The screeching siren of an incoming missile has everyone in the cargobob on full alert. Maylin’s voice comes through the coms before any connection to the outside is cut off.
“Hold on! This is going to be rough!” Sol shouts into the headset as he jerks the control of the cargobob. It doesn’t turn quickly, but he does get it to drop in height.
Time seems to slow as the missile is seen from the front windows. Sol throws off his headset, and belt keeping him in his seat. The co-pilot copying him.
They both dive to the back. Sol points to Harlequin and Helios and the senior agent nods. Their shield enhancement would allow them to keep someone else safe. It would be a challenge to get two safe but in moments like this enhancements need to be tested.
Sol drops next to Epsilon and Khiana.
The missile hits its target.
Fire fills the sky as the cargobob and everything it was carrying is destroyed–or so it is assumed. Amidst the chaos and destruction a few figures are shot down into the city.
A crater rests in the center of a parking structure. Makeshift stairs are built along the side of the crater via rocks, boxes, and other debris from the bottom.
“Careful–the stone on top is wobbly.” Khiana says to Epsilon as the other agent clears the top of the crater. The medic shoots her an annoyed look then pushes himself up.
“Thanks, I never noticed.” The sarcasm is thick Epsilon's voice which makes Khiana chuckle.
Sol is the last to push up from the crater. He’s covered in small scraps and cuts and looks a little on the wobbly side but he stands nevertheless.
“Status?” He questions. Neither agent with him appears to be injured and they both respond confirming that. Of course he knows they might not be telling the truth. Senior agents are bad about hiding injuries especially in the field.
But for now he would let it slide. No time to scold when they are exposed like this.
“My coms are down, do either of you have a connection?” Sol continues, guiding them out from the open and into a more closed off space. At least they can’t be spotted from above.
“Negative, mine’s been fried.” Khiana responds, crouching just at the entrance of their new hideout.
“I have a signal but it’s not very clear.” Epsilon responds.
“ come in - - - lips- - - requ—- nates— - - come i - - “ The faint transmission comes from a familiar voice but none of them are able to pick up what is being said.
“Let me see, I learned a thing or two from Alistair.” Sol says, and tinkers with Epsilon’s coms device for a moment. The transmission gets a bit more clear and they are able to tell its from agent Helios.
“uH…” Khiana’s voice draws their attention. She’s looking out the entryway which causes Epsilon to shift over to her side. “We might have a problem.”
The crash, to no one’s surprise, drew demons from the surrounding area to investigate the noise. The number of demons is far more than the three of them could handle–even with a head agent here.
“If we don’t act soon our way out is going to be a path to death.” She continues, not taking her eyes off the growing number of demons. It’s only a matter of time before they spot the group.
“There’s a way back here, I don't know what the other side looks like but it’s our best bet right now.” Sol says, handing back Epsilon’s coms device.
“Helios?” Epsilon calls into the device as the trio begins to make their way through the crumbling building. “Helios, do you copy?”
The coms on the other end is crackling with noise but no one has been responding yet. He can tell they are connected but the lack of response is worrisome. There is no telling what is happening where they ended up.
“Seoyun–” The medic’s attention snaps forward at Khiana’s voice. She’s right in front of him, worry pinching her brows together. “You good? We will find them.” She says quietly.
“Shut up, I know we will.” He pushes past her, angry, embarrassed and worried at all once. but he can’t show that. His normal expression falls onto his face as he focuses on their current situation. The coms device is still humming in one ear.
“You never change.” Khiana’s amused voice sounds right behind him but Seoyun doesn’t respond.
The building they are in seems to be an old pharmacy. A counter with glass around it sits to the right of them, and mostly empty shelves sit to the right. Seoyun pauses to grab some of the still closed gauze and bandages. Sterile and good size.
Khiana snickers, earning a side eye from Seoyun.
“Can you take anything seriously?”
“Can you ever have fun?” She fires back then smirks.
Sol, who had been watching them, shakes his head and steps ahead.
“Come on you both, we need to get to the other side and hopefully we can find the other three.” He says, pushing the door to the main area of the pharmacy and making his way through the store.
Seoyun is quick to follow, not making sure Khiana is behind him. He picks up the sound of footsteps which let him know she is.
The sound of cracking glass makes the trio pause, eyes flying in the direction of the noise. Seoyun crouches and leans forward to see around the shelf he’s by.
“Oh…” Khiana lets out a surprised breath, but before Seoyun can see what she has seen, the girl is crouching in front of him.
“...?” He eyes her as she greets him as if they were passing in the cafeteria.
“You really need to work on your people skills, hotshot.”
“Shhhh.” Khiana covers his mouth with her hand, she glances around the shelf once more before looking at him again. “You need to get Sol out of here. Kaiser has a plan and this was part of it.”
Seoyun’s expression gets angrier which makes Khiana’s smile turn a bit sad. She drops her hand and nods. “I was originally here to complete a mission for him. Not by choice–whatever your head medic did, it broke me from that.”
“I knew there was something off about you.”
Khiana laughs under her breath. “So you were suspicious of me.”
“I wish I had the time for that…”
The sound of demon growling reaches their ears. Seoyun tenses, going for his gun but Khiana shakes her head. “There’s no point–just go with Sol. Getting out if priority, getting back to your brother.”
Seoyun grabs her arm. “I’m not leaving you behind, I still need answers.”
Khiana smiles. “Maybe you’ll find them in Tacetel.”
The girl leans forward quickly, her lips pressing against Seoyun’s. It’s not a soft kiss, not one of affection. It’s hard, desperate, and full of regret. She feels his hand loosen on her arm in surprise and she takes the chance to push him at Sol who is just as surprised. Even a little confused.
“Go!” She whispers urgently. Sol sees something in her eyes that makes the head agent nod. He doesn’t hesitate to grab hold of Seoyun and drag the senior out.
Khiana watches them leave, her eyes on Seoyun.
“I wonder… if we had met sooner.”
The sound of demon growls makes her turn around. More than 20 are lumbering into the shop from a back room. The first few finally spot her and a roar echos through the building.
The sound can be heard outside as Sol and Seoyun run.
“Fucking idiot.” Seoyun says as he glances back one more time. There is no heat in his voice.
Agent Helios releases his hold on Agent Harlequin as the dust around them settles. He checks the younger agent over for any injuries before turning to the other senior agent with them. The senior appears okay, just exhausted from using his enhancement.
“Do we have eyes on Sol, Epsilon, or Khiana?” He questions, falling into mission mode.
Harlequin is stiff and it doesn’t take Helios long to find the problem. A sprained ankle and bruised up knee, probably from impact.
“Try contacting Epsilon or Sol, okay?” Helios says as he kneels beside Harlequin and starts wrapping his ankle.
The younger agent is quick to respond. He’s obviously shaken but Helios can tell he is trying to keep it together. A good agent. Helios works swiftly in tending to the younger. The coms device is barely getting through, so once he’s sure Harlequin will be alright, he starts calling on his own.
“Come in Epsilon, Sol, this is agent Helios. Requesting your location. Come in.” He calls into the device.
“Helios, I got through to Maylin.” Harlequin gets his attention.
“Good work, kid.” He replies, taking hold of Harlequin’s device and attempting to get a similar message through.
“This is agent helios, we are down but unharmed. Unable to contact Sol. Continue forward.” He catches the confused look on the younger agent's face.
“Shouldn’t they come back for us?”
“It’s too dangerous for that. The civilians would never make it.” He explains.
“Couldn’t they send a team?”
“An risk leaving the rest of them outnumbered?”
Harlequin frowns but doesn’t continue questioning.
“Best we can do right now is find the rest of our group and move forward.”
A voice does manage to get through to them–Helios specifically.
Daesu please respond. Let me know youre alive.
Agent Luna and her ability to speak into minds reaches out for Helios who lets out a sigh. The newly married couple spend a moment talking to each other in their minds. Helios letting her know their current situation and plan.
Once they break off he tries once more to contact Sol or Seoyun. Nothing.
“We need to get higher ground.”
On that command the three agents begin to slowly make their way through the area. They got lucky with very few demon sightings, and soon enough found their way to the higher level of a building. The wall surrounding the stairs had been broken down and allowed them to climb easily.
“I’ll look south, Harlequin take west.” Helios says, each of them looking in a different direction for their comrades.
The time passes slowly, but also quickly. Demons lumbering around, crumbling noises of buildings giving up–it’s a whole other world out here than the agency grounds. Soon enough Harlequin is calling out to the seniors.
“There, just beyond the billboard.”
Sure enough two figures can be seen ducking under the fallen billboard. They spot the MEIA symbol on the sleeve of Sol’s arm, bright and clear. Helios holds up an arm and waves them over. The trio began to descend the steps again to meet them halfway.
“Good to see the three of you are alive.” Sol greets. There is something about his tone that is off, but Epsilon doesn’t react to it so Helios pushes it off as paranoia.
“Sir, Epsilon, good to see you.” Helios glances around but before he can voice his question someone else speaks.
“She stayed behind.” Epsilon says, voice tense. Angry, annoyed, frustrated. All things Helios has seen from the other before. He figures out what happened from those emotions alone. He nods, taking a moment to send his thanks to Khiana for protecting Helios.
Sol once more leads the group to a more protected area. Nothing here is truly safe but less open air means easier to spot attacks. He pulls out his coms device and tells the others to get theirs out. Each device is laid out, and the senior agent reveals he was from the Tech team before leaving. They watch as he fiddles away with the devices.
A few seconds pass, then they all ding in unison.
“We’re getting a message.” The senior agent explains, and a holographic message appears. A video opening moments after.
“Hey guys!” A grinning Mist is seen through the screen. “I found you~ You know everyone is freaking out right now.” The five agents let out breaths when they get a proper connection.
“Our devices were harmed in the fall and–” Sol starts but Mist interrupts him.
“I know! I hacked in with Remy’s help and we managed to triangulate your devices with a few here. A couple of additions and twists.” She rambles in a tech voice that only one of them keeps up with for a moment. At the blank looks she stops. “Basically you’re running off of Maylin’s device.”
Sol nods. “Does she have orders for our next action?”
“I’m going to guide you through the city. She said we should reach out first destination in 5 hours and that she will give you two days to make it through the city and meet us there.” As Mist talks, a map appears before them. They see their position and they see the troops' position. A red line begins to form leading them forward.
“Just follow this.” Mist continues. “There is no telling what the demonic activity is like but this should get you through stable ground.”
“Should?” Helios questions his cousin.
“Will.” She affirms. “Don’t worry! You got me to guide you.”
Helios and Epsilon trade a look.
“That’s reassuring.” Harlequin replies, making Mist laugh.
