Boxes, papers and more boxes were all that Lass, Yuno and Ikarisa could see, and faint, quick clicking from Anya hopping around from computer to computer was all that they could hear. Traversing through tags labelled from "Blueprints" to "Logistics", they had started to get rather bored at the plain sight of the seemingly never-ending shelves.

They wandered for a few minutes that felt like an eternity, slowly having their eyes shut down without even realizing it. Eventually, breaking the silence around them, Yuno grunted as he stopped and hovered on the spot.

"I can feel my soul being slowly dissolved here." Yuno couldn't look around any longer. "Welcome to the 30th century. Why the hell do they need papers for, god knows." Lass yawned.

"Why not? Imagine getting your systems hacked and then deleted that would be detrimental." Ikarisa said. "Fair enough...look, guys, let's just get back. If we're honest here, the chance of finding a single useful thing in a sea of random mountains of paper is abysmal."

"Why did you go forward with it then? I just followed after you." Ikarisa wondered. "I, uh...I didn't want to be really close to Anya, for a while." "Look, if it's about the trouble we got into three days ago-" "Nothing.", Lass interrupted her.

"Yeah. Nothing." Yuno said right after.

"Wait, what?" Lass was surprised.

"Two words. Memory. Sharing. Goes for all memories. Whatever you are doing, right, now, is a memory." Yuno emphasized his words. "What are you guys talking about?"

Lass died inside yet again, "I'm literally bringing a knife to a possible gunfight. Please. Someone end me since I don't have the balls to do it myself." he covered his face as he mumbled to himself.

"Ah...ok? Let's just head back then." Ikarisa awkwardly looked at him. As they started to head back, Ikarisa slid a bit forward, as her foot got caught in a fallen piece of paper on the clean white floor.

As she picked up the paper and flipped it around, she realized very quickly, that it was the same flyer as before.

This time somewhat clean, being a bit damaged from what looked like footprints on it, this time she was able to make out what it said.

A beautiful, pink hair young girl was on the poster, looking forward with what looked like a bruised, tainted face and a determined look in her eyes. At the top of the poster, it wrote "At the Gates of Freedom", with plain, white text with the captions below writing "Music will always be wide and divided. We won't." It struck them all as odd, how they managed to come across such a thing, in such an upright workspace.

"A music show?" Ikarisa wondered.

"Hang on, I know this girl. She's a pop idol from around here, I get her in my recommended all the time. Her name is 'Terna Matune' if I remember correctly." Yuno realized.

"Oh, her? She makes more things than just pop music. I'm pretty sure I have a couple of songs downloaded with her being the artist that is definitely not in the pop genre."

"Then what is she doing with this? Starring in a movie or something?" Ikarisa took a second glance at the flyer.

From down the halls, Anya's voice was heard loud and clear, as she excitedly announced the success of her very unorthodox plan.

"Yo, guys! It actually worked! "Anya yelled.

"No shot." Lass was dumbfounded.

Going back at her, it was very clear that the high-tech computer Anya managed to get her hands on was indeed unlocked, giving access to a plethora of much-needed information.

"You are actually joking." Lass looked at the unlocked computer.

"Nope! Dude, there are like a hundred computers in here in a soulless million-merit mega-corporation. You bet your ass someone would be bored enough of their spiraling routine to go "1-2-3-4-5-6" in their corporate computer. Granted, this one was a little harder. I went "1-2-3-4-5-6-7". Now it's not quite the security personnel computer, but the defaulted user wrote "Admin" on it. I'm looking in every single folder to see if I can find the CCTV footage stored. For now I found the ".exe" file of the CCTV app, so I can actually see what's happening outside.

"Here, take a look at this."

Showing the ongoing CCTV footage, they quickly found out what lay beyond the first few corporate headquarters in the common area.

Multiple other open areas in between with way more damage, both on the areas themselves and the buildings around it, inflicted onto them, and a slew of papers and same type flyers pinned and taken by the wind everywhere.

Moreover, they finally found the first signs of life around the area.

A few people moved around, some of them in their formal, while others in military suits, existing and being very cautious around the area.

"Oh my god, other humans. That's rare around here." Lass sarcastically said.

"And all these flyers around with the soldiers..." Ikarisa looked at the flyer in her hand.

"Oh, yeah, that. Take a look at this as well there's an internal notification system for announcements for employees only, I found the exact same thing in digital form in the said system here on the top left here, look." Anya pulled up the latest notification from the mail system, "Same poster and everything with what you have on your hands Risa, even weirder the date is 14/2/3072 at 17:31, so close to which you guys told me Thaddeus said, around the 6-month mark back .

Now, if we take a look at the email frequency like a day before that, you have your boring stuff such as logistic reports, announcements and shipment requests, but take a look at this, 13/2/3072 at 15:57, then 13/2/3072 at 16:32 and so on and so forth. This frequency holds up after that too, starting at 9 a.m. when the work day begins as usual, with stuff at 14/2/3072 9:18 with their usual morning greeting and report, with the same usual shit, up until 14/2/3072 at 17:31. The last email ever sent here, 6 months back."

"So this means that whenever this message was sent, it was when all this hell broke loose. Weird...did a flyer just cause this?" Yuno wondered.

"You tell me. A company the size of MX, including every other titan here, works on a specialized L.A.N. To avoid data leaks, they actually use underground landline data transmitters that are not connected to the internet, between HQ, company-owned railway track and even their company container ships at the port.

Easy for me to tell, because we use the same system locally, as opposed to other methods for data transfer between nation-specific HQs we got worldwide.

So to use this system to send something so completely irrelevant to work, someone must've either been very drunk and either targeted or fired, or someone specifically infiltrated the local network and did an inside job."

"You wasting your life away to your dad's company actually came in clutch." Lass showed his fist at Anya.

"And that's why you love Me.", Anya's fist-bumped Lass's fist.

"There are a ton more questions after that. Those soldiers out there and everything. What are they doing?" Ikarisa placed the flyer aside.

"Good question, I have no answer for that tho.

I'll take a shot in the dark and say that whatever they're doing, definitely came as much of a surprise to them, as it did to us. And whatever surprise that one was, it sure wasn't the pretty kind." Anya closed the mail system.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"So we're looking at a cyber-attack? For a flyer delivery?" Yuno sarcastically asked.

"Impossible to know. Dude, I'm smart and awesome, not a super genius. This is surface-level detective work, and I sure as hell don't have what it takes to go deeper into actual, encrypted files, or blast through like a million firewalls. And unfortunately, our little brigade of people here doesn't have someone specifically leaning toward technology and how to screw around with it," Anya sighed.

"And yet that detective work came in handy," Lass said.

"Hey, I watched every season of Crime Scene Scanning. So did a million others who almost got themselves killed by chasing stars and actual dangerous shit on BetterVid. I'm just able to become the danger, which gives me flexing rights." Anya shrugged.

"Should we even attempt to approach these people anyway?" Ikarisa thought.

"If you got a bag of treats, yes, otherwise they will probably either run off or bite like stray dogs. And these stray dogs have guns and explosives to bite with." Lass stopped her.

"Well, we have to actually do something here." Ikarisa began thinking things over again.

"Yes, we entered another area with huge issues, let's play heroes again." Lass annoyingly said.

"Something being done always has to start from starting to get done. This is the exact type of thinking that will hold you back, if all you have to say is basically 'Why not let someone else do it?'." Yuno said.

"Oh, what, you're 80 and retired now, or just trying to get the best actor for the role of 'Weis the Elder'? Look, these are actual people and soldiers or cops we are going to have to deal with. Do you honestly think, under any circumstances, us four can just waltz in and start kicking ass?" Lass answered back.

"Yes! Absolutely! Dude, what part of 'Obsulyte users are overpowered' did you not get? Assuming this is not a broad military force that actually includes very dangerous things, including other Obsulyte users, we can one hundred and ten per cent deal enough damage for them to take us seriously." Yuno said.

"He has a point." Anya pointed out.

"You know that 'assuming makes an ass out of you and me', right? I can tell you three different, very logical reasons that taking the power-flexing route will get us all in the shit.

One, if it actually is a military force with coms available, and they call for backup, not just a local militia, we will absolutely get annihilated.

Two, if it actually is just cops and local militia that got their hands in some serious gear, we will deal a lot of damage, yes, but that would mean that we will have to expose people around there who are very, very clearly, not taking part in this into danger.

There are simple workers and personnel clearly dressed to waste their lives away day by day, not lose their lives in a second because some random bozo decided to flex the fact that they're a jacked-up warlord.

And three, we chose violence, which I'm fine with using given how there are bloody monsters around every corner on this got damn planet nowadays.

Ok, then what exactly? Where are we directing that violence at? The good guys or the bad guys? Because like Anya said, monsters would get annihilated kilometers away from the city if they chose to attack with all their weapons available, which means that this is very much an internal conflict.

And conflict always has two sides. Don't bullshit me about going standalone on our own little peacemaker side, because that would mean that we will have to go into territories that we simply do not have credentials to be in."

"He also has a point. Several of them. But then what's the plan?" Anya pointed out again, "Man, we are never leaving destination number one of this self-inflicted odyssey." she exhaled.

A brief moment of silence came again. They started to engulf themselves in their thoughts as the minutes passed, trying to find the most optimal way to get their task at hand done.

It wasn't less than half an hour of constant thinking before Yuno decided to come out with his idea.

"How about we pretend?"

"We are already clowns enough, I don't think pretending will do much," Lass said with a straight face.

"No, like actually pretending. There's a storage room with personnel uniforms and everything in there. If we dress up accordingly and go up to them, maybe they will let us inside their group. I honestly believe that we have a way better chance of understanding what's going on if we actually get close and start conversing with actual people.

That will also make it so that we can start building up momentum and make it out of here faster." Ikarisa suggested.

"And then there's the cartoon approach. We aren't exactly black-ops experts either." Lass sighed.

"I mean, just go ahead and act casual," Ikarisa said.

"And they ask a single question, next up Magi attends our funerals." Lass annoyingly said.

"It's not like we're heading into some sort of military compound, dude. If we do some minor damage to the clothes, we will be like every other worker there, not like they are suited up because they're special agents, just corporate slaves." Yuno shrugged.

"I don't know...this plan does look both exciting and the best way to go about it if our other options are just limited to violence." Ikarisa agreed with the plan.

"You guys seriously are not about to literally attempt a basic switcheroo like that, right?" Lass facepalmed.

"Relax, big guy. We've got plot armor. And we're also bringing knives to gunfights. What's the doubt about?" Anya got up and went to get the suits.

"Mind you that you can still shoot through armor." Lass answered her.

Before he knew it, both Ikarisa and Anya had gone back and forth, bringing with them a set of three uniforms, all stylish and clean, each with a company logo of MX embedded on them.

Navy blue in color, with a white shirt underneath, it was a mirrored fit between the three pieces, each at a different size.

A pair of three high heels were brought along with the three suit pieces, black in color, completing a power suit style that radiated professionalism.

"So, we got medium for Risa, large for me and extra-large for you. Got a couple of extra things for me, like this hat, but we should all look like triplets with these regardless. Here," Anya gave Lass his suit.

"Wait, I never agreed to this! Also, extra-large? Are you absolutely sure?" Lass looked at the suit.

"Yeah? Unless you're extra small, we could arrange something else." Anya giggled.

"Nice going, mutt. But I'm serious. My wears are usually medium-large. What the hell is this?"

"Case in point: you're fat." Anya laughed.

"And you have a fat ass, so what's the difference since weight gets distributed somehow." Lass annoyingly said, "Look, we're dead-ass not going through with this, right?"

"All in favor of the black ops plan?" Anya quickly said as she raised her hand, followed by Ikarisa and Yuno, "Three on one, big guy.", she said with a smug.

"This is exactly why I should either go solo, never let you guys have an opinion, or just choose option number C and let you get shot while I watch.", he sighed.

"But you won't.", she giggled, "Alright, let me do a couple more things..." She tucked her tail in her pants and wore a hat, "And we're good."

"The hell? Cospalying even more now?" Lass looked at Anya."Just safety measures. I know a couple of things or two more. Besides, it's somewhat sunny outside."

"Whatever strokes you're rocking with. Let's go."

With a brief convincing and a heavy breath, Lass knew that turning them around, now that their minds were set on a non-violent alternative, was impossible. Using the company's locker rooms, they all changed into their stylish suits, before grabbing a few box cutters and starting to inflict damage on each other's suits, making them completely ragged and completely damaged.

Multiple other devices and little everyday gadgets were found around the locker rooms, from keycards to IDs and even lunchboxes, which the group decided to pick for an added effect, should they be questioned. For an added effect, Anya took out a lighter she found in the locker rooms and partially burned everyone's suits, making them now look like they went through heavy fire, barely surviving the results of it.

"And that should be all. Pretty ok, honestly." Anya looked at the others."Not professional work, but I'll take it. At least it looks believable." Lass exhaled, "Yuno, obviously, no suits for you. We're going to play the merging games again."

"I got that much." he merged with Lass, "Can't believe that I can't work an office job with a quiet life." "We should leave our gears and everything back with the horses. Those who have some, at least. My weapon is a summon, so we still have some firepower on us if needed."

"I can do something like that as well. If need be. I can't actually believe I'm doing this. And nice going trying to give me heels instead of loafers, mutt." he complained. "Please, it's more of an asset, really."

"Shut it already. Alright...let's go. IDs are useless, they have pictures on them, so only take some name tags and keycards just in case they work somewhere, otherwise, we will have to stick to one group and follow the mutt around to get access with her keycard." "You got it, big guy. Off we go." Anya stretched out.

The three of them proceeded back to the way they came, before exiting the building and leaving all of their gear alongside their entry point, behind the metal fence. From their small guns to giant swords, nothing was visibly left on the outside and nothing was left on the inside of their clothing, moving forward with nothing but their raw fists and what weapons Lass, Ikarisa and Yuno could materialize in their hands.

Going through the same open area again, they started getting closer to the group of workers and what appeared to be military personnel. As they got closer and closer, they came to realize that things were not exactly as they looked like. Unbranded, basic uniforms were worn by the "soldiers" that carried around heavy weaponry, without any sort of distinct factors to separate them from other forces, and most of them looked younger than what they expected.

Nevertheless, they all raised their weapons as they saw the group approaching them all, some of them obviously shaking while trying to raise their arms, showing just how inexperienced they were. Leading the group, Anya stepped forward between the three, preparing herself for possible negotiations.