"What do you think that woman was talking about?" Janus whispered to Itzel. He kept his eyes towards the shut doors to the entertainment room before taking a glance at the idle BRUTE robots standing in front of him. "Does Gurk have any secrets that the Granis and the other hunters might want to know about?"

Itzel shook her head. "Depends on what you mean by 'secret.' He's got some habits that he thinks no one else knows about, but they're not particularly relevant to the situation at hand. But if that old lady was talking about some hidden power or ability, it's not anything that I'm aware of."

Janus turned forward in his chair and stared at the bubbling swamp in the center of the projection's screen. "I'm sure Evelyn will stroll back in here to tell Mag all about it as soon as possible."

"Yeah. Good thing she's got a big mouth. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to watch Gurk get hunted down like an animal before our execution."

Janus lowered his head, staring at the ground then letting out a huff of air in disappointment. There was a moment of quiet as the physicist kept his head hung in shame. 

"Not so chipper, huh Janus?"

"Yeah. Reality is starting to sink in."

"Welcome to the life of a Labrisson Exterminator." Itzel shakily inhaled, her lips trembling as she tried to blink away the tears in her eyes. "When you think you're finally about to get somewhere in life, reality comes by to put you back in your place!"

"Itzel..." Janus began as his eyes moved around as if he were looking for what to say next. "If we don't make it out of here... I just want to let you know—"

The doors to the entertainment room flung open, crashing into the wall beside it. All eyes darted to now-ajar entrance, only to look at nothing but an empty hallway. Janus and Itzel exchanged confused looks before fixating on the front of the room again. Both of the BRUTEs readied their weapons, peering down the sights of their guns. The one guarding Janus took lead, keeping its rifle aimed straight ahead.

One BRUTE took shelter by the wall while the other head out with its finger pressed against the trigger of its gun. It disappeared behind the other side of the wall, leaving the entire area in silence as they waited for something to happen next. Gunshots rang out, lighting up the dim hallway from the laser bursts. A scorching sizzled followed. Then the clank of metal against a tile floor. The second robot left its defensive post to follow up on its partner, only to be stopped by an intense beam of orange light. 

The laser cut through the front of the BRUTE's rifle, severing the barrel from the rest of the weapon with a downwards swing. Enidri stepped forward, revealing herself to Janus and Itzel while staying focused on her automated enemy. From a low position, Enidri followed her attack with a rising backhanded slash that cut through the robot's armor. Sparks flew towards the ceiling as the BRUTE went limp and topped backwards. 

Enidri pressed a button on her Ion Blade, extinguishing the glowing beam. She placed one boot on her fallen foe as she crossed her arms. "You two? In trouble again?" she said, her tiny grin contradicting the serious manner in which she spoke. 

"Enidri," Itzel began, her head turning as far back as the chair would allow. Her eyes were still red, but she looked at the swordswoman with faint smile. 

"Yeah?"

"If you told me that I'd ever be happy to see you... even just a week ago... I would have said you were insane."

The swordswoman stepped off the motionless metallic body and stood at Itzel's side. She kept her arms crossed as she looked at the restraints that kept Itzel strapped down. "Oh, don't worry. I'm still insane. You know how much time and Concentrate it takes to cross that desert all the way from Labrisson on a personal carrier?"

"Can't be cheap," Janus said. 

"You 'd be right." Enidri pulled her Ion Blade off the side of her belt and let it extend only a foot. She slowly moved the shortened weapon towards the right wrist restraint on Itzel's chair. Sparks flew as began to cut through the metal seam on the cuff. "Not to mention having to break into the home of a trillionaire. If I had to guess, I'd say the heat must have gotten to me."

"Well, you're here. And that's what really matters," a calmed Janus responded. 

"Right. But tell me. How did—" Enidri put a pause on the rescue as she made eye contact with Itzel. She squinted her eye, looking into teary eyelids of the soon-to-be-free captive. "Are you crying?"

"It's not because of you!" Itzel said nervously. "As you can clearly see, we've been going through a lot."

"Oh. I was about to say." Enidri finished cutting through the first cuff and moved on to the other hand. "It would take a lot more for the Itsy I've come to know to start crying than a surprise her visit from her greatest rival." With a pair of swift and accurate slices, the straps around Itzel's ankles fell to the floor. Itzel darted up from the chair and shook out her legs while rubbing her right wrist. 

"Thanks, Enidri. I can't even come up with a good comeback. We really owe you for this. If we make it out of here."

"Don't start talking about debts yet!" Enidri cut through Janus' restraints in mere seconds. "We've got to see if we can actually survive all this first."

"How did you know to find us here?" Janus asked as he rolled his neck from side to side. "We're virtually in the middle of nowhere."

"Itzel's dad was getting worried because no one called him last night. He got in touch with Ringa and Brielle. Then they got in touch with me. Told me that the last time they saw you was back in the middle of the desert after that Sand Carver took out your transporter. Brielle said you guys were probably all right since she saw you leave in a carrier, but Ringa said that Galo was freaking out. Kept saying that he was worried sick about you."

"Thank goodness for overbearing parents," Itzel said. 

"Believe me, I didn't want to come. My brain told me to stay home and enjoy my day off, but unfortunately my Exterminator's Instinct made me investigate." Enidri gestured towards the room's exit with her thumb. "Had to lug Donva along too. I think convincing him to come with was even more of a challenge than breaking in."

Itzel's eyes opened wide as she jumped with the balls of her feet. "Donva's here too?" She looked towards the doors of the entertainment room. "Is he all right?"

"Yeah, he's fine. Just outside the hall. But I've a really important question for the two of you." The swordswoman pointed at the patch of bubbling mud on the projection. "You guys know where Gurk is?"

"Kinda," Janus said with a wobble of his hand. "You saw that Eco-Dome outside?"

"Yeah."

"Somewhere in there."

"Figured."

"We just don't know where exactly," Itzel replied. "This projection has the feed to all sorts of perspectives within the dome. But I doubt the Granis would just let anyone change the Broadcast at will."

"Good thing we have someone that can." A lengthy smile came across Enidri's face. She walked towards the hallway and Janus and Itzel stayed close behind. The trio took a sharp right towards a corner. As they approached, long black puddles stretched out along the floors and walls. There were muffled grunts accompanied with the sound of a gooey substance sloshing around. 

"Enidri?" Donva turned his head to face the others after they cleared the corner. His hands were pressed against the ground, forming a long trail of veiny gunk that coated the floor and climbed up the wall. Among the black gunk was a pair of big eyes that stared back at them. Janus stepped forward, placing one of his boots in the grimy puddle as he gazed at the human-shaped figure protruding from the gunk. 

"Is that..." Janus said softly. He waved one hand in front of the dainty eyes of the person stuck to the wall. The pupils followed his movement along with a muffled grunt. "Evelyn?"

"Hey man. I'm just doing what Enidri and that scientist told me," Donva replied. "I'm not one to attack women. Especially not older ones." 

Evelyn's eyes narrowed as she shot Donva a mean glare. 

"Scientist?" Janus said. "That older woman that walked into the entertainment room before Enidri?"

"Yeah. Her name's Zuwya," Enidri replied. "She's the one that led us up here. And surprise, surprise. She's got a grudge against the Grani family too."

"That's perfect!" Itzel called out, spreading her arms. "Looks like we've got a party ready to go! Gurk might stand a chance after all!" Itzel scanned the rest of the hallway. "Where's that scientist at, anyway?"

"Said she had some other business to attend to in here," Enidri answered. "Didn't say where she went or if she'd be back. But she did tell us how to get into the Eco-Dome."

"I'm still liking our odds. That's four of us going into rescue Gurk. Four of us against five them. It's an even match if we can find Gurk before they do," Itzel said. 

"But what are we going to do about her?" Donva interjected, his eyes meeting with Evelyn's. "I can't just leave this Essencima residue here. I have to be close by for it to sustain. And I think it's safe to assume that you don't want her roaming around."

Itzel cracked her right knuckle. "I'm so glad you asked, Donva. I actually have an idea that might solve that little problem."

"What did you have in mi—" In the middle of Donva's statement, Itzel stepped through the pulsating black mass and stood in front of Evelyn. The trapped woman's eyes opened again as she shook her head to the best of her ability despite the restraints of Donva's Special Technique. 

"I'd suggest you turn around, Donva," Itzel said. He closed his eyes and lowered his head, prompting Itzel to wind up a punch by bringing her arm all the way back. "This is for zapping me. For capturing Gurk." She cut her eyes, staring back at the terrified woman. "And for letting that innocent mother get murdered." She followed through, sending a straight jab into Evelyn's face. The attack made a deep and loud whump when it connected.

Both Janus and Donva flinched and turned their heads away. When they looked back at the scene, Evelyn's were shut close as Itzel shook her hand out in the air. Enidri walked to her side and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"Can't believe it took us all this time to start getting along!"