By the time we’ve arrived at our destination, I’m feeling rested enough to get up and get going, leaping out of our seat and onto the station platform. Sue-Zee politely opens their door and closes it after they step out to join us. The rat, however…

“...You comfy over there?”

Liz snorts at me with an amused smirk, kicking her legs up over the hood of the car and scrolling through her phone.

“Would you’s rather me be uncomfy or somethin’? An awfully bossy broad you’s twos is.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Violet snarls from our tail, the rat seeming uncharacteristically rattled by my Shadow’s venom, though she remains seated all the same, groaning and rolling her eyes.

“Look, toots,” she grumbles, rolling her head to face us in an impatient manner, “Hal Rivers has gots more than enough info on me since our tour through da Sunlit Bounty. As much as I’d likes to march right in dere and blow this fucker to smitherenes, I’d be a fuckin’ shmuck ta do so without a plan.”

We cross our arms and think. She has a valid point. From the sounds of it, this Hal guy has got tabs on anyone who’d think of thwarting him, which brings me to my next thought.

“Poison, wouldn’t that mean he has a ton of info on you?”

The duo shakes their head, pulling their huge sleeve back to reveal their wrist watch, the very same they used to control Navi and Brute Justice.

“This prevents Hal’s machines from seeing me, and that’s the only way he knows to collect information,” they explain. “As far as he knows, I’ve never existed until the moment he can see me directly.”

The rat cocks an eyebrow at the duo, pulling her knees under her and leaning over the window of the vehicle.

“And you’s didn’t think ta make any ‘a us here one of dose?”

It’s hard to tell when they’re as covered up as they are, but the tension in their posture is clear to me, Sue-Zee almost seeming remorseful for whatever reason.

“This…isn’t something I can make any more of at this point in time,” they duo admits, feeling over and grabbing the watch protectively. “It doesn’t come off, either…I-I’m sorry.”

A grumbling sigh falls from the rat’s lips, shaking her head and shrugging as she kicks it back in her car once more.

“Whatever. At da very least, yous all ain’t folks Hal’s ever had on his radar,” Liz says, detailing her plan while looking directly at Violet and I. “He ain’t ever had da chance to prepare for yous, and yous gots more dan enough sneakin’ experience ta swoop in an’ hit ‘em where it hurts. Tear shit up in there, an’ make a path for me. Once I’s gots a clean shot, I can start workin’ my way through.”

“As sound a plan as ever,” I concede, the rat seeming all too pleased with herself. “Any info on the actual layout of this place?”

“Why, I’s glad yous asked!”

Liz twirls a finger in the air, a little crew of rats climbs over the edge of the platform and sets up a little projector as another cranks the handle, displaying monochrome green footage of Hal’s Lab’s interior.

“Before even da raid on da Stellar Stowaway, I’s had the idea to sneak a few rats into Hal’s place specifically, before he’s ever got a chance ta write up a report on me and deez new powers. Ain’t got too far in, but it should be enough for yous all ta formulate a course ‘a action~”

Taking a closer look at the footage with a glint in our eyes and a plan brewing in our head, I get to work putting together a heist.

 

“Alright, seems simple enough,” I say, snatching up one of the rats from the camera crew and dragging my thumb backwards down its head to rewind the footage. The initial elevator ride gives a taste for the aesthetics to come, all faux sleek and gaudily pristine, not dissimilar to the look of the Stellar Stowaway, only it feels incredibly fake and showy.

Following the descent we find the first room, a wide open space with a huge hollowed out tunnel extending above it, making a shaft which I can assume is used to transport goods to and from the surface, and the wobbling platform that makes up most of the floor seems to back that idea up.

To the sides are great big warehouses crammed with items of all sizes and worker bots shambling about, looking ready to fall apart at any minute. They all have a similar look to the robot Liz had fought previously, only less robotic in their movements, funnily enough. The interesting thing about these warehouses, however, is the fact that behind the glass doors separating them from the main room, we can see the entire room jostle, then move to the side, being replaced by another warehouse with equally mistreated robots.

More importantly, however, the room straight ahead of the elevator reveals much more after it begins to move, sliding down and back as opposed to the sides and bringing to light the brightest monstrosity under the Earth. A gigantic open cave space, lava boiling and illuminating its entirety, being sucked through tubes that twist and choke the space between the cube shaped rooms suspended by beams hanging from up high. Said beams extend and retract while the plates holding them to the ceiling shift, almost every single room being shuffled around in a frantic yet monotonous dance, connecting to pipes for power, then to other rooms for purposes unseen. I think I even spot one of the robot workers tripping and falling out into the lava below as one room moves suddenly away from another…

“So, our primary objective,” I begin, lightly pressing down on the rat’s head to pause the footage on a frame overlooking the entirety of the mass of swarming rooms, pointing to the massive cube up and to the back of the rest of the smaller ones, “is to reach this big boy right here, it just screams boss room. However, to do so…”

My index claw slides in a circular motion around the entire mass of cubes scattered about.

“We need to align all of these rooms moving about into a single corridor. I doubt coordinating every single one of us through each and every hoop it would take to get there is as efficient as another idea I have. And what might that be, you ask?” I posit, tail swishing excitedly as I get to the crux of my plan, pressing play on the rat once more. “Simple. Getting to this inconspicuous room all the way back here!”

Circling said room with my finger I turn back with a grin to our allies.

“The only one that doesn’t move besides the giant one,” I state, turning back to the projector and tracing my claws between the moving rooms, rewinding over the footage again and again. “Even if it ends up not being the exact room to control everything, it has to be important, and I can already see my path there. None of the rooms can move over one another because of the beams, so they seem to link up at the edges and slide around each other before latching onto another platform to be raised, but they only move clockwise, so keeping track of where I am will be simple. It’s all laid out in a grid, and I need to get to F5, starting at A2, so–”

Spinning around to look at Sue-Zee and Liz once more, I find the former staring with sparkles in their eyes so bright I can see them from behind their goggles.

“...Poison? You alright?”

They’re struck out of their trance with a jolt, shaking their head and readjusting their cap and goggles.

“Fine. I’m fine,” they assert, pulling at the edges of their hood awkwardly. “Cat was right. It’s mesmerizing when you put things together like this.”

Huff. Shaking my head and waving the admiration off, I turn back to the projector, failing to control our ever wagging tail.

“I-it’s fine. Anyways, I would suggest you all let me and Violet head in first.”

Sue-Zee doesn’t seem all too happy with my suggestion, but I’ve piqued the interest of the rat.

“Hear me out,” I start. “While I don’t doubt the extent of anyone’s agility, I am absolutely confident that I can make it to that room on my own without fear of detection. And once I do and begin setting things in motion, you all can begin marching in with much less trouble than you would have otherwise!”

“And once yous trip–”

“And once we start moving shit and that trips the alarm,” I interject before the rat can poke any holes through my plan, leaning back against the wall to face them as I cross my arms and whip my tail to the front of us, “I’ll hold our ground. You all move in, and we’ll pincer their forces between our might.”

Liz stretches a squeaking smirk across her cheek before letting out a hearty guffaw.

“Not bad, foxtrot, not bad at all!” Liz chortles as she applauds us, her gaggle of rats clapping for us as well. “I’s gots ta say, I’s impressed. Ain’t a wonder yous made it as far as you have before Subterfuge~”

While the rat’s respect is virtually worthless to us, being praised isn’t something we’re going to turn down, kicking ourselves off the wall with a sharp grin and turning to the entrance of Rivers’ Robotics, turning our head and looking back at Sue-Zee.

“We’ll see you soon, I promise,” I tell them, flicking my ear and tapping the earpiece attached. While I can’t see it, I can feel them smile behind their scarf, perhaps wearily, but optimistic enough.

“We’ll hold you to that,” they return, only for the rat in the back to chime in.

“One last thing, foxy.”

Stopping before I can take my first step in, I don’t bother turning back to face her, but I do keep my ears open to listen.

“...Don’t total them bots if yous can help it.”

Huh. This does prompt me to turn back, looking to Sue-Zee with a tilt of my head.

“...If those are the models I think they are, their batteries should be located within their torsos. If you can jostle them out of place, it should knock them out.”

I smile and nod, taking that long awaited first step at last and making my way towards the elevator shaft, which reveals itself to be empty once Violet pries her claws between each side, bending the metal and leaving a few solid dents in the process. Glazing down at the pit, I turn to face Sue-Zee and Liz, spreading my arms to the sides. Don’t. Come on. Just get us down there. It will!

“Catch you on the flip side!”

 

Sue

 

The last thing we see of Fox and Violet is the two of them falling backwards into the pit below, noticing a little rat on their shoulder before they go completely out of view. With the both of them having departed for the time, we’re left to our thoughts, standing there awkwardly before deciding to mosey on over to Liz’s Wild Ride and take a seat behind her while she twiddles with her phone.

We should go in after those two…

I want to too, I know, but Fox is right. We’d probably slow her down anyways…

Oh, come on. Don’t start that now.

I-I’m sorry. I know. We’ll be following her in there eventually anyways, we need to stay focused. And yet…

…I know, it’s not easy.

It’s like, this is the first time we’re getting a chance to work with those two since we started dating, and yet…I still feel wrong for doing so. Stamping Hal out is the entire reason we came here, and even still, this doesn’t feel like our fight, like we’re intruding on their stories.

Sue, we’ve spent the last…I dunno, 100 years doing everything we can to make sure all the pieces are here for this moment. Doesn’t that earn us some kind of role in this…?

Maybe we should take that as a sign then. Even after all we’ve been through, we still…don’t belong here.

“Sue-Zee.”

“...?”

Looking up from our lap, we see the Rat Queen herself glancing at us from the side, one arm strung over the back of her seat. Wait, shit did she…?

“Oh, don’t act surprised,” she chortles with a smirk, “Even if I ain’t had heard it outloud, I’s had a feelin’, you dolts.”

“...Heard it outloud…?”

The rat honks out a loud “haw,” kicking her legs up over the hood of her vehicle and returning her attention to her phone.

“I’s might ‘a been out cold, but deez rats are always listenin’~”

Ah, figures as much…Glancing at her phone as well, we catch a glimpse of footage from the very rat we saw on Fox’s shoulder can be seen being screened to Liz. At the moment, Violet seems to be tearing off the handles of levers from their bases from within the shadowy corners of the room, locking the doors leading to the warehouses on either side.

“So, what’s ya deal, eh?”

Our attention is brought back up from the screen and onto Liz, who continues watching despite initiating conversation.

“What do you mean…?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, toots,” the rat sneers, only to look up from her phone with a more charitable expression eyeing us. “Or are yous two really dat outta it, huh~?”

Ugh. She’s…not wrong. I shake our head with a sigh, leaning back into our seat limply.

“What’ve you figured out thus far?” I ask, idly sliding our hands into the opposite sleeve. “No use repeating ourselves.”

“Aye, I’s can respect da hustle~” the Rat Queen coos, looking back to the Fox and Violet Show to watch them zip within what darkness they can find within the transport platform between the cargo landing and the factories below, the duo finding the interior of which looking more like a theater themed assembly line than the irritating sleekness that came before. “Complete clash ‘a styles, eh? Dude’s really got his head up his own shiny metal ass.”

Yeah, that checks out. We’d only gotten a few glimpses of his vision back in our time, but he really likes metal plating designed to look like wood, holographic curtains, red carpets, even velvet conveyor belts, which is as impractical as it sounds.

“Anyways, yous gots some uhh…time shit goin’ on, I’s gathered dat much,” Liz begins, her free hand rotating monotonously to the side as she speaks. “Unaffected by that cunt, Janus. Despite only more recently fixatin’ on Hal’s doin’s, yous had a mind for machines since yous was small tots.”

Sheesh, she’s had more than a few eyes on us for quite some time now. Not surprising, really. I’d be pissed if she weren’t a friend. Of course, if her watchful eye has been on us for that long, that means…

“Now what doesn’t click here, sees,” she says, turning her gaze back to us at last, “is the shit yous were buildin’ at dat young an age. I knows for certain ya parents couldn’ta provided dat much, even bein’ da scientists dey were. ‘Specially dat watch ‘a yours, so rare it can’t even be made now.”

Turning her whole body more in our direction, she rests her head on the back of her seat and looks up at us with insincere eyes.

“Now whys’d dat be, huh~?”

Sigh.

“I think you know the answer to that.”

“I’s do~” she sings, sitting back up and turning her gaze onto the screen once more.

We see the girls on the other end work in tandem, using Fox’s speed and Violet’s fluidity to slink between each dark and blind spot between the focused sights of the overworked worker bots. What seems surprising, or at least, what’s revealed that was previously unknown about the layout of this place is the addition of even more guards, these new ones all donning the very same caps worn by the Monorise Police Force. Unsurprising these two groups would partner up, really explains why those up above have as much fire power as they do, as if their bloated budget didn’t offer them enough.

 

“Now, what I’s wanna know,” Liz starts, returning to the topic at hand, “is ya relation to Hal. I’s could care less about da time yous came from, but I ain’t about to jump inta dis board with a piece I ain’t aware of. I’s gots ta know every movin’ part.”

Alright. Alright, that should be…easy enough to explain.

“Okay,” I sigh, pulling our hands out of our sleeves to fiddle with the ends of each opening. “The basics of the matter are…that where we come from, Hal has already ruined the world. He seized a moment in time where humanity needed defending, and weaponized it against the Ascended. My entire world rests upon bringing him down now.”

Glancing over and raising an eyebrow at us, Liz looks at us with disbelief.

“I’s havin’ a hard time believin’ a dipshit like him coulda managed all dat when I’s been keepin’ an eye on him since day one.”

A chill takes my breath away for a moment. It’s…hard to think about what we know as history now that we’re actively a part of it.

“Things didn’t go as smoothly as they have this time, and that’s saying something,” I explain, clasping our hands together and locking our fingers tensely. “When Yom disappeared, so did any method of Ascension. Despite taking charge in the fight for freedom, you never Ascended, and you’d died long before our time.”

The look of horror in the rat’s eyes strikes us, revealing a different kind of fear than we’ve seen her display in the past.

“...I’s see. And somethin’ yous done prevented dis.”

“I guess…?” is the best I can offer, pulling our arms closer into a hug. “I’ll be honest, we have no idea what we did differently this time. All we knew is that this was our last chance, and we’d finally made it past Metatron with everyone alive.”

The rat shakes her head and groans, leaning her head into her hand and massaging her temple.

“Alright, alright, enough ‘a dis. I’s heard enough to get da bigger picture. More importantly, we’s gots ta focus on dis puzzle piece we’re fittin’ into dat picture right now, an’ thinkin’ bout a ruined future any further ain’t gonna help.”

We nod, though we find difficulty shaking off the solemn expression hidden under our disguise.

“...Listen here, Sue-Zee.”

It still feels weird hearing her say our name, but it does draw our attention out from pessimistic introspection. Looking up, we find her eyes pinned on us, a serious expression pointed our way like a gun.

“I don’t give a shit what place or time yous two are from. Yous done enough ta be considered a part ‘a da rat pack. So square up, ‘n get ready for da future. I ain’t about ta lose anyone else.”

…That’s…oddly touching. It’s a stark contrast to the first time we met her that month ago, being barked at with petty orders for favour, but it’s far from an unwelcome change of pace. We never really considered ourselves a part of any of this, moving around as much as we have…but…it’s nice to hear that someone welcomes us into this world. It’s just…too bad it can’t last. Pulling back our sleeve we look at our watch and exhale a laboured breath…one more charge. No more time to turn back, we can only move forward now. Just a bit further, and we’ll be home, Coyotl…

“We understand. Thanks, Elizabeth.”

“Oh for Yom’s sake, call me Liz, wouldja~?”

We snicker at one another before returning our attention to the heroines at hand, who appear to be within reach of their destination, pushing past some holographic curtains to find what looks like a backstage area, various worker bots running around and pulling levers and pressing buttons, each shuddering under the pressure and heat. Hopefully Fox is doing okay with the temperature, we know she struggles with hot places…she does give the camera rat a thumbs up at least, cueing us to action.

“Alright, look alive, you delinquent duo,” Liz barks, standing up and hauling herself onto the station platform, extending a hand down to us, “We’s gots a billionaire ta bust~”