Disclaimer: I don't own Di-Gata Defenders, but I wish to Dako that I did!
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Mel sat cross-legged on the floor of the stone room, eyes closed as the man paced around her.

"You know, this is an interrogation chamber, not a meditation room," he snapped, stopping in front of the Wizard.

Her eyes opened, a piercing blue. "Well, when you decide to start interrogating me, let me know," she answered calmly.

The man resumed his pacing. "What were you and your friends doing in the vicinity of a Maligor training area?"

Mel raised one eyebrow, smiling slightly. "Is that an interrogation question, or just you being nosy?"

"Just answer it."

"My my, testy, aren't you?" She rolled her eyes, knowing that he was still behind her and wouldn't see. "We were camped near your training area, heard the weapons' fire, and came to take a look. You'll have to excuse the natural Defender curiosity."

"Curiosity destroyed the Dakocite wolf," the interrogator warned her, coming around in front again.

"The Wizard froze her interrogator," Mel replied, smiling slightly. The questioner snapped his fingers, two guards entering immediately.

Looking up, the interrogator nodded. Looking back over her shoulder, Mel saw the shockstaffs begin to power up. Sigilsunk.

¤

The Defenders had been separated, two to a cell, in the detainment facility. Erik and Kara shared one cell, Seth and Mel another, and Rion and Adam a third.

Seth looked up as the energy bars deactivated, and Mel was tossed in. She appeared to be unconscious, not moving when she hit the floor. The bars went up again, and the guards moved on to Rion and Adam's cell, taking the blond-haired boy with them when they left.

Seth knelt beside his friend as she began to come around. Blue eyes flickered open, blinked once.

"You okay?" he asked, helping her sit up.

She nodded, rubbing at her left arm. "I'm beginning to hate shockstaffs," she muttered.

Seth grinned and stood, extending a hand, helping the Wizard girl to her feet. "And you did what to deserve that?"

Mel shrugged innocently. "Nothing."

Kara, sitting cross-legged near the bars across the hall, smiled. "How much sarcasm?" she asked.

"A lot." Rion was returned an hour later, a victim of the shockstaffs as well. The soldiers returned to the guard station further up the hall, not speaking.

The Defenders gathered close to the energy bars, talking quietly.

"They're trying to find out how much we know," Mel said, glancing around at the others.

"Which isn't very much," Erik pointed out. "We were only there for a minute before they noticed us."

"We need to talk to someone in charge around here," Rion said, just waking up to the conversation. "Convince them that we're not spies or anything."

"That could be tricky, though," Adam warned. "We were caught watching their training session, they're not likely to trust us so easily."

"The next one they take to question should see if they can talk to someone higher up," Kara suggested.

"Have you seen some of the guys from Maligor?" Adam asked. "They're enough to scare the living daylights out of anyone!"

"Everyone, calm down!" Seth said above the voices. All turned to look at him. "Listen."

A rhythmic stompong noise could be heard, like people were dancing. The tempo grew faster, the stomping got louder, until all at once, it stopped.

Mel turned to the small, barred window at the back of thier cell, and stood trying to see out.

"Seth, can you give me a boost?"

The dark-haired leader joined her, picking her up easily. "You don't weigh much, do you?

"Sssh." Mel could now see across the open parade ground to the main building. And standing around in the open was a group of men, fifty all told, dressed mostly in furs, taken from animals they'd hunted. She'd seen them somewhere before.

Seth set her down, noticing the serious look on her face. "Well?"

"Looks like our friends upstairs have some new allies," she answered. "Erik; remember that warrior cult you and I tangled with five years ago?"

The redheaded boy nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"I get the feeling we'll have a chance to play with them again soon."

¤

Rorsh studied the cultists critically. "Who are these people?"

The soldier next to him spoke, nervously. "Sir, these are members of a warrior tribe, that we've recruited to help us invade RaDos."

"The king has approved the use of these . . . warriors?"

The soldier nodded. "Yes, sir. In fact, it was the kind who suggested we recruit them, sir."

Rorsh swept his gaze out across the warriors, and to the outbuildings behind them. The detainment facility caught his attention. Through a window at ground level, a young woman with silver-blue hair could be seen looking out through the bars.

"Zise, what prisoners do we currently have in the cells?"

"Prisoners? A small group of six, calling themselves the Di-Gata Defenders. Two have been interrogated, and so far they are proving quite unsusceptible to our questioning tactics."

"The Di-Gata Defenders," Rorsh mused. "The Defenders have always had a leader. Bring that one to me, as well as the silver-haired one. I will question them myself."

Zise blinked once. "Yourself?"

Rorsh turned to leave. "Yes. Now go. Bring the two Defenders to my audience chamber. Move!"

Zise bowed, then scrambled off in the direction of the detainment facility.