The first thing that Yuna noticed was the metal barricades that slammed down in front of the entrance to the research facility. As Akira rushed over to the newly reinforced doors, Yuna heard the buzz of electronics being powered on. Her head turned in time to see drones drop from the ceiling and a pair of robots walk out from their hiding places in the walls.

“We have a few hostiles,” Yuna warned, raising her blade.

“I can handle them,” Erica replied as she stepped forward. “See if Akira needs help. And get ready once that door opens.”

Yuna nodded and sped to where Akira was staring at the metal barricade. It seemed that she was evaluating it for whatever reason. Sarah was off to the side, behind a table, as she lined up her gun.

“What are you looking for?” Yuna asked, her words tumbling out.

“Enemies on the other side,” Akira said calmly. “Grab the jewel first.”

With another nod, Yuna hurried to the now exposed alcove and swiped the jewel from its cushion. On the way back to Akira a few feet away, she ducked under a taser shot from one of the drones.

“Be careful~,” Erica warned as Yuna passed by.

“Got it?” Akira asked once Yuna came back.

“Yes.”

“Good. I’m going to crumple the barricade, so be ready,” Akira said. She lifted up her arms. “And find cover. You might need it.”

Yuna hid behind another table a few feet away from where Sarah was. She peeked over the top of the table. Akira reached out towards the metal barricade, her fingers curling inwards. A creaking sound entered the room, mixing in with the sounds of Erica’s spear banging against metal. Then Akira pulled her right arm back and the entire metal barricade crumpled into a giant ball.

Just as Yuna’s eyes locked onto the robots that were positioned on the other side of the glass door, a gunshot rang out. Instantly, the head of one metal guard shot back almost at the same time. Another gunshot. Another hole in the glass. And the same guard was completely blown backwards.

Akira thrusted her arm forward, shooting the newly formed metal at the formation of robots. The glass door shattered as the ball hurtled forward. Yuna wasn’t sure if the robots were dumb or their sensors just weren’t fast enough, but they seemed to make no effort to get out of the way. They were promptly rewarded with a giant metal ball slamming into them. They didn’t get up.

“Was that it?” Yuna asked. 

“For them,” Akira replied. “Maybe you didn’t need to take cover. But more will come. Come on. Erica, time to stop playing. We need to go.”

“Got it~,” she sang back. Yuna turned her head in time to see her do a series of quick stabs that pierced right through the metal hulls of the robots and the drones. “Go. I’m right behind you.”

“What about Zero?” Yuna asked. 

“She’ll be fine. We’ll swing by if we can,” Akira said as she hopped right over the shards of shattered glass. “Hurry up now.”

The four of them walked with haste, but never quite broke out into a run. Though it was important to escape, Yuna knew that no one was actually worried. Everything that was happening now was more or less foreseen by Yuki. The only real unknown was how and when the security measures would be triggered. The actual parts of the security were well known. 

The first wave was the capture and detain measures. That included drones and robots that had nonlethal weapons equipped. The second wave was a bit more dangerous. 

A turn in the hallway, and the four were confronted by a line of robots holding shields as well as guns. These guns were a bit more painful, consisting of high energy bolts that could bypass armor that wasn’t resistant to magic. Akira snapped her fingers and a barrier formed between them and the robots. The bots fired, but to no avail as the bolts were absorbed by the barrier. 

While the robots were busy shooting the magic wall, Akira shifted it forward at a slow rate as she walked with it. Yuna followed right next to her with her sword drawn. The second wave of defense proved to be no problem as Yuna effortlessly hacked away at the bots that could do nothing but shoot. 

Once those were down, they picked the pace up again and marched down the hallway, Akira still at the front. The third wave was the one Yuki warned them to be careful around. And that was because it could be a number of things. What determined what actually was going to be thrown at them was their performance on the previous two waves.

‘And since we cleaned them up so easily, I don’t have the best of feelings about this.’

Thunk

Her thoughts were answered in the form of five hulking metal guards that walked out from a side hall. Their every step clanged against the tile floor. Yuna wouldn’t have been surprised if a tile broke every time they took a step. Two held giant shields and wielded equally large swords. The rest had rifles and stood behind.

‘Those don’t look nonlethal.’

“We need to take care of those right now,” Akira said, her voice rising.

“Really? I thought we could make some friends,” Erica replied, twirling her staff. Yuna could hear the smile. “Lethal pulse rifles. A barrier might not cut it.”

“I know. Figure something out.”

Akira slammed her palms onto the ground. The earth shuddered and walls erupted up from it to create cover in the otherwise completely barren hallway. Yuna jumped behind one of the newly made walls just as the metal guards let loose with their rifles. She felt the walls shudder from the impact, but the blasts never went through.

“How do we get to them?” Yuna asked, placing a hand to her earpiece. 

“The armor should be able to hold against a few impacts,” Akira replied quickly, her voice going straight into Yuna’s ear. “There’s cover and I can always make more. Focus the ranged ones.”

“Got it. Erica, you’re with me?”

“Mhm. You take left, I’ll go right?” Erica suggested.

“Alright,” Yuna said with a nod.

She peeked over the top before ducking again to avoid a shot. She counted the intervals between when the shot was taken and when the next shot was launched.  There was a few second split where the rifles needed to charge up their next shot. Enough time to move out to get closer and duck behind cover. 

When the next shot came, Yuna slipped out from behind the wall she was hiding from. She dove forward, rolling, and popping up behind another wall. Another shot was fired just as she found cover, striking the ground a foot away from her. It took less than two seconds.

Yuna noticed Erica moving as well from the corner of her eye. They turned and stared at each other. Then Erica lifted her spear and pointed towards the robots with her thumb. Yuna wasn’t quite sure what she was planning, but understood the meaning behind it. She was going to do something. Yuna needed to take advantage of it. She gave Erica nod.

Immediately, Erica spun out from her hiding spot and hurled her spear towards the group of five guards. The two guards holding shields closed ranks, locking their shields together in front of the ranged bots, blocking them from the spear. They also effectively prevent the ranged bots from firing as they blocked their line of sight.

Yuna instantly recognized what she needed to do. She leapt out and charged towards the bots. The spear slammed into the shield of one bot, pushing it back as it pierced through it. Yuna hopped over line of melee guards while they were staggering before she slid along the ground to avoid the immediate fire from the ranged guards. Once she passed by the rifle wielding bots, she hopped onto her feet and lashed out with her sword. 

Her blade was stopped. The target of her slash had blocked it using its rifle. Yuna’s eyes widened before ducking instinctively. A bolt flew over her head from another bot that had refocused their attention on her. Another shot followed it from the third bot. And though she tried to dodge it, it managed to strike her right calf.

The energy bolt sunk into her calf, heat rapidly spreading out from the area it hit. Then the pain set in, searing her leg and her mind. Her armor had protected her leg from becoming useless. But that didn’t stop the shots from inflicting excruciating pain.

She fell to her knee from the sudden shock. Her head went up at the sound of a rifle charging and a person yelling. She had at most two seconds to get and dodge the next attack. Her eyes locked onto a rifle trained at her head before they closed. She didn’t have enough time.

The shot fired. Her body braced for the impact. But nothing came. Two more shots. And still she felt nothing hit. 

“Don’t give up so easily,” a voice said quietly into her ear. Yuna’s eyes blinked open. A pair of rainbow grey eyes gently stared back. “Let me help.”

A gentle warmth replaced the pain within her leg. Yuna looked down and saw Zero’s hand resting a top of her calf, now exposed to the air because of a hole in the cloth that was protecting it.

“Stand up,” Zero said, grabbing her hand. “We still have some work to do.”