This might've been how those hybrids came to be? Daniel frowned. That wasn't a good thought at all. If it was one of Presmodia's kind, then it was nothing to worry about. Those people were actually human. They had their shade biology and all (whatever that meant), but they still thought, felt, and learned as human beings, which made them infinitely better than shades. If this kid was one of those people in the making, then Daniel had no problems with it. But a hybrid? That he had beef with.

"Any way we can turn it off?" he asked.

Not that Daniel had even the slightest clue how technology worked. You push a button and things happen, and no matter how many times they reliably happen, or how many times the reason for it can be explained, it's bound to blow Daniel's mind each time.

"Loike, uh, an 'off' switch?"

Danyr looked over the controls of the machine, finding nothing immediately obvious. Any of the buttons or levers could have turned it off. There was no telling. Of course, there was the obvious fact about any technology. If it was broken, it was off...

"We could break the machine, I guess, but... We don't even know what it does. Or what this kid is... He could be crazy like those other guys, or it could kill him..."

Danyr wasn't too keen on the idea of messing with the machine, but there was a lever of some sort on the side of the cell the child was held in; a lever obviously and simply designed to open the front of the case, perhaps in emergencies. Other than that, the machine seemed rather fragile, despite its size...

"Daniel, as much as I hate to say it... You've got more experience with this than me..."

"Hmmm . . ." Daniel thought loudly.

There had to be a way to get this kid out of there. Whether or not he was feral like those hybrids didn't matter. He didn't look like a hybrid; he had no parts missing and replaced with specks of darkness. He looked like a kid from Presmodia's race. This meant they had to try something . . .

"Wot do you say is the best way to get 'im outta there?" Daniel asked as he lightly tapped the tip of a sword against the glass.

Plans were not Daniel's strong point. Machines weren't, either. As far as their duo was concerned, Danyr was the best suited for that. Daniel? He was great at breaking things and decimating armies of shadow creatures with just a pair of blades alone. He actually wasn't too good at anything else.

Danyr looked a little apprehensive, but he looked over the machine carefully, finally settling on the lever on the case itself. It wasn't hooked to anything else, and appeared to be rather simple, after all. Danyr pointed to it carefully, looking over everything else for clues, and finding nothing...

"There. That should open it..."

The whole situation bothered him, though. Why had there been so little resistance here? It didn't make any sense, particularly since their enemy seemed to know they were coming. It was almost like they wanted Daniel and Danyr to succeed?

"If we're going to do this, let's get it over with..."

Simple situation, simple solution. Daniel remained in front of the glass.

"You pull that," Daniel motioned towards Danyr, "I'll stand point."

Daniel "sheathed" one of his swords, the vibrating blade (an act which had less to do with sliding a sword into a sheath and more to do with causing a small burst of light, after which the sword was gone). The other remained by his side, however. He didn't know what they were going to be getting themselves into, but he was prepared for it either way. If this kid was friendly, than Daniel could catch him and help him walk. If he was unfriendly, then he could be hit in the head with the flat end of Daniel's sword.

Danyr moved to stand by the case and the lever, watching Daniel. Neither of them could hurt the kid, even under the worst circumstances, after all. As long as Zera wasn't at risk of being hurt, that was. Most likely, either of them could fight the kid in that circumstance...

"Allright..."

Danyr pulled the lever, stepping back several feet. They were greeted by a rush of energy from inside the tank, briefly showering the room with some sort of wave of darkness, before dissipating and leaving the room in essentially the same state as before. However, the case was now open, and after a few moments, the boy inside opened his eyes, looking at Daniel strangely.

"You're not Dad..."

The boy took a step forward, apparently not attached to the machine physically, but he halted as he saw Daniel's weapon, looking at him...

Daniel shielded his eyes as a gust of darkness overtook the room. That was unexpected as all bloody hell, and he half expected to be dead by the time it went away, but much to Daniel's surprise, the flash fog faded and the boy began to move. Daniel did what he could to calm himself and not look too terribly threatening, but even if he didn't have a sword on his person, he'd have still probably failed at that. And indeed he did. For a long moment, Daniel was silent.

"Wot's your name?" Daniel finally asked.

It was awkward, but that was the very first question that came to mind for him. Everything else would probably have to follow from there.

He did not, however, withdraw his blade. He held it by his side, keeping the tip towards the ground. He held it as non-threateningly as he possibly could, but he wasn't going to take the risk of withdrawing it. Not yet, at least. He still needed to know how non-feral this boy was. If he could at least tell him his name, Daniel would be satisfied enough to reduce his sword back to a coin.

The boy looked up at Daniel cautiously, remaining inside his tank. However, he didn't seem fazed by the blade. When Daniel lowered it, the boy didn't even glance at it. He seemed more afraid of Daniel...

"...Penumbra. That's what Dad says my name is."

Danyr stepped back several feet, bow in hand but no arrow nocked. The boy certainly didn't seem to be a threat. Danyr knew they couldn't really leave him behind, either. He just seemed to be one more innocent caught up in the schemes of the madman who ran this place...

"We don't know how many things may stand between us and the exit, Daniel..."

The boy looked up sharply at Daniel, his face suddenly turning to an odd, almost cute sort of defiance. His small frame wasn't really a threat to Daniel physically, but that didn't seem to faze him, either...

"Dad says you're bad men. You have to leave!"

The boy looked at them harshly, firmly planted in his spot...

Er . . . that was a little weird. Daniel looked over to Danyr, feeling a bit helpless here. The kid looked harmless enough, but he didn't exactly like Daniel or Danyr.

"Uh . . ." Daniel trailed off.

With his free hand, he scratched the side of his head. He had no idea what to say. The only thing that came to mind wasn't even that good.

"oI, uh, don't know who your father is," he said awkwardly, "But we're not 'ere to hurt you. Roight, Danyr?"

There was a definitive tone of "help me out here, man" in his voice.

"Um... I don't know, Daniel. We can't just take him, can we?"

Danyr looked just as helpless as Daniel, really. Danyr hadn't really dealt with kids before. If the kid didn't want to go... They had to leave him here? The master of this place was pretty terrible. Was he the kid's father? Or maybe pretending to be his father?

"It's up to you, Daniel..."

Danyr slowly made his way towards the door to the upstairs, leaving Daniel and the boy, who was occupied staring down Daniel defiantly. He even crossed his arms over his chest in a sort of puff, though he wasn't really intimidating in any case. He seemed willing to stare down Daniel until the boy left...

"Wot?" Daniel asked Danyr, dismay evident in his voice. "Oh, bloody . . ."

He groaned. That just wasn't cool at all. Danyr was the go to guy for all that thinking stuff, and Daniel was the go to guy for all that smashing stuff. When the roles were reversed, they were bound to have a serious problem. Sort of like right now. Daniel had no idea what to do with this kid. He fought with himself about it for awhile, knowing he had to get this kid out of here. He didn't even consider that the kid might be dead weight. To Daniel, no one was dead weight.

"Oi, we're koinda in a hurry," he said to the kid, "Creepy crawly black things are takin' over the place and everyone's in danger. We're tryin' to get everyone out that doesn't wanna to stab us."

It was the bluff of the century, but he was pretty sure lying to the kid was the only way to save him. Daniel and Danyr were going to make a mess of these towers; anyone still inside did not have a high likelihood of survival . .

"Creepy crawly black things..."

The child's eyes flashed a deep shade-like red as recognition seemed to spread across his face. For better or worse, after all, the boy appeared to be part shade. And the shades around here hadn't been attacking hybrids; only Daniel and Danyr seemed to be a target...

"This is where I live! The machine takes care of me. And my friends are here!"

The boy seemed to be referring to the shades... And he was increasingly unhappy with Daniel's choice of words, as Danyr continued moving unobtrusively towards the door to the upstairs...

He was almost half tempted to throw in the towel and move on. Of course, he'd have made it a point to come back for this kid later, but still . . .

Notably, the boy's shade-like features and reactions did little to even make Daniel flinch. He had, after all, just come from a city of Ersatzthingies. This boy looked like one of them. He probably came from the same city, in fact. He did say something curious, though.

"The machine?" Daniel asked.

He looked back to the device behind the boy. Was that the machine he was talking about? It didn't look like it could "take care" of a person . . .