The Hidden World

“I’m mapping out the area for you right now, give me a few moments, won’t you?” Uriel said.

“How many moments?” Yuki asked. “I don’t want to stay here too long.”

“Like two minutes.”

“Alright.”

They stayed huddled together underneath the balcony where the two guards stood, unaware. Erica maintained the bubble around them with a steady stream of mana. Yuki kept track of the passing seconds with her watch, waiting for it to reach two minutes. At a minute and fifty eight seconds, Uriel spoke up again.

“Done,” she said. “I’m sending the map to you right now. Are you wearing an eye piece?”

“I am right now,” Yuki replied, slipping one over her right eye. 

A map appeared on the inside of the glass, superimposing itself on half of Yuki’s vision. She examined it for a few moments, noting the general layout of the hallways and locations of the doors.

“Where’s the way down?” Yuki asked.

“I’ll take you there,” Uriel said. “Make sure to move at the rate I tell you too, alright? I need to manipulate these sensors carefully, so unless you want to get some exercise, wait for my signals.”

“Lead the way then.”

“Well, first, I need you to go through the window right next to you,” Uriel instructed. “I’m going to feed the sensors around them info for around ten seconds, so if you can get everyone in during that time, that would be great.”

“Anything special about the window?” Yuki asked as she turned her head toward it to examine. 

“Sealed completely around it. Should be easy to just push through for you though.”

“True. Give me the count.”

“Three. Two. One. Go.”

Yuki spun her body toward the glass and flattened her palms against them. Then with a quick surge of mana, she liquefied the glass.

“Get in,” she whispered.

The group slipped inside through the liquefied glass, Erica making sure to stay in the middle to cover them all. When everyone was through, Yuki stepped in and solidified the window. 

“Should be good,” Uriel said into her ear. “Alright, move forward through the hallway until the first door when I say so.”

Yuki relayed the instructions to the rest of the group and waited for Uriel’s words. Then she gave the word, giving them ten seconds, and they rushed down the hall with hurried steps, sticking together as best as they could in one unit. They crossed the hallway in eight seconds and then the doorway opened for them to enter the next hallway. 

[The way you’re going is free from guards for the most part. There’s no rotation for six minutes,] Akira said to Yuki. [Yuna is fine still. There doesn’t seem to be any suspicion.]

‘Good to know. We’re making our way to the underground area,’ Yuki replied. ‘Uriel is guiding you, correct?’

[Yes. I’ll meet you at the entrance to the area.]

Uriel continued to give out instructions, timing their every movement with strategic manipulation of the sensors embedded everywhere. Yuki kept an eye on the map in her eyepiece, tracking the pulsing red dots that represented the robot guards. She needed to intervene incase Uriel failed to account for something. 

Then Uriel halted them behind one door. 

“Behind this is a security room,” Uriel said. “I’ve been avoiding these for the most part, but I can’t go around them forever.”

“What’s in them?” Yuki asked.

“Three guards and four cameras as well as your usual sensors,” she explained. “There are security checks in there as well such as scanners and ID checks. I can fool all the technology, but I need you to take care of the guards first to give me time. I’ll be feeding the cameras a loop of the inside while you do that.”

“Do you need time to capture the loop?”

“Yes. Ten seconds. Then I’ll feed it and open the doors.”

“Make sure to fake the door logs.”

“I know, Boss.”

As the seconds ticked, Yuki tapped Ember on the shoulder and gestured towards the room. She did a small nod and put a finger to her throat with a questioning look. Yuki shook her head. She didn’t want to kill just yet. Erica will clean it up.

“I’m opening the doors,” Uriel announced. “Get ready.”

The doors swept aside and Yuki and Ember rushed in, targeting the guards inside with precision. The guards started and began to react, but they were too slow for the two. With quick strikes, two of the guards dropped to the ground, out cold. Yuki turned to the last one, but he was already taken care of. Kilik stood over the body and gestured to the computer screens.

‘I didn’t even notice him,’ Yuki thought. 

“Uriel, do your thing.”

“On it.”

“Erica, wipe them and put them to sleep. Uriel, how long will it take?”

“One minute.”

“Put them to sleep for two minutes,” Yuki said.

“Alright,” Erica said. “Are the cameras off?”

“They’re out of play,” Uriel responded. “The microphones as well and everything in here right now.”

Yuki repeated what she said and Erica nodded. The barrier around them dropped to conserve mana, and she leaned over the guards that were slumped on the ground. Almost a minute later, she was finished and remade the barrier.

“The records are fixed now. Go out,” Uriel said a minute later. “You’ll be taking a right and going straight. The elevator down will be ahead of you.”

“Akira?”

“She’ll be coming down the hallway on the other end when you take your right,” Uriel replied.

“Alright. Take us out.”

They walked through the full body scanners without a problem and the doors in front of them opened up. Yuki paused at the doorway, waiting for Uriel to give the go ahead. When she did, they moved forward as one, their movement much more in sync than when they first started.

A red dot flashed in Yuki’s eye piece and she hissed at her teammates. 

“Rogue guard."

She pushed them along the wall, flattening themselves to give the guard as much room as possible as he strolled by. She held her breath to keep as silent as possible though she knew that it was useless. The spell silenced her already. Counting the time, she hoped that Erica timed her spell precisely. The guard was heading right toward the security room.

When the guard passed them, Yuki motioned to the others to move while the guard’s back was to them. Every tap of their feet on the tile floor made her cringe, but Erica’s spell seemed to hold as the guard went through the door without any moment of hesitation.

They turned the corner and found Akira standing there, waiting. Yuki gave her a nod as they regrouped.

‘The guard that passed by. Did you see them?’ Yuki asked.

[Yes. I just ran past him. He was in a restroom.]

‘Ah. That explains it.’ 

“Uriel, do your thing,” Yuki said.

“Go forward,” she replied. “It’s up ahead. There’s a guard there though waiting for ID at a booth of sorts. You’ll need to take care of them.”

“Erica, you’re going to need to mesmerize someone soon,” Yuki said to her.

“Gotcha. I’ll take the lead then.”

She moved up and they traveled down the hallway, Yuki keeping track of her own minimap. 

“Uriel, how is Yuna going to join us?” she asked.

“She has a rotation coming up in two minutes,” Uriel said. “I’ll guide her down through another path and you’ll rendezvous at the lower area.”

“Alright.”

Yuki spotted the guard Uriel spoke of up ahead laying back in his chair with a bored expression on his face. With a light push, she urged Erica forward to do her thing. Erica went right up to the both and revealed herself to the guard who straightened up with an alarmed expression.

“Relax, boy,” Erica said with a smile, magic laced in her voice. The guard relaxed and his eyes glazed over. “Everything is normal right now. There’s nothing to see here. The elevator is going to open and no one went in.”

“Yeah. Boring day,” the guard nodded. 

“Good boy.”

She backed away and gave Yuki a nod.

“Uriel,” Yuki said.

The elevator opened up and they stepped inside before the doors shut and they descended. 

“What should I expect down below, Uriel?” Yuki asked.

“Less of my help,” she replied. “There are too many guards. You’ll need to get as far as you can with Erica’s magic, but don’t be surprised if you get detected.”

“And when we do?”

“Wreck havoc.”