"Alright, so we're going to start earlier than the other group because once we get out of here, we need to start flying over to Sector 1 as soon as possible to help them. Mina, remember that you don't have to go after Julian when we get there, but it would probably be the most helpful. But you have to coordinate it with Kaedan. We can't just take one out and not the other, or well, we can stand to lose Julian, but if we lose Kaedan's father, Julian will appoint one of his people to be in charge of Sector 1, and that will make this a whole lot more complicated," Bella explained, zipping up her backpack, "Everyone got their climbing gear? Has everyone tested it? If you haven't yet, there's the training wall you can use to make sure it's working."
Lumina put a hand on her shoulder, "Calm down, girl. You're stressing."
Bella sighed, "I know, I know I am. How am I not supposed to be stressed? This is really risky and not to mention, we'd have to count on the fact that no one recognizes us. Which is not really a strong basis."
"I mean, we've done everything we can," Mina approached them, "Literally, four out of the six of us are wearing wigs, so all of our hair is the typical brown, black, or blonde—Speaking of which, why did they choose those three and not ginger hair? That's also natural hair color…"
"Probably because it's too much color for them," Leon rolled his eyes, "Everything needs to be monotone, dull, gray, and boring. So, obviously, no color allowed."
Mina pointed out, "That's stupid. Anyways, boys, you ready to go?" She yelled outside to Fenix and Owen. The two walked back in, their backpacks full and slung over their shoulders.
"We're good, climbing gear is working fine. Are we starting now?" Owen asked, zipping up Fenix's bag.
"Yeah, I'm going to ask one more time to be thorough, are you both absolutely sure you want to go?" Bella asked seriously.
Fenix grinned, and tossed an arm around Leon's shoulder, "As if we'd let you and Leon go back into that nightmare of a place alone."
"We're literally right here," Mina muttered under her breath and Lumina laughed, pulling her close and pressing a kiss to her temple.
"Alright, if you're sure," Bella turned back, "Carion! Get the van ready!" She yelled to someone outside the tent.
"Got it, Miss Bella!" They yelled back
"Hey, you alright?" Fenix asked, noticing the way that Leon was spacing out, "You know, the offer to stay back isn't just for me and Owen…"
Leon shook himself out of his trance, "No, no, I have to come with you guys. You need me there. Besides, I'm okay, I was just…I'm a bit nervous about how this will go, is all."
"Do you…How do you think this will go?" Fenix asked, picking their words wisely.
The other boy seemed to know what Fenix was really asking and he sighed, "Honestly? I don't know. I genuinely have no idea. This is a situation that…It's not one that I was prepared for. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad one."
Fenix squeezed his shoulder, "Don't worry, buddy. You've got us to back you up. We're all going to be fine, and then we're going to meet up with the others. And you'll get to confess your love for my sister and Risále," They teased him, "You've been sleeping in Bella's room the last few days, haven't you?"
"I should have fucking known you'd bring that up, you bastard—" Leon swore at them, "Fine, yes, I've been sleeping in her room because we've been…Talking. Being here brings back memories for both of us. A lot of guilt as well, I suppose."
Fenix sighed, "Someday, we'll be able to convince you that none of this, none of any of it was your fault."
Leon smiled, "It's…It's a work in progress. Certainly having Bella, Elliot, and especially my sister around is helping," He looked down, "I'm…Scared. I just got her back. What if I…"
"Don't even think about it," Fenix shook his head, "You're going to see her again. We've all got someone we need to see on the other team, and we will see them again. Xander for Lumina, Kaedan for Mina and Owen, Hyunwoo, Val, and Risále for Bella, Nia for me, and Chaewon and Elliot for you. And you know what, as weird as it is, add Apocalypse to the list. She's kind of grown on me, I won't lie. We'll see them all again, Leon. We can do this."
"I thought I was the older one," Leon said, messing with Fenix's hair, "But really, thank you. I'm just…Overthinking. We'll be alright. We've been through some shit and gotten out alright. I think we'll be alright."
Owen came over, hooking his chin on Fenix's shoulder, "You alright? We're ready to go, just waiting on the two of you," He said, his eyes holding concern for Leon.
The blonde just smiled, "I'm alright. Let's go."
As they all sat in the van, Carion, the man driving, called back to them, "When we get there, get your climbing gear ready. The four other people following us in the car behind us will scale the wall with you. We will help you knock out six people, and you can use their clothes as a disguise."
"Are you sure no one will notice? Do they have different clothing?" Mina asked.
Carion shook his head, "No one will notice. They all wear the same, monotone, gray clothing."
Leon muttered, "Talk about mind control. I swear, there was a book written over a century ago that predicted the future would be exactly like this."
Bella raised an eyebrow, "Are you talking about 1984?"
"Yeah, you know it?" Leon asked, surprised.
"Mhm. It's a pretty interesting book, pretty dark and disturbing though. And you said it, it seems like the author did actually predict the future, at least in this case."
"Alright, nerds," Fenix rolled his eyes, "Can we get back to the plan?"
Leon and Bella glared at them but Bella continued talking, "Once we get in, we need to make our way toward the main White Lotus headquarters," She said, "With what Apocalypse told us, it will probably be in the highest security lab, so it will be on the highest floor. How many of us have access cards?"
Leon held his hand up and Mina followed, "They gave me a couple of access cards back at the base since you and Leon already have some, but I only have enough for two levels," She told Bella.
"I only have two levels of access card as well. I used to have my old ones but Carion mentioned that mine were outdated, so they gave me the same ones as Mina. I'm assuming you have them as well, Bella?" Leon added.
Bella held up three cards, "I actually have the third level as well, but we need to get up to the fourth level. We're going to have to work on that when we get inside. We should split up into groups, if we're all conglomerated in one group, we'll look much more suspicious."
Lumina nodded, "Then two people per group, a pair for each set of access cards. We also need to split up according to who knows where to go, since Mina and I have never been inside here before. How about this, Leon and Fenix, Bella and me, and Mina and Owen. Does that work?"
"Sounds good," Bella nodded and pulled out a case from under the seat, "Here, each of you take one of these earpieces. There are buttons both on the earpiece and this remote, in case you can't easily access the microphone."
She grabbed one for herself and passed them around, the others each taking one, "Although…If this is something like a brainwashed society, I'm sure it's going to be very difficult to get into the main headquarters of the people doing the manipulation," Lumina pointed out.
Carion called back, " Your initial goal is to get into the Sector and to do that, you need to pose as ordinary people. Scientists have identity checks often and certain cards and badges. Check that bag next to you, Princess Mina?"
"Just Mina is fine, no need for the whole 'Princess' thing," Mina responded, leaning down to open the black bag on the ground next to her.
"Hm, that's strange, I swore you liked it when I called you—" Lumina was cut off by Owen covering her mouth.
He glared at her, "I really don't need to know this, please keep that information between the two of you, thank you. Anyways, what are these IDs, Carion?" He asked.
Carion began to slow the car and slowly, they came to a stop. As they all looked out the window, they saw the fifty-foot-tall wall, "Oh, Jesus," Fenix muttered, "That's…That's a really fucking tall wall. Oh, that rhymed."
"Hey, are you going to be alright?" Bella asked gently, looking at them concernedly, "You're not good with heights, right? If it's too much—"
Fenix shook their head, "No, no, I'll be fine. I can do this. Either way, might as well conquer this fear, right?"
Bella didn't seem reassured by this, though, "...How about this, there are extra clip-ons for each set of climbing gear. I'll clip yours onto mine so it adds an extra level of security, okay?"
"Bella, I really don't need it—Ah. I don't actually have any say in this, do I?"
"Absolutely not, you do not."
Fenix sighed, "Alright, what are these things, Carion?"
"Glad you asked," The man responded, "These are basic identification cards, every person in the Sector has to swipe them to get into any building. You're going to have to work your way up, get in through the common people, then do whatever you can to get the scientists' IDs. If you can get the most important people first, then most areas should be unlocked to you, but if you only get low-level people at the time, then you're going to have to work your way up."
Owen hummed, "So, basically, we're going to be undercover the whole time and we need to work our way through the ranks to access the area we need to get to? What do we do if we get caught?"
Carion looked at him seriously, "...Just don't get caught to start with," He responded gravely.
"That's comforting," Leon muttered, pulling open the van door and stepping out, holding out his hand for Bella to hold as she stepped down. He helped the others until it was Fenix's turn, when he turned away, smiling pleasantly.
"Oh, you bitch—"
"Anyways, let's get going. We don't have much time, we need to finish this and start heading over before nightfall so we can be ready to help the others when they go to the Ball," Bella said pointedly, rolling her eyes fondly.
They all made their way towards the wall, and Carion pulled out his own set of climbing gear, "Okay, watch carefully because we really don't want to harpoon anyone," He said, "Aim towards that part of the wall, the one that seems like you can hook this anchor around easily. Once it's locked in place, tug on it a couple of times, then climb up a few feet to make sure it holds. Be careful in the beginning, alright? Once you get up there, we'll help you knock out a couple of people, but that's about the most we can do. You're on your own for the rest of this."
Bella held up the crossbow with the anchor in it, aiming it towards the wall. As it sailed over and tangled around the stone railing, she tugged it a couple times and began climbing, "You're pretty good at that," Leon said, looking up at her as she began to climb.
She looked down at him, smirking, "This isn't my first time sneaking into a Sector and it certainly won't be my last. Now, come on, Blondie. Let's get moving. Fenix, grab that cord and connect it to your climbing gear."
It took them a couple of minutes to get off the ground, including Carion and the three other rebellion members who had volunteered to help, "This is…It's kind of high, isn't it?" Fenix laughed nervously.
Bella glanced back at him, "Are you okay?" She asked, letting the others go ahead as she waited for Fenix to catch up.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, I just…Need a second," He breathed in deeply. Just as his eyes were about to move, Bella called out.
"Don't look down. It's going to make you feel worse. Look at me, alright?" She said, and Fenix nodded, taking a deep breath and slowly climbing up.
Just as he began, though, something flew past him incredibly quickly, so much so that it barely skimmed his side, causing him to cry out in pain.
"They know we're here!" Carion called down, panicked.