YF eventually found a small half-basement window in one of the buildings that was open. There was no way a person could fit through it, but that was not a problem for his drone. Using the claw, he carefully pried the window open just wide enough that he could fit the drone underneath. He then extended one side’s rotors, flying it awkwardly inside until there was room to extend the other side’s rotors, which he promptly did and then landed the drone on the ground without crashing it. He then retracted the rotors.
The inside of the underground area was almost pitch black. YF suppressed his annoyance at how everything electronic was always calibrated to how daywalkers perceived the world; he activated the “night vision” camera and drove the drone slowly ahead. About halfway down the corridor, he realized that there would be no way for Erika to transmit a message to him. But with time running out and the unsettling developments to the operation, YF knew Erika would rather him press ahead than backtrack to the surface. With all of the doors likely wired to alarms and the windows too small for anyone to squeeze through, the first task would have to be to disable the alarms. YF pointed the front camera upward and noticed the lack of surveillance cameras, though it was easy to imagine why that might be. He then proceeded onward.
Soon after turning right at the end of the hall, the sound of footsteps could be heard from an adjacent corridor. YF steered the drone into a room with its sliding door open just wide enough for the vehicle to squeeze through. Inside, a woman was sleeping in the far corner. YF drove the drone slightly behind the door so as to hide it without disturbing the resident. The footsteps passed the door. When YF heard the person proceeding down the first hall he had driven through, he exited the room and continued down the path.
He soon came upon a room with multiple monitors of cameras pointed outside at Domon-doori, with a tall rectangular panel that he assumed was the alarm system. YF turned the cameras a few times to see if the person who had passed earlier — presumably the guard of the control room — had any backup. YF reasoned that any non essential personnel had gone toward the firefight that could still be heard toward the center of the compound. Though YF felt thankful for whomever had started the assault on Double Phoenix Sect, he felt it was probably in his best interest that he not thank them in person.
YF lifted the drone to the level of the display and then pressed a few buttons, being met with a request for passwords. He let go of the controller with one hand and thought for a few moments. He then noticed that the panel design looked outdated and thus extended a small camera, looking along the perimeter of the box. It revealed that the outer panel was just held together by some clips. YF used the claw to grab onto the panel and pull it off, hovering the piece of metal over the ground and setting it down gently. With the panel off, he could see the many bolts used to hold it down. YF tested the bits on the utility arm until he found one that fit into the bolt heads, quickly removing all the bolts to the inner panel. Pulling that off as well, he looked behind it first for the battery backup, ripping out the battery before cutting all of the wires. YF then bolted two of the top bolts to the inner panel and stored the remaining ones in the drone’s compartment. He then pressed the outer panel in. The display was now completely off, which the guard would notice eventually. But it should buy him enough time to at least open the door for Erica.
YF drove the drone around the perimeter of the room to look for a vent opening and then removed the panel with his screwdriver, holding the panel in the claw and fitting it loosely back in from the back as he drove into the vent. The vents were as filthy as one could imagine and then some. The dust kicked up from the vehicle got in the way of both cameras, making it difficult for him to drive without bumping the duct. Using his memory of which direction the west end of Domon-doori was — where Erica would likely approach— he proceeded as far as he could until he came to the furthest vent panel. There, he waited for some time to make sure that there was no one nearby. He then used the claw to crush three of the metal strips such that he could extend the utility arm out through it. He then unscrewed the panel and gripped it. Using the same tactic as he did to fly into the first room, he landed on the ground and placed the panel next to him before driving off to find the nearest door. He flew the drone up to the door and located the alarm attached to it. Praying to Reoa that his work on the control room alarm panel was enough to make sure he would not trip the central alarm; he then prayed the local alarm could be disabled in one swipe as well.
He opened the claw and pressed it to the sides of the alarm, closing the claw a little before applying full pressure on the device. It made a distorted noise as it was being crushed before going silent. YF paused. Somewhere down the corridor, someone opened a door and stepped outside.
“Hello?” a woman’s voice called.
Being up the stairs at the end of the corridor, he could not see who it was, and there was nowhere to hide. He could only keep the drone still and wait it out. The door closed and he waited; but then, he could hear footsteps walking down the corridor. Something that sounded like an exploding artillery shell resounded in the distance. The footsteps paused, then backtracked; a door down the hall opened, then closed. YF timed the opening of the door to the street — whose alarm he had just disabled — right when the woman closed her own door. Before he could drive out, Erika showed up in the front camera.
“Compound is under attack,” said a message she sent through the receiver.
“I know,” said YF back through her earpiece. “Are you sure she’s here?”
“I have a good feeling. If a feeling about this could be considered good.”
The sound of footsteps could be heard from far down the hall.
“Follow me,” said YF.
YF drove as quickly as he could down to the first room that he hid in, rolling through the gap in the entrance. Erika then squeezed in sideways, planting her back against the inside of the door. But when YF looked out the front camera, he realized the woman from before was not in the bed. He quickly drove over to the closet and ran the wheel over the pedal activator, waiting for the door to slide across before going in. Erika caught on and followed behind, making sure not to trip the bottom sensor as she stepped over the threshold, allowing the door to close behind her.
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What seemed like an eternity later, two pairs of footsteps shuffled down the hall and then stopped in front of the room.
“Like I said, I wouldn’t be too hung up over it. Don’t think it’s too different from the Mount Ka raid,” said a man.
“But it sounds like a bomb—” A woman’s voice.
“Shhh, there’s no reason to scare the others.”
“I really think we should evacuate…”
“That would suggest there is somewhere to evacuate to, Ms. Hibiya.”
The woman tsked.
“There’s no way to guarantee your safety on the road. You know that,” said the man. “And the fact that we have nowhere to go is precisely why we’ve held Yonchome so long. It is our home. We will defend it with our lives. If something were to happen, leadership will ensure your safety.”
“They’d better,” said the woman as she slid open the door. She then slid it again.
“Ms. Hibiya you should really shut and lock the door.”
“Don’t tell me what to do. The air inside is shit. Maybe the purebloods can deal with shitty air because they don’t breathe. But a girl needs to vent out the jizz and sweat and oyster smell once in a while. You feel me? It smells like shit in here!”
There was silence for a moment.
“I’m sure the ventilation system will be upgraded soon,” said the man.
“I’ll be an old bag by the time that happens. Just ping the Commander and make sure he hears about our situation.”
“I will.”
“I want to see it.”
“Ma’am?”
“Open your receiver and do it now.”
The man sighed. There was silence for some time. “He knows,” the man finally said.
“Good, I’m going back to sleep.”
Erika and YF could hear the woman flop onto the bed as the man walked off toward the control room. Not five minutes later, the sound of light snoring could be heard from outside.
“Wait a second,” said YF.
They waited five minutes more just to be sure. Then, Erika tapped the inside button to open the closet. The snoring stopped.
“W-wha—”
In a flash, Erika dove onto the woman with lightning speed, biting on her jugular so hard that blood squirted all over the bed. It was obviously well aimed enough to silence the woman, who made a few gurgling sounds before she passed to the ancestral plane. YF dropped the drone controller on the ground. When Erika was done, she turned on the tap to the woman’s sink and washed herself crudely, using napkins to wipe the blood off her jacket and then zipping it to cover her stained shirt. She took out her receiver.
“We need to get Reina,” a message came through
“You…” YF started.
“Not now. Also, hold this with the claw then pull it into the compartment.”
YF picked up his controller with shaking hands; he then extended the claw and opened it. Erika pulled out a pair of scissors from somewhere in her jacket, hovering them in the space between the claw head. YF grabbed onto the scissors, then retracted the claw back. He then made the drone follow her out the door. After walking a few minutes, Erika started to stagger.
“What is it?” asked YF.
Erika grabbed the mic from her belt and held it to her mouth. “Something...in her system I think...is working its way into me. Speed? Poppy? I don’t know...let’s just keep going.”
When they passed the control room, the guard started to swivel in his chair. “Ms. Hibiya?”
Erika skipped past the door so he wouldn’t see her while YF waited on the other side of the opening.
“Using the toilet!” she said, imitating Hibiya’s voice.
“Oh...sure,” said the man.
When YF heard the chair swivel once more, he drove past the door to follow after Erika.
The path further went much longer than YF had anticipated, eventually getting to the point that there were no longer any rooms. They went yet further down, eventually reaching a single door at the end of a hall. YF located the alarm on it and lifted the drone, clamping its claw over the alarm and crushing it. Erika then pulled open the door, which led further to another dark hall.
The two continued down while YF used his scanner to point to where the most recent footprints led, turning multiple times until they reached a hall with a room at the end, the interior of which was glowing blue from some light source. Erika paused for a long moment, planting her hand on the wall. It was only then that YF could hear her more labored breathing, whatever substances from Hibiya’s lifeforce now probably taking their full effect. Even after she gathered her footing, Erika continued to stare at the blue light coming out of the room. Whatever dangers that came with the next steps would be much worse for Erika than for him. And in that moment, YF hoped she would choose to turn back and get out, even though he knew she wouldn’t. Erika took a few steps forward; YF then drove behind her. They approached it slowly, trying as best they could not to make any noise.
Then, from the rear camera, YF could see someone suddenly emerge from where they had come from.
“The famed Enforcer has risen from the dead.”
Erika stopped and turned around.
“See unfortunately for you, I am one of the few people who knew what Ikeda looked like.”