The process was a bit messy, but we managed to escape to the elevator just in time. I hope that I never have to deal with that kind of situation again, but at least I got some useful intel from it.
Yami and I have been in the elevator for a couple of minutes, riding down the brain stem in silence. For some reason, she hasn't looked at me since I put her down.
"Thank you, Mr. Vex. If it weren't for you, I would never have made it this far."
Yami finally breaks the silence. Though she is avoiding eye contact with me and looking at the floor.
"Don't tell me, are you embarrassed about the piggyback ride? Look, I didn't have time to ask for your consent or explain–"
"It's okay, Mr. Vex. I was just a little flustered by your sudden actions. We don't need to mention it anymore."
"Good, then we can focus on our own plans from here instead. As much as I want to find the exit to Endori's body, I can't leave without the girl whom I'm forced to care for. If you want to find a way out of here yourself, be my guest."
"Mr. Vex, after all that you've done for me, how could I do nothing in return? We have used our curses cooperatively to advance, so it's only logical to stay together in order to accomplish our goals successfully. At least until we return home, outside of Endori's body."
She is right though. Her slowdown curse has been clutch in assisting with escapes, something my curse alone can't do reliably. I hate getting others involved in my burdens, but it'd be more bothersome and nonsensical to reject her any further.
"Okay then, I agree to officially form a temporary party with you, Yami. Let's do our best to find the girl and get out of this dump."
"Yes, let's do it! Though I am not sure how to feel about you calling my master's body a dump…"
BEEP
"NOW ARRIVING AT THE BASE."
After what feels like an eternity of waiting, the elevator finally arrives at the base of the brain. I've been stuck in this particular place for far too long; ever since that dumb cell arrested me, I've been crammed up there!
Now that I think about it, I need to be careful not to get caught by those white blood cells. They probably have warrants for my arrest by now.
"Well well, if it isn't my good buddy. And I see that you have a friend with ya! Long time no see, wouldn't you say?"
The moment we stepped out of the elevator–no, as soon as the doors opened, Cilia spotted us. She stands directly in front of the walkway into the brain, twirling handcuffs in her hands with the smuggest grin that begs me to smack it off her face.
Alongside her are a few other cops and…the cursed cell prisoners? Why did they bring them here?
"Mr. Vex, what do we do now?"
As Yami whispers to me, I notice that the other officers surrounding Cilia start pointing a gun-like weapon towards us.
"Looks like we have no other choice right now but to play along with their demands. Resistance will only satisfy her ego and possibly get us killed."
I slowly raise my hands up, Yami follows suit.
"Excellent, I didn't even have to tell you what to do. Good boy!"
"Tch!"
"I have had enough of you foreigners and your shenanigans. For some reason, these guys here became stem cells. I suppose that they may not be so foreign anymore, but I couldn't care less about what form they take–they are still foreign to Endori's body and must be dealt with accordingly. You all will be exiled from this body via the bladder–except for you, Vex. Instead, I will personally take you to the colon and watch you get flush out with all the other crap!"
"No, please miss officer…I want to exit Endori's body, but not through her urinary tract!"
"It's either that or we have you digested and used as Endori's nutrients. I'm very flexible."
"Whatever you're gonna do, just get on with it already! You seem to love wasting everybody's time."
"Man, I'm really going to miss that smart mouth of yours. Oh well, get into the vehicle now, or be shot!"
Yami and I cautiously approach the officers, being careful not to make sudden movements. Normally, I wouldn't show this much respect to this kind of authority, but since they are a part of Endori's body, I can't be too reckless, else Endori herself gets hurt as well. For all I know, they probably found Lily and deported her with Endori's waste…
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"Officer Cilia, we have a report from the stomach–it's a code red!"
"Code red? What's going on down there?!"
An alarm rings from the officers' communication devices. The sound is utterly obnoxious, but the situation seems serious, given their reactions. I don't know what "code red" means in this context, but I assume that it's gonna impact all of us.
"Come in, stomach patrol, this is Chief Officer Cilia here. Give me a briefing of the situation!"
"A monster is attacking Endori's stomach and wreaking havoc! We think that it's some kind of parasite, though we have never seen anything like it before. Our small squad here has been dwindling, and we are not strong enough to take it down on our own."
"What?! How are you still managing to hold it down?"
"We aren't doing a great job at that ourselves, ma'am. Though some strange green cat girl has been fighting the parasite herself. We think that it's only a matter of time before the foreigner goes down for good..."
"Well, are you just gonna stand there and wait for that to happen? We are coming down there with backup. In the meantime, do something useful to control the situation!"
"Yes ma'am, we'll focus on evacuating the people to safety. We'll get right on it!"
A cat girl is fighting a monster parasite herself? That can only be–
"Lily!"
What is she thinking? She's going to end-up getting herself killed!
"Oh? So you know that foreigner girl? Well, if she's going to risk her life for Endori, all of you will expend your life to protect Endori too! You all should die before a single one of us does. Your expulsion can wait–this is war!"
With the heightened sense of urgency, the officers handcuffed us, forcibly pushed us into their vehicles and immediately drove with max speed–our surroundings became a blur.
I don't know what's gotten into that girl's head to make her do something so reckless, but for the sake of both of us, don't die, Lily!