After resting, Julian and his party continued up the stairs. By floor 60, they hadn’t run into any other signs of life. It was quiet and hot in the stairwell, not counting their footfalls, heavy breathing, and the thrum of energy that reverberated through the tower.

“How much further?” Maria asked, sitting down in the alcove.

“It’s 150 floors to the top,” Andre said, sitting on the steps. He pulled his bag off his shoulders and retrieved bottles of water out of it. He passed them out and took a sip of his own.

Dorrfi finally caught up with them, falling full starfish in the middle of the floor.

“That’s cruel, dude,” Julian said, sitting down beside Maria.

“He didn’t want to wait in his capsule,” Andre said, shrugging.

Julian reached out to Omen.

The wolf appeared beside him, lying down and resting his head on Julian’s lap.

Julian sat still, looking down at Omen. “This is new.”

That’s sweet, boss.

Julian jumped, causing Omen to growl softly. He looked over his shoulder at where Obi was sitting.

I keep forgetting you’re here. Speak up more.

Every time I do, you jump. It’s kind of funny.

Julian sighed, taking another swig from his water bottle.

Kiyoka was the only one not sitting down. She was busy looking at her bracer.

“Everything okay?” Andre asked her.

Kiyoka tapped on her bracer. “I’m not sure.”

Their bracers vibrated, sending them a notification.

[Den Leader defeated.]

[Den Raid: 3 of 4 complete.]

“Shit,” Andre cursed. He got to his feet. “We need to move.”

Everyone got to their feet and resumed the trek up the stairs.

Julian focused on one foot in front of the other, refusing to look up.

Before they knew it, they had doubled the floor count, standing at floor 120, and were still climbing.

As they climbed towards 140, they heard talking in the stairwell.

Andre held his hand up to stop their ascent, but that didn’t stop Julian from bumping into Maria.

She glared at him, then turned her attention up the stairs.

Artino guards were in the stairwell, loading guns and preparing for an assault.

“Alright, men,” a familiar voice rang out. “This is the last one. We clear it out, we secure the tower.”

“Von?” Kiyoka whispered.

Andre looked up the stairwell and nodded his head to confirm.

“How did he get through here so fast?” Julian whispered.

Andre shrugged. “Between us taking out the first 2 dens, and the other guards working throughout the tower, it makes sense that someone would have gotten a clear route to the top.”

Julian sighed. “What do we do?”

Before anyone could answer, the door below them opened up and more guards came into the stairwell. They immediately spotted the others.

“Freeze!”

“Fuck!” Julian cursed, but Obi was ready.

A wave of mental energy erupted from the scarab, forcing the guards back through the door. Shots rang out, but nothing pierced the mental barrier. As the last guard was shoved back through, the door slammed shut.

Ember rushed forward, spouting small bits of flame, melting the door hinges and handle.

“Freeze!” Von’s team called down the stairwell.

Gunshots rang out, but Matilda protected them.

A mental barrier caught the bullets, sending them back up toward the guards, and forcing them to take cover behind the railing.

“Go! Go!” Andre roared, charging up the stairs. He grabbed Dorffi’s awaiting paws, picked him up, and slung the little bear up the stairs.

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As Dorffi arrived at the guards, he grew in size, quickly taking up the width of the stairwell and squishing the guards between the wall and railing. He roared menacingly, swatting at the guards who had escaped his cannonball.

More gunshots rang out, but Obi was quick to cover Dorffi in a defensive barrier, letting the bear cut loose on the guards.

Omen reappeared out of the shadows, a trembling Von being dragged down the stairs with him. He dropped the guard at the party’s feet, his tail wagging softly. He then returned to the shadows, filling the stairwell with a deep, soft growl.

“Hello, again Mr. Von,” Kiyoka said, looking down at her former captor.

Von growled, looking up at Kiyoka. “This won’t stand. You’re interfering with Victor Artino’s direct orders! We’re trying to save this place!”

Andre knelt in front of Von, being joined by Dorffi coming down the stairs to stand guard over Von’s head. “Why don’t you tell us more? Start with Artino.”

Dorffi growled menacingly, letting saliva drip onto the guard’s shoulder.

Von shivered, shifting away from the bear. He looked to Julian and the others, their Eidos on guard and ready to pounce. Begrudgingly, he whimpered. “The day before the energy transfer, we were tasked with escorting Miss Miura along with the package she received from her father. We were supposed to escort her to a research tower upstate.”

Andre looked back at Kiyoka.

She nodded. “I was going there to oversee the energy transfer. The tower in Sacramento was to serve as the backup operations tower in case of a system failure here.”

“But you never made it,” Maria chimed in, looking down at Von.

Von shook his head. “We received orders that morning to secure Miss Miura and her package and take her to our facility downtown. Clearly, it’s not as secure as we thought.” He glared at them.

“Did he say why he wanted her secured?” Julian asked.

Von shook his head. “Only that we needed to take possession of the package and secure her position.”

Andre looked back at Kiyoka. “So, Dr. Miura went to work on the day of the transfer with his daughter missing, and worked like nothing was wrong? Dr. Artino had a lot of leverage on him, then, if he played that card to force Dr. Miura’s hand.” He turned back to Von. “What else?”

Von shook his head. “I can’t confirm what Dr. Miura knew or didn’t know. All I can say is that Dr. Artino was certain that Dr. Miura would be more compliant on the day of the transfer. I guess he was wrong.”

Julian crossed his arms, pacing back and forth in the small alcove. “Something doesn’t make sense to me.”

Everyone stopped and looked at Julian.

“Why all this? Why the need to force people’s hand? Why all the cloak and dagger?” Julian stopped pacing and looked at Andre. “You know him better than I do. Is he the type that is that scared to pull the trigger himself?”

Von grew silent.

Andre stood to his feet. “He was always happy with plausible deniability. For a man obsessed with knowledge, it was amazing how much he didn’t know, or pretended not to know, at any rate.”

Kiyoka stepped forward. “What did Dr. Artino want with my dad? What did he hope to achieve with the energy transfer?”

Von chuckled, shaking his head, “Now, you and I both know that’s way above my pay grade. Might have better luck with whatever is waiting for us upstairs.” As Von went to sit up, Dorffi’s paw caught him by the shoulder and slammed him back down on the steps, growling loudly in Von’s face.

“Speaking of, do you know what’s waiting upstairs?” Julian asked, looking up the stairwell.

“Like I’d tell you. Artino’s bracer will fill you in, eventually.” Von smirked at them.

Julian stepped back from the group. “We finished with him?”

Andre nodded. “Yup.”

Maria nodded as well.

Kiyoka folded her arms. “What are we going to do with him?”

Julian mentally called for Omen, the wolf returning from the shadows. “At least get him out of the tower. Even if he comes back in, we'll be finished here by the time he makes it back up.”

Omen stepped towards Von, growling as he flashed his fangs at the man.

“Wait, what are-” Von started.

Omen snatched the man’s pant leg, slipping into the shadows of the stairwell as he took Von down the stairs at blinding speed.

Von’s screams echoed throughout the stairwell, growing faint as Omen took him further down the stairs and out of the building.

“That was a bit dramatic,” Maria whispered, smirking at Julian.

Julian shrugged. “We needed to get the point across.”

Andre watched Julian for a silent moment before turning up the stairs. “Come, Dorffi.”

The bear climbed the railing while shrinking down to his more compact size and jumped up onto Andre’s back.

Maria took a moment to summon Matilda before following behind him.

Kiyoka followed silently, her gaze down towards the stairs.

Julian joined them, sensing Omen had returned to his side, hiding.

As they stepped out onto floor 145, their bracers vibrated.

{Eidos detected.]

[Running Identification protocol.]

Omen went forward, running point.

The door to floor 145 opened to a hallway filled with doors and busted windows. The lab equipment could be seen throughout the floor across different workstations. Storage cabinets had the glass busted out of them and strange liquids had spilled onto the floors. A caustic smell filled the air.

Andre stepped forward, looking around as Dorffi sniffed the air.

Julian felt his scarab beetle claw gingerly into his shoulder, getting his attention.

You okay? He thought.

Something’s here, boss. I sense thought patterns. We’re being watched.

Julian shivered, looking around the room. “Heads up, guys. Obi senses something.”

“Matilda, too,” Maria whispered.

They continued walking forward quietly as their bracers vibrated once more.

[Eidos Identified.]

[Procyon: Level 5]

[Affinity: Light]

[Warning: Darkness Type Den Leader Detected]

“Sounds like Corona has some competition,” Julian whispered.

Corona cawed softly as Kiyoka reached up and petted his beak. “If that’s the case, we should know what to expect. Look out for blinding effects.”

Ember trotted forward, sniffing the air around the lab as Dorffi slid down Andre’s back, joining her.

Boss?

Matilda screeched as a blinding flash filled the room.

Julian snapped his eyes shut, his eyes burning from the flash. He could tell Omen was feeling uncomfortable and exposed as he tried to hide in Julian’s shadow.

Dorffi grew as big as he could, busting walls down to give the others cover.

A loud, deep caw filled the room as the light stopped.

As Julian opened his eyes, he couldn’t see anything around him. Everything was dark. He felt relief from Omen.

“Guys?” Julian called out.

Everything was silent around him.

Boss?

Obi, what’s going on?

Darkness attack, boss. This trash panda is mean.

Julian could feel Omen. He was on the prowl, but he couldn’t pinpoint where the raven was.

The pup is trying, boss. But the trash panda is toying with everyone.

Julian suddenly felt a wave of heat flash nearby, a flash of purple blocking Ember’s flame from burning him.

Suddenly, another flash of light broke the darkness.

As Julian regained his vision, Corona was glowing on Kiyoka’s shoulders, casting light everywhere.

Up ahead, at the end of the hallway, sat a large raccoon watching them. The thing was the size of Omen and was rubbing its paws together.

Omen sprang from the shadows, launching a surprise attack.

The raccoon flashed a bright light, blinding Omen, who went tumbling across the floor.

As the others charged, darkness enveloped the room.

Everyone stumbled as the other Eidos collided with lab debris.

“This is insane. We can’t see it!” Kiyoka said, frustration thick in her voice.

“It’s in complete control,” Andre growled from beside Julian.

“What do we do?” Maria panicked.

Boss?

What now, Obi? Julian thought.

I can see it just fine. Want me to link everyone up?

Julian gasped in surprise.

Do your thing, Obi. If we make it out of here alive, I’ll take you hunting for your swarm so you can hang out with umm, what did you call them?

Omen was silent for a beat. …my green lovelies?

Yes! We will go hunting for them!

Obi yelled inside Julian’s mind. YOU GOT IT BOSS!