained, and Aaron nodded in appreciation for the information… seems like Cyclops might be his kind of guy… I mean, who’d build something and not test it out or use it?

“Well, he sounds interesting. Let’s go see.” They stepped into the workshop to find some people working on a car or two… though the cars were all rare, like the Ferrari GTO and a Ford GT Mk II, and people were scurrying around… then they noticed someone running with a microwave to a spot in the back.

Someone luckily stopped and noticed the three, and widened his eyes at the horns on Mino’s head, noticing Typhon as well.

“Ah, Senior Minotaur, it’s good to see you again! Senior Cyclops is in the back working on his car.” The man of Mexican descent ran away again, and Aaron chuckled at the attitude of the people in the garage… people who weren’t afraid of Chained were rare, Aaron discovered.

On a side note, that accent was rare, Mexico had been at war with the USA in the early 2040’s and after its defeat land had been given to Australia. Mexican’s were a dying race.

Cyclops knew how to pick his employees though, as all of them just glanced at the horns Mino had and ignored the short stature of Typhon, though Aaron got second looks when it was noticed that he did not possess a collar like his two friends.

They stepped into the back-room, expecting to see Cyclops working on a car, and they got what they expected… kind of…

Aaron thought it was an affront to all car enthusiasts everywhere when he found a guy looking to be around forty years old, one normal eye, one eye-patch over the other, breaking apart a microwave, grabbing a part, and then sticking it in the car he was working on… which happened to be a Bugatti Chiron.

If Aaron hadn’t held himself back, he might have cried at the insanity he was witnessing.

The man paused after installing the part, somehow, and glanced at the three standing there, narrowing his one eye before noting Mino’s horns.

“Ah, Minotaur, you bastard, are you here for a car again? Cause from the looks of you, it might get some use now!” he had a strange manner of speaking, even for Aaron, and Mino chuckled at his words, walking forward and reaching out with a hand, uncaring of the oil on Cyclops’ hands as they shook hands, both smiling at the appearance of the other.

Aaron smiled a bit at the scene… the thoughts of Empusa went through his mind as he shook his head… Empusa was of the belief that the relationship between all Chained was slave, master or enemy…

Well, here was proof that that thought wasn’t always true… maybe it was more common, but still.

“Thanks old man, but I’m not really the one who wants to talk to you, much as I feel we need to catch up.” Mino added, and the man, Cyclops, glanced over to Typhon and Aaron, looking at Typhon before shaking his head at some unseen quota, then looking to Aaron and nodding.

“So, how can I help you? Minotaur apparently helped you find me, after his new make-over, and that kid with you is too short to drive conventional cars. So I’m assuming you’re the one needing my help.” Cyclops noted, and Aaron nodded while Typhon fumed on the side… he got even angrier when Aaron patted his head. He was not a pet.

“Well, Mino is travelling with my friend here, and another. We were driving a GT-R but it’s getting kind of cramped. We were hoping to get a new set of wheels here, and Mino was quick to recommend you.” Aaron was quick to explain their situation as Cyclops glanced at Aaron with a grin.

“Oh, you drive a GT-R? Now that’s a beast of a car, released late 2007 and yet still capable of competing against cars built ten years after it.” Aaron knew the history well, it was amazing honestly.

“Yeah, but like I said, brilliant car, cramped though. We’re looking to either get two cars or just one bigger car… hopefully the first option, considering that bigger car means bigger target in this place.” Cyclops agreed with Aaron’s thoughts, looking back to his Chiron and reminding Aaron of the atrocity he had just witnessed.

“Though, before we talk a bit more… why were you putting a microwave part inside a Bugatti Chiron?” Aaron had to know… for the sake of his sanity. The Chiron was one of the best wheeled cars… when they converted it to a hover-car, it was even better.

“Oh, that’s for the ambient radiation caused by it. Microwaves have really small amounts of radiation, and when combined with the high-octane fuel and my unique spark plugs, it ignites faster and stronger than conventional fuel.” Aaron blinked, Typhon blinked, and Mino stared at the old man covered in grease, listening to his strange idea…

“Wait, so have you tested this before, because that seems really unsafe… so much potential though, too bad it likely wouldn’t work with a hover-engine seeing as that works on electricity.” Aaron noted and Cyclops stared at Aaron with wide eye… just eye, his other eye had an eye-patch.

“You’ve seen them? Wait, you must be new to Tartarus for you to know that… They work on electricity, do you have any idea how they are built?” Mino looked to Typhon and they both nodded… yep, the two in front of them?

Yeah, those two were about to talk about a lot of techno-babble about cars that were likely to fly over Typhon’s head, let alone Mino who actually knew a bit about cars before entering this prison.

“But that makes no sense, how would Pegasus create that kind of set up inside this place, one of those materials aren’t even shipped in here?” They caught a question from Cyclops as Aaron shrugged.

“I’m not sure, I mean, the coil set up is unique for the body of a car but almost all of them require some of the materials used in space-travel, to prevent the high temperature of the materials from leaking out, but also enabling enough energy output that the external ports which allow the hovering to get the heat energy and convert it to a force to hover the vehicles.”

If one were to try to explain how Typhon’s face looked at hearing that explanation looked, it could easily be described as brain dead… it would make sense to anyone else as well.

“The idea wasn’t really feasible until we began mining off-world, but that’s a long-shot… Pegasus must have found a way to jury-rig a feasible one, and I only know of the completed products, not the prototypes which might have been creatable with less rare materials.” And once more Aaron proved that he wasn’t as stupid as Typhon and the others viewed him as, even if he acted strange at times.

“That’s the issue… I had thought of using space-materials seeing as they were used to launch rockets and withstand the heat, some things were even fire-proof… but we don’t get those in here…” Cyclops sighed, looking at his Bugatti, and Aaron looked to the car in wonder.

“See, I’m actually upgrading my car for the Grand Prix. I want to win Pegasus’ car, so that I can reverse engineer it and modify my own…” Cyclops clenched his fist around his work wrench, thus allowing Aaron to notice that Cyclops’ hands weren’t actually flesh and blood but metal, and cursing at the mention of Pegasus.

“I hate that bastard… he acts all high and mighty, having racers flock to him for his tech when he can’t even do anything about cars beyond the hover-tech! Can’t service an engine, check wheel-alignment, just about nothing! One of his racers knows more than him about fixing a car than he does! Yet he gets away with whatever he wants just because he knows how to make one piece of tech I can’t.” Cyclops practically growled as Aaron looked to the old man… then sighed, attracting attention.

“Well, I understand your pain. It’s the same idea as a trained soldier being handed a toy gun, and a civilian being handed a shotgun and told to fight. The soldier will obviously be at a disadvantage, despite being more deserving of the other’s weaponry.” Cyclops blinked at the explanation, and Typhon and Mino sighed in relief that Aaron was once more speaking strangely.

“Well, that being said, I won’t be able to help you until this race is done… hope you understand. I’d be willing to help you for that GT-R, but only after the race.” Aaron smiled and then, with confidence in his voice-

“Oh, I don’t think it will be necessary then. You see, I plan on winning that race.” Mino and Typhon both stared with wide eyes as Cyclops glared at Aaron.

“You plan on beating me at this race? Are you insane?” Cyclops asked as Aaron burst into a full bellied laughter, before leaning forward, smirking into the face of the now annoyed old man.

“Of course I am, why else would I be in this place? I’ll win that race, and get that car, then do what I want with it. If you want it, beat me in a race.” Aaron smirked, and Cyclops glared, frown on his face.

“So, you dare to ask me help one breath and try and insult me in the next? We’ll see what happens… now get out of my shop.” Cyclops turned, now ignoring Mino, Typhon and Aaron who turned and walked easily out of the shop while whistling, the mechanics all glaring at him as Mino and Typhon followed him out, horrified.

“Why the heck would you do that?” Mino practically shouted at Aaron the moment they left the building as Aaron sighed, looking to Mino with a placating expression, reaching up and patting one of the horns Mino had.

“Oh Mino, you need to understand the kind of person I am to know why I did that. And I’ve never been understood in quite a few years.” Aaron added easily, and Mino blinked at his words as Typhon scoffed, looking around tiredly.

“Nonetheless, I feel we need an explanation.” Typhon said, and Aaron sighed, looking to the two Bio-Chained and shaking his head in exasperation.

“Why can’t you two just accept that I have a plan? You two should watch; when we get back, I’ll mention this to Empusa and she’ll agree.” Aaron said easily, and the two had to wonder what he meant, though Typhon had a good idea…

He’s been trusting Aaron since the day Aaron helped him dodge turret fire after all.

When they arrived back at the base, finding a few beat up guys lying near their sleeping spot, Aaron just sighed and walked in to see Empusa drinking some water.

“You’re finally back, at last. It’s difficult being a beautiful girl alone in this place you know.” She said as Typhon scoffed.

“You say that as if those people could do anything to you.” He added easily, missing the blush that went across her face as Aaron shook his head… girls liked the idea of being protected, but in the same breath decided that being independent and acknowledged that they were was important. He’d never quite understand that.

“S… so, how did the talk with Cyclops go?” Empusa asked as Aaron walked to a chair, sitting on it before leaning back until the front legs were off the ground, and his head touched the wall behind him.

“Well, I got what I wanted, a deal, even if Cyclops doesn’t know he just agreed to it.” Aaron said, and Typhon and Mino both blinked at the absurdity of his words, Mino opening his mouth.

“That’s not what happened, you two spoke about cars a bit, and then when Cyclops mentioned he was entering the Grand Prix for that car, you said you’d win it instead of him!” Mino said with some indignation at the apparent lying of Aaron, something that most people in Area 7 frowned on.

“That’s exactly what happened, but you didn’t read deeper into it… think about it, what do I do when it comes to deals, Typhon, think you can answer?” Aaron let his chair tip back to normal, now leaning forward with his hands together, and his chin resting on them.

“Well… you give people what they want in exchange for something you want from them. In my case, my deal was my freedom and protecting you for your assistance in finding my sister.” Aaron nodded at his words before snapping his eyes to Empusa who jumped a bit in surprise at the sudden scrutiny.

“Now Empusa, you can answer the next question. If I am to make a deal with someone, I need to give them what they want in exchange for something. What do I need to do if I do not know what they want?” Aaron asked, and Empusa thought about it for a moment.

“Well… you’d either find another person or option, or… you’d try to find out what they want, and get it.” Empusa widened her eyes, now understanding what Aaron was trying to say, as Aaron smirked, now looking to Mino.

“So what you said was what I did… on the surface at least. What I really did was show that I had the knowledge to use his creations, and the will to as well, which you hadn’t done the last time you were here, which was why you didn’t get a vehicle.” Aaron raised his right hand, raising his pointer finger.

“Next, I told him what I wanted, to see his willingness to help. He was willing, but only if we waited until after a tournament that we were originally interested in, meaning that waiting and doing nothing is pointless, might as well enter… well, that’s one bit.” He raised a second finger, now smirking as Mino widened his eyes, now realizing something that Empusa and Typhon knew as fact now…

Aaron was the scariest one out of them all; he just hid it underneath his eccentric behaviour.

“For the third thing, I found out what he wanted. He wants that hover-car. He craves it… and if I’m the only one who is willing to supply him with it, he’ll listen to my demands.” Aaron raised a third finger, now letting his hand remain open, palm to the ceiling as if in a grasping motion.

“So what I’m going to do is entering the race… win, and use the hover-car as a negotiation tool… and what I want, more than the car… is Cyclops himself. I want him with us.”

Mino stared at Aaron, seeing the glint of hardened steel in the normally childish eyes of their leader, and Aaron smirked.

“I’d rather the creator of such brilliant cars join us than stay here. And if I provide him with that car, he might even be capable of making hover-tech… I believe I just found one of the keys to escaping this prison.” Aaron smirked, holding his hand out slightly in front of him, as if holding a key.

“Khul ja Shem-shamayim. With each key I find, the doors to heaven will open slightly more.” And Mino, no, the Minotaur, felt within his heart as he looked upon Aaron and his mad grin, feeling the neutral looks of Typhon and Empusa on his back…

He felt as if he had been dropped in front of a Great White while bleeding profusely… and at the same time he acknowledged… that it would likely not be long until he joined this monster, in more than just body, but in mind as well, much like his fellow Chained in the room.