[03] Rusted Steel!

[Ashe]

"So I guess we just ... open the doors?"

The team of four was standing before a set of large steel doors, all appearing at first glance to be quite thick. Ashe noted that her name was spread across one of them as she voiced her assumption, her attention moving from the door to the red button that didn't even give them the courtesy of the word "Push" above it.

"Seems like a good idea as any," she heard from behind her.

Her partner from the first round stepped forward, a hand rising up emphatically to stroke his chin. "Oh, I wonder what's behind my door!"

An orange haired girl that her PAGER had identified as having a name identical to a fairly energetic young boy from Dante sighed in considered. "Woof - uh, I mean yeah."

Without another word, the cyclopean warrior of the group stepped forward, pressing his thumb to the red button and vanishing through the ascending door, swiftly striding into the shadows as the door slammed back down.

She looked at the rest of her team for reassurance, but she found that they, too, were entering their own set of gateways, the steel frames quickly dropping back down to seal their entrance with a thunderous boom. "I guess that just leaves me," Ashe mused, brushing her pink hair from her eyes and stepping forward to interact with her own entryway.

Moments passed, and she found herself traversing a small and narrow corridor, having nothing more to follow than a series of dim orbs set within the ceiling. After counting roughly five of these lights, she felt the air pressure around her weaken, giving way to a vast open space. "Welcome, Ashe," a masculine voice with a very confident, yet soft, appeal to it announced.

She spun quickly around in the room, but saw no one, stepping backwards as her eyes stared back down the direction she had come from. Though her eyes were adjusting to the darkness a bit, she felt herself back into a railing, prompting her to turn back around and look to where she'd arrived. "Who... who's there?"

"I assure you, my sweet lady, that you are not ready for the magnificence that I wish to grace you with. Alas, I am required to reveal myself to you entirely," the manly voice flirted.

"What are you talking about? This was supposed to be some kind of car game!" she insisted, holding on tight to the railing. "Who are you?"

"One who merely appreciates a fine body, regardless of the make. You, gorgeous, are going to be my sweet Corvette."

"Uh, no. No, I'm not. Reveal yourself," she repeated, unsure what she'd gotten herself into.

"If you insist, but I must give you fair warning. I may have more power than you can handle," the now creepy disembodied voice echoed.

Immediately following, the lights within the room slowly grew brighter, revealing the room to be almost entirely empty -aside from a domed shell with a massive steel door that appeared large enough to fit a herd of elephants through it. In the center of the room was a rail that moved in a circle entirely around the center of the floor, which appeared to have a line across its diameter. "I would have preferred to reveal myself to you in more romantic lighting, but as you have insisted on being able to look fully upon my form, I have realized that you are quite the adventurous type," its voice continued to swoon. "Thus, we'll do it with the lights on."

She said nothing, merely grinding her teeth together and releasing the railing to tighten her fists. This situation was entirely unexpected. She picked up her PAGER to see if it the event mentioned anything about having to fight someone for her vehicle, but she was interrupted as the floor began to split apart within the surrounding railing, each half sliding into the surrounding framework.

A platform with a large form covered by a blanket rose up until it came to rest even with the floor. "If you wish, you may join me beneath this blanket. Or, we can throw back this cover and make love until the moon has set on many cycles."

Realization dawned on her as the rails began to lower themselves until they had retreated into the floor. "You... are... my car?" she asked, reaching out to grab the covering.

"In the flesh, so to speak," the voice beneath the blanket responded. "Shall we drive to a more suitable location to romance a lovely figure such as yourself? Perhaps a hill with a great view of the stars, or a nice drive in movie theater."

She took a deep breath and ripped the blanket off quickly, throwing it to the side to get a good view of her vehicle. What she saw was a near defilement of every innocent thought left within her after her High School years. Even the sheer perversity of the car attempting to be romantic paled before its figure.

"My car... is a dick," she exhaled.

She didn't mean that choice of words as a portrayal of its personality.