As the group progressed through the Camp, they encountered a few groups of Mechanaloids against which Massimo was able to demonstrate his skills. He proved to be an effective - if slow - tank, and placing him at the head of the formation with everyone else arranged behind him and to the sides allowed them to maximize damage output. The only issue - which, thankfully, didn't arise too often - was that Massimo's armor was vulnerable to various types of Elemental damage. Another issue that caught Octavia's eye was that - despite supposedly being a famous vigilante hero - Massimo seemed to have very little actual battle experience.
After dealing with a few prison guards, they were able to release several prisoners, each of which was grateful for the release. Some recognized Massimo on sight...but seemed to be under the impression that he'd been captured. Massimo made light of those with boasts that eased the troubled minds of the prisoners...but his eyes showed that his heart wasn't truly in it.
What else they learned from the prisoners was far more troubling. The 'warden' of the prison - an FM Reploid of the Rebellion named Silver Horn - had destroyed prisoners one by one, for no other reason than because he apparently enjoyed it. Octavia's eyes had narrowed angrily at that.
As they moved deeper into the prison, they encountered a maze-like area. As they explored, X paused. "So that's where it is," he murmured softly.
"Where what is?" Spider demanded curiously.
"When I first came here, I had to send my Ultimate Armor separately in order to get in safely," X explained. "The plan was to pick it up mid-mission if I needed it, or to track it down afterwards otherwise. It's near here."
"In that case, maybe we should go get it?" Massimo suggested nervously. "I mean, we really can't take chances with lives on the line...and you wouldn't want the Rebellion Army to get a hold of it, right?"
Nodding agreement, X followed his sensors...to a locked door. "Great," he muttered darkly. "Where are we supposed to find this...'Tianna Key'?"
"I have that," Octavia spoke up. "Axl and I found a few keys while we were exploring, and divided them between us when we split up. I have the Tianna and Lagrano Keys, and Axl has the Central and Gimialla Keys. I meant to divide them differently...but for some reason, Axl was pretty insistent on taking the Central Key." Shrugging, she stepped up and used the Tianna Key to open the door.
Following the scanners, they came to a final door. Octavia motioned everyone to stop. "I hear something in there...a female voice. I think I should go in first." Once that was accepted, she stepped up to the door.
Behind the door was a young woman in poofy dress-armor practicing a dance routine. The dress-armor was red, and a pink visor covered most of her face and her blonde hair. "Step! Step! And turn!" she sang to herself as she spun around, swinging a sun-topped staff. Catching sight of Octavia, she let out a startled scream. "Who are you?"
"Octavia Melody Light," Octavia introduced herself warmly. "You might have heard of me-"
The young woman's face lit up. "Ohmygosh, you're Axl's Mom!" Octavia mightily resisted the urge to facehoof. "Do you think you could introduce me? I've always wanted to meet him, but between my idol career and his vigilante work, I despaired of it ever happening!"
Octavia smiled softly. "I think I can manage that. You're Rafflesian, aren't you?"
Rafflesian gasped in shock. "You know me?"
Octavia nodded. "Indeed I do. I came across you a few times in my son's search history." She decided not to mention that said search history was for pinups, and specifically filtered out music and most of her live performances. Maybe she could get Axl to reconsider if they actually met...though she doubted it.
"Oh, oh, do you think you could give him my contact number?" Rafflesian pleaded, holding out a data disk. "It's even got my RDNA profile on it, to check for compatibility." Her cheeks turned pink. "Or if he, you know, wanted to c-c-copy me..."
Octavia raised an eyebrow. Technology allows for some odd fetishes, she mused to herself. "I think I can do that. But...can you do something for me?"
"Anything!" Raffelsian promised eagerly.
Octavia pointed to the data capsule containing the Ultimate Armor activation unit. "That belongs to my father. Can I retrieve it, please?"
"Oh, go ahead!" Rafflesian agreed eagerly. "It's just in the way of my practice, but it doesn't let me move it."
Smiling, Octavia took the data disk and capsule. "I'll leave you to your practice, then. A special performance for my son, perhaps?"
Rafflesian's cheeks darkened. "W-well, only if I can lock the door..."
Chuckling, Octavia left the room, handing the capsule over to X and waving everyone to move on as though nothing had happened.
Not long after the group left the maze, they found their way to a dark room guarded by a new type of Preon, a blue one that utilized freezing technology. It did not last long against the gathered group.
With the Preons destroyed, the group was able to approach the control console in the center of the room, which Nana was plugged into. "Are you alright, Nana?" X spoke up in concern.
"Wait a sec," Spider interrupted. "I'll let you loose."
After a quick manipulation of the circuitry, the helmet locked onto Nana's head opened, letting her look out at them with her own eyes. "Thank you," she spoke up calmly. "When I noticed your group breaking in, I managed to reprogram the security system so that the alarms wouldn't go off."
"Impressive," X murmured in awe.
"I didn't want to work for them," Nana offered apologetically. "But I was captured...and they said if I didn't, they would kill the POWs."
"Well you don't have to worry about that anymore," Octavia promised. "We'll take care of Silver Horn."
"I'll stay here and back you up," Nana offered quickly.
"Are you sure?" Spider asked in concern. "I mean, being plugged into that thing can't be pleasant-"
"I can take it," Nana interrupted. "Knowing I'm doing it for the right reasons will help a great deal."
Everyone nodded, and X and Spider turned to head forward. Massimo paused before continuing. "On, Nana...is there any record of...me being held here?" he asked nervously.
"Massimo...Steel Massimo, yes?" Nana asked as she called up the relevant file. "It says here you were captured 10 days ago, and subsequently placed in solitary confinement. But...according to the file, it says you were executed after five days of refusing to cooperate."
"E-executed?" Massimo gasped out, looking stricken.
"A case of mistaken identity, perhaps?" Octavia offered considerately.
"Y-yeah, that must be it," Massimo murmured softly.
"The body should still be in the maximum security cell up ahead, if you want to investigate," Nana offered. Nodding, Massimo immediately charged ahead. "A moment," Nana called out as Octavia moved to follow.
"I can't spare much more than that," Octavia pointed out, "but go ahead."
"I didn't want to say anything to the others," Nana explained, "but the reason I was able to prevent the alarms from going off for your group...is because the Rebellion Army protocols were already programmed to ignore you, Octavia."
"Now isn't that interesting?" Octavia murmured softly before turning to pursue the others.