The tunnel under the street looked just like it had when TO was there the first time; nothing had changed, and the authorities blocked nothing off. Of course, why would they need to block off anything down here when they already blocked off the street above and the entrance?

 

“Where are they?” Kei asked as they jumped down into the tunnel after TO, landing heavily on the concrete beneath them. “The insurgents are supposed to be here?” 

 

“They are.” TO muttered, though it was abundantly clear from where they were that the small section of tunnel was empty. They scanned around, looking for anything new or anything that they might have missed before; an odd crack in the wall, a section where the water flowed in ways it shouldn’t, a breeze where there should be none. 

 

“Through that door, then?” Kei said, pointing to the maintenance door on the other side of the river. 

 

There was nothing there last time, but this was different. The insurgents wanted to see them, so why would they hide? There was nothing obvious in the main tunnel, so it made sense to check there before continuing their search. 

 

With a flap of their powerful wings, they made their way to the other side of the canal, landing just in front of the maintenance door. Not only was it still unlocked, but it was open just a crack. TO could hear the whirr of machinery from the other side, mixed with the sound of water from behind them. Multi-gun in hand, they pushed the door open and stood, listening. Their helmet parsed the surrounding sounds, but most of what they heard was simply the machinery that dominated the center of the room, and the echo ringing off the metal.  

 

“In here?” Avery asked as they approached behind TO and Kei. 

 

“I think so.” TO said. “Be careful; it’s a cramped little place; ideal for an ambush.”

 

There was no ambush as they entered, though. In fact, there was nobody in the room that they could see. 

 

“Is there any other place?” Kei asked, their gun still up as they looked around, “Any other ‌location they couldn have meant?” 

 

Maybe. Maybe they had meant the residential area where the -

 

-blood, the cracking of bones. Knife through flesh-‘

 

-river of blood had poured forth… but no. No, with the tunnels here, there had to be a way in and out of this area.  

 

“Let’s keep looking.” TO said as they stepped around the giant machine that dominated the room. As they circled to the other side, to the tiny path between the machine and the wall, they saw it. 

 

The metal panels that protected the cement wall from the machinery made the noise bound around in the room, making it difficult to hear, and near impossible to make use of echolocation. However, on the other side of the machine, someone had moved a panel aside to reveal a rough tunnel that went into the wall. 

 

“Yes.” TO said as they approached. “Here it is.” 

 

They knew it. Well, they didn’t know specifically that there had been a tunnel in this room, but it had always seemed odd to them that the insurgents had escaped the prison without a proper plan to get away from the security district. All that work and planning, and they just jumped into the water cleaning facilities and died? No, that wasn’t right. The hidden tunnel in the wall made much more sense. The blood, and the guard’s DNA found in the cleaning system, had just been a distraction after all. A distraction that worked very well. 

 

The guard had a wife; a mate. Was he dead when he went into the system, or had they pushed him in alive? Did they know or care?

 

“This is where you lost them last time, then?” Kei asked as they looked down the tunnel. “Down here?” 

 

“I didn’t know this tunnel was here, or that there were extra tunnels under the city.” TO said. The tunnel was big enough for them to go through, but only just, and only if they ducked. They turned to Kei., “You go first.” They said, “Avery, you hang back, follow at a distance.” 

 

“Understood.” they both said.

“Alright, let’s go.”

 

Kei nodded, and wings pressed to their back, they entered the tunnel. TO followed, with Avery close behind them as they wandered into the obvious trap. They only hoped that they were, in fact, smart enough, and trained well enough to deal with any trickery the civilians might attempt.

Civilians were just civilians. Synths were created to serve King Decon; there was no way a civilian could compete with them. 

 

======

 

The tunnel twisted about underground, turning sharply when the original diggers came across a random pipe, or a bit of foundation. TO imagined that the tunnel was originally supposed to be perfectly straight, but it turned into this twisted mess because of the obstacles they ran into as they worked. Whenever they had to turn a sharp corner, TO worried that this was where the insurgents would have them; where they would trigger a cave-in or cause the ground to fall from under their feet. Because of that, TO held a level of extreme caution with each step they took, and constantly used their echolocation to check the ceiling and floor. The curves and twists kept them from being able to hear much further than their immediate surroundings, but it was better than nothing. They only hoped that they would notice a potential trap, or hear an insurgent waiting to jump on them.

 

They heard something eventually, but it wasn’t a waiting insurgent. There was music playing in the distance, the notes bouncing off the walls and snaking its way down the tunnel towards them. It was a musical that TO recognized, but hadn’t listened to in a very long time. It was one that they had watched with GiDi and DH back in the training center on the observation deck. Whenever they heard the notes now, it filled them with this horrible melancholy.

Well, normally it did. Today, it filled them with rage. Were the insurgents taunting them, or was this a coincidence? Were they using this to throw TO off? To upset them?

 

They’d rip them apart. TO was glad that Kei was in the lead here because they knew now with absolute certainty that if they encountered an insurgent now, the insurgent wouldn’t make it back to the ship; TO would rip them to pieces there and then. 

 

“They’re ahead.” TO said, “Follow that music.” 

 

“You know it’s a trap.” Avery said, once more on their private channel, “That music-“ 

 

“I’m well aware.” TO said. The music that reminded them of before they took away GiDi couldn’t be a coincidence.

 

“Are they trying to lead us with that noise?” Kei hissed. “It’s obnoxious.” 

 

“Just follow it.” TO said. 

 

“There’s not much choice.” Kei said, “There’s only one way forward.” 

 

They continued on, the tunnel widening so that TO could stand upright after so long crouched over. Light from nearby made its way into the tunnel in miniscule increments, making their helmets night-vision mode needless given their ability to see in low light. Did the insurgents think that the relative darkness would give them an advantage? They knew enough about synths by now; they had to know about their excellent low-light vision. 

 

A final turn, and Kei suddenly stopped and pushed them back. “The tunnel ends here.” They said, “It seems to open up into a room, but I can’t see from here, so I do not know what’s there, or how many people are waiting for us. The tunnels still affect echolocation, so I can’t get any more information. What are your orders?”

It amazed TO that despite everything, Kei was still looking to them for leadership, for orders. 

 

“I’ll hang back and fire if necessary.” Avery said. 

 

TO nodded, “You do that. Kei and I will rush them.” They said, “If they’re planning a trap, I’d rather go in fast and take them by surprise than go slow and let them catch us.” 

 

“Normally I’d say that we need to be more careful than that, but I think you’re right.” Kei said, “If they’re planning an ambush, they’re probably expecting us to go slowly and carefully.” 

 

“Alright.” TO said, “On my count, we rush. Ready?”

 

“Ready.” 

 

“Good luck.” Avery said, “And I’ll follow up when you’re out of the tunnel.” 

 

TO counted only from three, and then they and Kei rushed down the rest of the tunnel's length, their multi-guns out and their helmets taking in every piece of information that it received, even so much as to identify the sound that was playing. 

 

Then they were out of the tunnel. TO wasn’t certain exactly where they were; it reminded them of a bug’s nest; a large, tall cavern with tunnels scattered all over the walls. In the very center of the cavern, in what looked like an amphitheater, was a speaker that played the musical.

Of course; it was a similar plot to what they used to do in the training center. With the music playing, it was harder for them to focus and determine how many people were hiding in the tunnels. 

 

“There’s nobody here.” Kei said as they looked around. “Not that we can see. There could be anyone hiding in the tunnels.” 

 

“Avery, come to us.” TO said, then they switched to their external speaker. “I’m here.” They said, their voice loud, clear, and sharp. “You promised me a meeting.” 

 

Silence met them for several long minutes until Avery exited the tunnels behind them. The music stopped, and a voice came over the speakers.

 

“Is that the last of you?” The heavily distorted voice said, “Or did you bring Arkanian authorities with you as well?” 

 

“There was nothing in our conversation that said I had to come alone.” TO snapped. 

 

“That is entirely fair.” The voice said. The music started playing again, echoing over the walls. At first, TO expected for the insurgents to open fire, for an explosion, for something to happen. 

Then, finally, a small group came out of the tunnel directly across from them. They were all in disguises, wearing long, makeshift cloaks of tattered fabric, and strange, cylindrical helmets that hid their face behind mesh. It was impossible to see who it was that they were meeting; The one in the center was rather tall for a civilian- just a little shorter than an average synth, and held their cloak around them tightly, as though a non-existent wind might steal it. To their left was a civilian that was poorly hidden, given the long red and black snake's tail that trailed behind them. The third was a very diminutive figure who was nearly drowning in their cloak. 

 

“Might I assume that you’re Minster Pholi?” TO said, their multi-gun pointing at the smaller figure. 

 

“We'd appreciate it if you put down your weapons.” The snake person said, their voice heavily changed by something. “We have none.”

 

“You could have this entire area trapped.” TO responded, “Or snipers hidden in the darkness. We will not put down our weapons.” 

 

“That’s fair.” The small one said. They were using something to change their voice as well; clearly something connected to the helmets. “As for identity, I’m afraid I can neither confirm nor deny ‌my identity, or that of my colleagues.” 

 

“That’s fine.” TO said, keeping their aim up. There were three of them. Who did they want first? Pholi, the snake person, or the one standing between the two who had said nothing yet. “You promised me a meeting with someone of importance. I, unfortunately, can't see any of you, so how should I know if you’ve kept your end of the deal?” 

 

“They’re right.” The central one said to the small one, “We could get the indebted off planet in a short amount of time. Because they didn’t alert the authorities.” They looked back to TO, “As for a person of importance, that’s one problem with how you all view the insurgency. There’s no formal leadership, as you would consider it. However, someone who has offered a lot of help, and who saved the resistance from crumbling, would be a person of importance.”

“And that’s you?”

“No, that would be my parent.” 

 

“That’s a bit much to tell them, isn’t it?” Pholi said. 

 

This would work. While Synths didn’t have parental bonds, TO knew how strong they could be, and how devastated civilians were supposed to get when even their adult children were in danger. Was it as bad as the pain TO felt with DH gone?

“They also promised me a chance to speak to DH.” TO snapped, “Where are they?” 

 

“That’s what we're doing here, is it?” Kei hissed over the private communications, “We’re here because you-“ 

 

“I’m waiting.” TO said, ignoring Kei’s voice in their ear, “Where are they?” 

 

“They’re not here.” The one in the center said, “But they’re safe, I promise. I’ll bring you to them.” 

 

“You said I could talk to them.” TO snapped, “You’ve already lied once. Why should I believe you?” 

 

“That’s the trap.” Avery said, “DH might be already dead. We need to go.” They started backing up. “We need to get out of-”

 

Something went off- a low, loud hum that shook TO’s eardrums. A moment later, just like when they were in Thalassa, their helmet shut off, cutting off their vision and cutting off any sound. They panicked, and pulled off the helmet altogether as quickly as they could, not wanting to be blinded to deaf in this situation. The helmet fell to the ground in three pieces, and TO repositioned themself, their hands shaking, their ears pinned back, their teeth bared as they pointed their multi-gun at the one in the center. Kei and Avery did the same, and now the three of them stood there in useless armor, their multi-guns pointed. The light on the back of the multi-gun showed it was still active, at least. They could still shoot. 

 

“Are these the ones?” The snake-like one said to the one in the center. 

 

“I recognize them.” The small one said, pointing to TO, not the other two.” 

 

“It’s fine.” The center one said. They fell silent for a moment and then reached up to pull off their helmet. They struggled for a moment, the metal edge pulling against long ears before the helmet came free, and they let it drop to the ground with a loud clang. 

 

“DH is alive and safe.” GiDi said, their ears showing no trace of deception, “And I’ll take you to them, TO. Just come with us.”