[u]Waterfront Warehouse[/u] [i]Near Northside, Tenebrae [color=lightgray]Time: After Midnight[/color][/i] [@Lady Seraphina], [@Shu] After pacing along uneven cement, staring at the clock for the twentieth time, Arc snatched out his phone. "King?" He pressed it to his ear, turning his head. [Code]"Hm?"[/code] A stressed hand ran through black hair, hugging the nape of his neck. "Phantasm isn't here. I've tried her phone, text, her tracker is offline. Nothing's working." [Code]"Hm. And Scarlet is off?"[/code] Arc gave an irritated grumble. "Yeah, she's off. But this is suppose to be done by her [I]and[/I] Phantasm, now she's a no-show. And you know who she works for." He could hear a light chuckle on the other end. [Code]"No need to be so tense, Arc. I'll look into it."[/code] "I'm not"--an irritated huff--"I'm not tense." A pause. [Code]"She's fine. Don't jump to conclusions without my say so."[/code] Arc shook his head. "I was so sure she would come. Will Scarlet be fine on her own?" [Code]"More than fine. The boss chose her. Just like he chose you."[/code] Arc glanced at the clock again. "Right, right. Then I'll get started." [Code]"Yes, the sooner, the better."[/code] [hr] [u]Valkyrie HQ[/u] [i]Unknown, Tenebrae [color=lightgray]Time: Daytime[/color][/i] [@Lady Seraphina] Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Phantasm entered Lady Hel's office. Behind the desk, emaculate as ever, sat Lady Hel. Lady Hel gestured to the small seat across from her. "Do you know why I've called you in?" Phantasm only eyed the chair, refusing to sit. "No, ma'am." Lady Hel paused, giving Phantasm a hard look. She let the seconds draw out between them, giving Phantasm a chance to change her answer. When Phantasm remained silent, Lady Hel pulled out a tape recorder, pressed play, and held it up for Phantasm to hear. Ginny's voice was on the recorder. "--going for another meeting, and I think it's something big. I'm... Ma'am, I'm worried about Katey. She's working outside of the Valkyries and--" Lady Hel paused the tape, watching the horror etch itself on Phantasm's face. The matriarch leaned back in her chair. "I gave you a chance to come clean on your own. Shame I had to find out my best girl was going behind my back." Phantasm kept her face as neutral as possible. She could only guess what Lady Hel would do to her. Lady Hel examined the black lacquer of her nails before locking stares with Phantasm. "As of this moment, you're grounded. Consider your mission regarding this heart forfeit. And if I catch you working outside like this again, there will be severe consequences. Am I understood?" "Ma'am, please consi--" Before she could continue, bulging, lethal red eyes blinked open in Lady Hel's dark shadow. "Am I understood?" Lady Hel said. Phantasm held her tongue. A part of her wanted to defy Lady Hel and find another way to complete her mission that night. She had made a promise, after all. But she knew her boss. For now, it was best to appear compliant. Lady Hel gestured to the door as the room lightened, red eyes disappearing. "Out." [hr] [u]Section B Corridor, Laboratory of Microreactor Technology[/u] [i]Coastal Waters, Tenebrae [color=lightgray]Time: After Midnight[/color][/i] [@Shu] Scarlet Shadow found herself in a long hallway, flashing red lights overhead on  each side. The ear-shattering alarm echoed off the cement, causing enough distress itself. But beyond that, it was strangely quiet. A slight wind stirred through the hall, completely void of people. [Code]"Control to Code Red, I'm detecting a large amount of hostiles coming your way from the left."[/code] Said a cool, feminine voice through Scarlet Shadow's comms. A quick skittering of nails on a keyboard. [Code]"To avoid wasting time, you'll want to go right down the long way around to the door.[/code] [Code]"I've checked the vents as an alternative, but the security system is on high alert. Your best option is to run to the security door via the corridor. It's a loop, so both ways will take you there. However..."[/code] She trailed off. [Code]"I'm also detecting other intruders on the right."[/code] Coming from the left, Scarlet Shadow could hear the approach of running boots echoing off the cement walls. In twenty seconds, a batallion of fifteen armed guards would rush around the corner. That would put her within gunfire range without cover. And on the right, down the hallway and turning the corner twice, Scarlet Shadow would find the two people Madame Fauxpaw warned her about. [Code]"Which way will you take?"[/code] [hr] [u]Section B-127 & Corridor, Laboratory of Microreactor Technology[/u] [i]Coastal Waters, Tenebrae [color=lightgray]Time: After Midnight[/color][/i] Collab: [@Blizz] and [@Estylwen] At the door, one scientist reached for his ID, slamming it against the card reader. The red lasers disengaged as the scientists piled through, and re-activated once they were all on the other side. "Hey! Don't leave me here!" said the one scientist holding his ankle. While the other scientists fled down the corridor, one hung back, staring at Ellie, Rainsinger, and the hurt scientist through the laser beams. "Stay put until security gets here. They'll know what to do with you," he said. "Seriously, what about me?" said the hurt scientist, wincing. "Shut up, Chad. We all know you've been holding the research team back anyway." "You can't leave me here with [i]them[/i]." the hurt scientist's eyes flashed to Ellie, horror in his face. The other scientist was already halfway down the hall. "Just stay put, Chad." The hurt scientist's face turned a shade paler as he appraised Ellie and Rainsinger, mouth dry. With shaky hands, he pulled off the ID badge on his coat, holding it out to them. "J-just don't hurt me, please." [color=5a6b7c]”Sure. Drop the coat, shortstack.”[/color] Linus ordered smoothly, snatching the ID out of the poor bastard’s hand. [color=5a6b7c]”Drop it on the ground, and get lost.”[/color] The scientist paused before reluctantly peeling off his coat. "But I paid good money for this." [color=5a6b7c]”Tough.”[/color] As he tossed it in Rainsinger's direction, he winced, disturbing his ankle. "Ah, ow. Nope. I think I broke something." "I don't know why you two are here," he said, eyeing the door nervously. "But I wouldn't uh, recommend staying here longer than a few minutes." "Unless you're here for my research," he said, laughing nervously. "Which I hope you're not. It's not very interesting, just microchip interfacing with the local marine life." [color=5a6b7c]”Yeah yeah. Get lost.”[/color] Both of them made their way to the door as Linus dropped the lasers with the stolen ID. He more or less blended in, given the scuffed up coat. If anyone asked, he’d say he lost his ID during a predicament.  [color=5a6b7c]”Okay, kid. Now what?”[/color] [color=ff6130]”First, we gotta figure out where everything else is. Then we grab the tech.”[/color] They did blend in to the bustle of scientists flowing through the large, looping corridor of metal and glass. At their feet were lines of paint, blue, green and red. They were faded from the traffic and seemed to indicate a type of map. But without a legend, the most they could do is randomly pick a line and follow it. As they moved through the long corridor, they saw a group of security guards. And, standing at a shorter height in the middle, held by the arm, was Dream. She looked a bit ragged, bullet proof vest and weapons removed from her stolen security uniform. And it was unclear whether she was leading them, or if they were leading her. Dream's mouth parted in shock at recognizing Ellie, but she firmly clamped it shut and moved her gaze away. The guard holding her noticed. "Huh? Are these the ones?" He said sharply, gesturing to Ellie and Linus. "No," Dream said, looking directly at them. "I've never seen them before in my life." "Alright, keep moving." He said, pulling Dream gruffly across the hall. As they passed by Ellie and Linus, Dream eyed them again. She seemed to be in a tight bind, but if these guards were focused on her, maybe reaching the heart would be easier for them. Of course, she had no idea how she was getting out of this one. -- That was, of course, until the alarm rang, plunging everything into red lights and chaos. -- The guards surrounding Dream Joe's into action, some racing down the hall, other taking defensive positions around the group. The one holding Dream pressed an arm into her back. "Up against the wall, come on." He said, wrapping one wrist in a thick shackle. Dream craned her neck back. "Stop. You're making a mistake." He gave a sour grin, tightening the shackle on her other wrist and pulling her off the wall. "That's where your wrong. Your 'friends' you were gonna show us have been found. And now we're taking you [I]and[/I] them in." Dream glared, testing the steel binds that kept her hands behind her back. The guard snickered. "What, you don't like that? Thought your little plan to buy time would work?" Another guard laid a hand on his colleague's shoulder. "Hey, knock it off." He gestured to Dream. "Put her with the rest of the scientists in case we gotta evacuate." By that point, the hallway was clear of all personnel. Except for Ellie and Linus, of course. One of the guards looked over, waving his hand down the other end of the corridor. "Hey, get to your muster point before they lock the place down." Dream's eyes widened. The direction the guy was waving was the exact opposite to where the heart. When Ellie and Linus didn't automatically start running, the guard rolled his eyes. "Someone go escort them." He said. Two of the guards nodded to each other and broke off from the main group, approaching Ellie and Linus. Dream had enough. She raised her foot up a few inches, where a ball of light formed, and slammed it onto the metal floor. Light shot out in a shockwave, distracting the guards as it boomeranged back, forming an arc that started a few feet in front of Ellie, and formed a light bridge over the guards. "Go! Straight down the hall and to the right. The big metal gate!" Shocked faces snapped to Ellie and Linus. If they jumped onto the bridge, it would mean they were Dream's friends after all. But if Ellie and Linus let themselves get escorted away, they'd be on a one-way ticket out of a heart. -- [@Shu], [@Blizz] [Quote][Code]Elevator to Section A: Unauthorized Access Strictly Prohibited[/code][/quote] A metal panel screwed overhead on the south side of Section B, sitting over a large, metal, high-security gate. The door itself, at a height of eight feet, slick metal and studded edges, was unmanned. All of the scientists and guards within had fled, leaving the door in a deactivated, locked state. It didn't have a handle or knob, but instead had a console pad to the side of it that seemed to have a flimsy cover. Only special ID cards would work with this door, ones with VIP access. Unfortunately, there were no VIP personnel in Section B. Guards had an override code if two or three worked together, but this was usually used in emergencies only as it was a time-consuming process. The door itself bound the entrance shut with small little pins all along the left edge of the door, like a standard bolt lock. If a strong enough force hit the left side enough times, it may cause the pins to bend and break off, opening the door. Alternatively, pulling the cover off the console pad, a number of wires poorly put together could be easily re-wired, short-circuiting the door and causing it to open.