"What's happening? The city alarm woke me up." Sprite welcomed Reaper and the others while still feeling drowsy. "What's happening to Beast?" She asked in worry seeing how dreadful Beast is in his current state.
Reaper, Beast, Pandora and Medusa were the first ones to get back to the Hill House. With the city alarm going off, they assumed that their path back to the Hill House will be swarming with Keepers but it did not. With the additional help of Pandora's Anomaly, they were able to avoid all lingering Keepers in their way. Medusa placed the despair-drowned Beast on a nearest couch to let him be. Pandora continued to scan the place for potential threat. Beast explained what happened to Sprite.
"Haven't you been listening to the grownups' warnings?" Sprite asked. "It has become really dangerous out there." She commented.
"I love this energy baby sis but now is not the time." Medusa responded. "Look. My hair is damaged!" She added then started sobbing dramatically.
"I thought you can grow your hair at will. I mean you can, right?" Reaper asked.
"Of course I can but still! Hair is women's crowning so I value my hair very greatly. I am emphasizing the very greatly part." Medusa replied aggressively while holding the part of her hair where Sandata cut out off.
"Can you two quiet down please? I'm sensing two presences in the perimeter." Pandora announced.
Reaper immediately thought hard to come up with a strategy because once a Keeper is around, the rest of their unit is not far behind. Though there's a great chance that they are still safe under the Hill House, there's no telling if they were followed or not. He tends to not underestimate his opponents but looking at their deck with only him and their maidens who can fight, the odds are very much against them even if they get Sprite fight alongside them.
"Reaper, you're looking so tensed. Keep it down a notch will you? I'm the one with a lost here." Medusa commented while still being teary about her hair.
"We're about to get ambushed, Medusa. I have to think of a countermeasure." Reaper responded worriedly.
"Medusa's right, Reaper. Calm down. They're just Glass and Surge." Pandora said then slightly chuckled.
"Thanks goodness!" Reaper exclaimed in relief.
"You should see your face, Tobi. You looked so pale." Sprit teased as she giggles.
"Glass, Surge, hurry up! Make sure you're not followed by those Keepers." Pandora commanded.
"We're coming in hot!" Surge exclaimed.
"Give us a minute, Pandora. Surge, we have company. We'll shake them off first." Glass pointed out.
"Crap!" Reaper reacted.
"You can now think of a countermeasure, Reaper." Medusa commented.
"Glass is right. It appears that you're being tailed by a group of Keepers. There are five Keeper soldiers to be exact." Pandora confirmed.
"Shaking them off is just a piece of cake. We can just use our Anomalies to bust ourselves out of here." Surge commented.
"Do not do that! Keep running on foot." Reaper suggested.
"What? Have you gone nuts, man? It's easier for us to get away with our Anomalies." Surge replied.
"Glass have you been seen by anyone use your Anomalies out there?" Reaper asked.
"I haven't use my Anomaly yet. How about you, Surge?" Glass asked.
"I think I haven't as well." Surge responded.
"You think? Think hard, man!" Glass exclaimed.
"Okay, okay. Chill out! I haven't used it." Surge replied.
"Great! Pandora, where are they? I'll help you get out of there and shake off those Keepers, guys. Trust me." Reaper commented.
"You better do it and do it fast." Glass replied.
"Yeah, you should hurry! We're about to run out of ground to run onto." Surge said. "Just saying, man. No pressure but please hurry it up. Thanks."
"I've got there coordinates!" Pandora exclaimed. "Reaper, they're at the south-eastern sector of the woods. That's almost outside my Anomaly's range."
"Perfect! Thanks, Pandora." Reaper replied.
"Should one of us go out there and fetch them?" Medusa asked.
"That won't be necessary." Reaper said.
"We got this, Medusa. Don't worry too much." Surge commented.
"I normally won't but it's you who is out there. You're foolishness can sometimes be troublesome. You might become too much for Glass." Medusa exclaimed.
"Ouch." Surge replied. "Not going to lie. You slightly hurt my feelings but you're still my favorite. No offense, Pandora." He joked.
"Oh, shut up. Just shake those Keepers off and come back here." Medusa replied.
"No worries, Medusa. I can handle him." Glass stated. "Surge, suck it up. It's just Medusa's way to show how she cares."
"I know. That's why she's my favorite." Surge responded cheekily.
"No it is not. Don't assume anything, okay?" Medusa said sounding embarrassed.
"Enough flirting. We still have a situation." Pandora butted in.
"We're definitely not flirting!" Medusa shrieked. "Tell 'em, Surge!"
"We most definitely are not flirting." Surge responded. "We are making love." He teased then the rest of them laughed except for Beast who was well deep in his sleep already.
"That was smooth, Surge." Glass commended.
"Yuck!" Medusa exclaimed. "You know what? I'm going back to my room to get some beauty sleep. Just let me know in the morning when the two of them got back here safely."
Glass and Surge suddenly heard gunshots from behind them. They immediately realized that the Keepers are shooting them making their escape much more challenging. Reaper didn't waste any more time as he jumped right into leading them to safety. He continued to firmly instruct Glass and Surge to not in any way use their Anomalies because there's a chance that they're just potential Anomalies in the eye of the Keepers that's why they are not that aggressive in capturing them yet.
"Okay, guys. Listen up! There's a cliff at the end of the path you're taking. I need you to jump from there and into seas." Reaper instructed.
"This level of danger excites me." Surge commented. "Let's do it!"
"Once you're about to hit the waters. Glass, I want you to use your Anomaly to catch both of you. Then from there, make sure the coast is clear before you make your way back here in the Hill House." Reaper commented.
"That's a copy, Reaper." Glass responded. "Surge, are you ready?"
"The heck I am! Let's jump right into it." Surge exclaimed.
"But that's going to be out of my range. I may lose my connection with them." Pandora pointed out.
"About that, we still have our communication goggles on and I think they're still working. I think it's connected to the main coms at Calcipher's laboratory. One of you can take control of that so we can keep our communications running." Glass explained.
"We have that kind of stuff?" Pandora asked.
"We apparently do. Calcipher does to be exact." Surge replied.
"I'm on it. Pandora, keep them connected while I'm working on that coms they were talking about." Reaper said.
"Of course, I will." Pandora responded confidently.
"Sprite, kindly heal Beast. He may have some injuries we haven't noticed yet." Reaper asked.
"I see. Sure thing, I'll heal him." Sprite responded then went ahead to summon the nearby plantation to execute a full body healing to Beast while he's in his slumber.
Reaper and Pandora headed to Calcipher's laboratory to maneuver the communication device Glass and Surge are talking about. Once there, Reaper took it upon himself to sit down and try to use the communication equipment but he and Pandora didn't realize that the equipment being referred to is huge, colossal even. Reaper tried but failed miserably in making the device work. Glass tried to relay instructions but he isn't confident as well. However, Pandora found some kind of a manual and it seemed that it's very much familiar for her so she took charge in controlling the communication device.
"Pandora, I didn't know you can do these kinds of stuff." Reaper commended.
"I didn't know myself either." Pandora responded. "I should be able to link the frequencies from Glass and Surge's goggle to the mainframe's frequencies. We should be able to connect with them by them."
"Hello? Can you guys here me now?" Glass asked.
"Affirmative. Ours coms are connected." Reaper responded. "Pandora, you can stop using your Anomaly now."
"Yes." Pandora replied.
"Wow! Nice work, milady. You sure came through here." Surge commended.
"Why thank you so much." Pandora replied. "Reaper, you better take charge now. As per the radar, the Keepers are slowly but surely gaining on Glass and Surge. Wait a minute. Something's happening."
"Guys, we have a problem!" Glass exclaimed. "Surge, hide!" He said then he and Surge jumped behind a nearby boulder.
"What in the heck they needed a chopper for?" Surge shrieked. "You said that they're suspecting us, right?" He asked with a hint of panic.
"There's a helicopter emerged from cliff. We can't jump from there anymore!" Glass exclaimed.
"Reaper, what are we going to do?" Pandora asked. "If things go south, they'll definitely get captured."
"Don't panic guys. There's always a way. Let me just have minute to think." Reaper commented.
"They're caving in on us! If things worsened, we won't have any choice but to retaliate." Surge commented.
"Trust the guy, man. Reaper will definitely think a way to bail us out of here unscathed and unnoticed." Glass stated.
"Whatever, man. Our lives are on your hands, Reaper. Please don't let us get caught. If you do, I won't be able to see the magnificent beauties of Pandora, our mentor Zythandra and my Medusa." Surge begged.
"I've got it! Guys, I'll be letting you use your Anomaly but not to fight." Reaper announced.
Reaper continued on to relay his instructions through their communication system through the midst of all the chaos Glass and Surge are in with all the gunshots, the vexing noise coming from the chopper and the violent winds coming out of it. Reaper told Glass to create a sphere as seamless as possible with his Anomaly that can fit him and Surge inside. The sphere shouldn't be a perfect one as it has to have a hole at the bottom of it. Reaper then told Surge to aim his fist at that hole and unleash his Anomaly to propel them to the air.
"Oh, I get it now. They'll be creating some kind of a rocket to escape. That's very wise." Pandora commented.
"Well, it's the first time we're doing it. You up for it, Glass?" Surge asked.
"If that's our only way of getting out of here, I'm definitely down for it." Glass responded.
Glass and Surge took their stances to execute Reaper's suggestion. They both stood back-to-back as Glass started to create a glass sphere while Surge is focusing all his stored energy on his hands to make them airborne later on once he released it. As Reaper suggested, the glass sphere was created as seamless as Glass can so that people from the outside can just see through it without any traces of whatever or whoever is in it. However, this ability takes a toll on Glass so they must escape quickly.
"It's all set, Surge! Do your thing already." Glass said. "I can't hold this all night!" He exclaimed.
"Surge, do it!" Pandora shrieked.
"Just give me one more second people. You should buckle up, Glass!" Surge replied aggressively. "Here it comes! Release: 15%." He said triggering his Anomaly while he screams and let out shockwaves from his hands.
Through Surge's training all this time, he manage to able to control his Anomaly more effectively but in a certain extent. He may be able to store incredible amounts of energy in his body but he's still having trouble releasing it. Currently, he can release thirty five to forty percent of his stored energy at once depending on the situation. Releasing energy greater than his current limit will have negative effects on him such as unintentional energy leakage in the form of unnecessary release of shockwaves from either of his limbs causing unnecessary damage to his surroundings.
"You're doing it, guys! Keep yourselves stable." Reaper commented.
"We're doing our best here." Surge replied.
"We're now airborne. What do we do next?" Glass asked.
"We've confirmed the passageway of the underground river that will lead you back here at the Hill House. Make your way towards there." Reaper responded.
"It appears that the Keepers are not noticing you at all. You're doing great so far." Pandora commented.
Reaper and Pandora continued to lead Glass and Surge towards the underground river so that they can finally be safe and out of the Keepers' sights. They were eventually successful in retrieving Glass and Surge and they were immediately healed by Sprite since the two of them were somehow got numerous wounds from all the commotion they've been in during their escape and even before that. On the other hand, Beast continued his slumber.
"Welcome back, you two." Medusa commented as she got back to the group from her room.
"I'm glad that the both of you are safe but would you mind telling us what happened out there?" Pandora asked.
"What happened to Beast? We found him looking like he's losing himself out there while dealing with that Sandata lady. Also, did you two trigger the city alarm?" Reaper asked.
"First things first. We know that Sandata is Beast's long lost sister, right?" Glass responded. "Right. Back there when she confronted us, she also confirmed that the massacre incident back at their village is her doing." He confirmed.
"That's right. She told us herself that she killed every single person in their village. That broke Beast. However, we've heard that another Anomaly has been suspected to be seen somewhere in the city so Glass and I checked on it. Beast strongly asked us to leave him with his sister." Surge explained.
"That's tragic." Medusa commented.
"Beast was in obvious danger but you left him be? How could you do that? I thought you're his friends." Pandora exclaimed with great emotions.
"We tried to stay with him, Pandora. He just doesn't want us to be there." Glass responded.
"The important thing here is he's not significantly injured or in grave danger anymore. However, he may be more damaged mentally and emotionally right now than we can imagine." Reaper replied.
"It's a great thing you showed up when you did to back him up somehow. How did you know we're out there anyway?" Surge asked.
"That's very simple really, Surge." Reaper started to explain.
Reaper confirmed that he initially heard footsteps somewhere in the Hill House. As soon as the footsteps died down, he immediately investigated and confirmed that the doors to the bathroom and Surge's room are left unclosed and Surge was nowhere to be found. He instinctively checked on Glass and Beast's rooms and also confirmed that they were not there as well. Base on the fact that Beast was adamant on searching for his sister, he probably got Glass and Surge to come with him in the middle of the night and somehow made their way through the Keepers lurking in the darkness.
"Nice work, Surge. You technically left clues that we're out there." Glass commented.
"Sorry, I guess. But hey! They saved us so you should be thanking me." Surge replied.
"We were worried about you guys so I'm glad Reaper woke us up to come after you three." Pandora said.
"I'm not that happy. After all, my hair was greatly damaged but I am glad you three came back in one piece." Medusa added.
"What will you do once the Professor and our mentors learned about this?" Sprite asked.
"You're not planning to snitch on us, are you baby sister?" Medusa asked.
"I won't, of course. I just noticed that you used some of Calciphers' gadgets. How sure are you that how they were used is not recorded somewhere?" Sprite replied.
"That's actually some good thinking, Sprite. We've been using these goggles all night. They're most likely recording every second they're being used but how do we know that for sure? And if they do, how do we cover our tracks?" Glass responded.
"You said you're helping Calcipher with his gadgets, right?" Surge asked. "I assume you already know the answers to those questions."
"Yes, I am assisting him in his laboratory works but I'm just mostly doing some grunt works and not actually with the technical stuff so I really don't know the answers to those questions." Glass explained.
"I think I can handle that. Let's go back to his laboratory." Pandora said.
"Yeah, my beloved Pandora was the one who connected the main coms to our goggles which played an essential role in saving our asses out there." Surge commented. "If there's anyone who can do something about this data deleting thing, it's her!"
"P, you can do that? I didn't know you're into computers and stuff." Medusa said.
"I just realized it myself tonight. I didn't know I had it in me either, M." Pandora excitedly responded.
All of them with the exception of Beast headed back to Calcipher's laboratory so Pandora can check if there really are records of them going out and exposing themselves to danger. If there are, there are in Pandora's hands. It's up to her to cover their tracks so the Professor and their mentors wouldn't know what they've done. They'll be in some grave punishment if this situation leaked. On top of that, there's still the lingering issue with Beast. There seemed to have a non-verbal agreement that they'll deal with him once he woke up.
"Here, Pandora. Take your throne." Surge said as he gestured at Pandora to sit on the chair at the laboratory's main control panel.
"Thank you, Surge. Can someone also please hand me the manual?" Pandora asked.
"Here you go, P." Medusa said as she reached out to hand over the manual.
It took Pandora some time to read and understand how the recording of data works in Calcipher's laboratory and she eventually confirmed that everything that happened that were registered from Glass, Surge and Beast's goggles are encrypted deep in the servers. Instinctively, Pandora went ahead and typed in the codes to ensure that those records and its backups will all be deleted. The rest of them couldn't do anything but be amazed as how Pandora save and cover their backs.
"It's all done. I've worked on the encryptions of the files that are related to everything happened tonight that were recorded from those goggles you used." Pandora explained.
"Nice work, Pandora!" Glass cheered.
"We can finally sleep peacefully now. Thanks, Pandora." Surge commented.
"Speaking of sleep, we must go back to our rooms now. I sense that the Professor and our mentors are on their way back here." Pandora announced.
"What? We must hurry then!" Medusa exclaimed. "Let's get moving people!"
"Where are they coming from?" Reaper asked.
"They're headed to the underground river so I think they're on a boat." Pandora responded.
"Surge, Glass, go fetch Beast then bring him back to his room. Pandora, Medusa, make sure that all doors are closed while Sprite and I make sure that we didn't leave anything that make them realized that we went out or even awake this late at night." Reaper delegated and the rest of them headed out without any hesitations.
Glass and Surge did carry Beast from the couch he fell asleep on back to his room. Once they've made sure that Beast was tagged in, they too went back to their rooms as well. On the other hand, Pandora and Medusa did ensure that all doors are closed. That includes the door of the Hill House itself, the door leading to the underground, the laboratory's door, the door leading to the underground river and even the door of the bathrooms. Lastly, Reaper and Sprite made sure that they didn't leave any mess even just a patch of dirt or even a dead leaf lying about as they may indicate that they all went out that night.
A number of footsteps have started to be heard moments after Reaper and the rest of them got back to their rooms. This indicates that the Professor and their mentors have arrived. However, there's a fourth footsteps that are being heard but no one can tell who the fourth person is. Reaper tried asking Pandora if she can read who the other person is but he can't reach her. Most likely, she is already asleep so he decided to get into the matter first thing in the morning.
"Professor, is it really wise of us to take her in? The situation is quite dire don't you think?" Zythandra asked.
"Not to be a jerk or anything but I'm with Z on this one, Prof." Calcipher commented. "According to ANAIS, the military forces became even more aggressive lately."
"I understand your concerns but we can't turn our backs to those who are in need." The Professor responded. "Tabitha and the others notified us about the increased activity of the military forces that's why we are utilizing the underground river to have safe passage in and out of here."
"I'm very sorry for being a bother. I promise that I'll leave once I find a new place to stay. Again, I thank you so much for taking me in." The fourth person said.
"You're not a bother, lass. You're one of us. Don't think of yourself as a bother. You are one of us." The Professor confirmed.
"I just realized why I think you're very familiar. You're with the Beast and the others at that pier, right?" Zythandra asked.
"What pier?" Calcipher butted in. "Oh, yeah! I remember now too. So, you're an Anomaly. That's a pleasant surprise."
"I wondered why you were being protected by those fools that night. I guess this answered that." Zythandra said.
"Luna. That's your name, isn't?" The Professor asked.
"Yes, Professor Montgomery. My name is Luna." Luna said.
"You can call me Professor, lass. Also, you sleep in my room tonight. I'll work on some paperwork tonight so I'll spend a lot of time in my office. I'll ask Rocco to build another room for you whenever he's available." The Professor said.
"I appreciate the gesture, Professor. I'll just be fine sleeping here on the couch. My body isn't used to beds because my family and I are always sleeping on floors." Luna responded.
"Are you sure? Don't worry. You're safe with us. If you want, you can sleep with Zythandra's room." The Professor responded.
"I'm really fine, Professor. Thank you so much." Luna replied respectfully.
"I'll just get you a pillow and some sheets then." Zythandra said.
"Thank you so much." Luna responded.
"Well, if you insist. We should call it a night now, children. This day has been extremely eventful." The Professor said.
"Roger that, Prof. But before that, I'll go check on my lab first. I missed her so much!" Calcipher exclaimed. "Adios, people."
"You. Stay here while I'll get you your stuff then I'll go and check on some stuff." Zythandra told Luna.
"I will. Thank you so much." Luna replied.
"I'll introduce you to the rest of the team first thing tomorrow morning. You should rest up now, lass. I should be heading to my office now." The Professor said.
"I'd appreciate that." Luna said.
Little did they know that Reaper was listening to their conversation through the door of his room. He was surprised that Luna was with the Professor and he was even more surprised that they didn't realize that they went out earlier. Their teamwork paid off that no one was seriously injured and they were also able to get away from what they did. Eventually, drowsiness caught up with so he finally decided to call it a night as well. He'll deal with the situation tomorrow as well.
"I'll be back." Sandata's last words echoed in their dreams.