"Did that scientist give you directions on how to reach the Eco-Dome from here?" Janus asked. "I think it would be best to take the path with the least resistance."

"She said that outside should have the fewest BRUTEs to deal with," Enidri replied while pointing down one side of the hallway. "We came from that direction. I can lead us back to the building's front exit." 

"Good. Maybe we can come up with a plan on our way there. Getting into the Eco-Dome is one thing. But trying to find and rescue Gurk is going to be another challenge altogether," Itzel said. She looked past Enidri and watched as Donva deactivated his shadow powers. The black gunk that covered the wall and floor shrunk, revealing Evelyn underneath. The woman remained motionless; her eyes shut in a deep a sleep. Once the Donva's powers fully receded, she tumbled forward and landed into his arms. 

"What should we do with her?" Donva asked as he held onto the unconscious woman. 

"Is there a closet or a bathroom we can shove her in?" Itzel snapped. "If we put her back inside the entertainment room, she's just going to tell her family that we're on our way to put a damper on their special event."

Enidri walked over to the entrance of the entertainment and kicked open the doors. After a moment of her scanning the interior, she waved her hand towards the rest of the group. "I've got an idea!" 

"You want to stuff her in the dresser?" Donva asked in shock as he cradled Evelyn in his arms. "Don't you think that's kind of crass?" 

"You know how much I'm holding back right now, Donva?" Itzel replied as she tore out the clothing that hung from the rack of the dresser. "After all she and her family have done, I have half a mind to treat her like I would a Lurker!"

"Yeah, yeah. But you know how uppity the Justice Department would get," Enidri added. "It's not worth the hassle to kill someone if you don't have to."

"Just put her in there, Donva," Itzel said before stepping to the side and pointing into the vacant dresser. "Make sure she's upright."

He shook his head in silence as he obeyed Itzel's commands. Donva carefully propped Evelyn upright against the back of the furniture before shutting the front doors to the wooden dresser. He then fastened the small hook that were intended to seal it shut. Janus then reached forward and gave one of the handles a tug, watching as the doors move with each shake.

"I don't think that's going to be enough to hold her when she wakes up," Janus said. 

"Oh, I know," Enidri replied. "Now step out of the way." She shooed Janus and Donva to the side and then placed one hand on the back of the dresser. With a bit of a grunt, she began to tip the container forward. "Help me out here, Itsy!" she said with a huff. 

"I got you." Itzel grabbed onto the other side and together they managed to lower the dresser to the ground face first. There was a loud thump once the wood bumped onto the floor.

"Is she safe in there?" Donva said with worry. "Looks like she might not be able to get enough oxygen. Or maybe—"

Enidri activated her Ion Blade, making Donva cut his sentence midway. She rolled her only eye before plunging the tip of her weapon into the back of the cabinet. "There. Happy now?" She looked down and saw that the hole she made just barely cut through the thick wood of the dresser's back side. "And no, my weapon didn't cut her, either. Should we drop some water and snacks in there too in case she gets hungry?"

Donva shook his head. "No. No. I'll keep my mouth shut for now."

"Good. We don't have any more time to mess around. Each second we spend not in the Eco-Dome only increases the chances of Gurk getting hurt!" Enidri headed towards the exit with Itzel close behind. Donva trailed behind her while Janus darted back towards the table next to the projection. He grabbed the radio before following the rest of the group out. 

"Time to pick up the pace you two!" Enidri called out while looking at the rest of the party. Janus and Donva trailed behind her and Itzel by a hefty margin. "We've got a lot of ground to cover in a short bit of time!" The group converged at the staircase leading to the lower floor.  Janus held onto the radio and turned the volume up loud enough for everyone to hear. 

"Evelyn! Evelyn! Can you hear me!" Mag's muffled voice called out. Donva looked at the other three while they remained fixated on the device in Janus' hand. "Don't know where you've been for the past fifteen minutes, but I could use your help! I could really use those coordinates right about now! We found Suze's body. Lars did a good job killing the target, so the trophy parts aren't damaged. I got a feeling he's going to take out the main event pretty soon. Once you're done with your bathroom break, hurry up and get in touch with me!"

"He sounds frustrated," Enidri said. "Doesn't have the patience to be a hunter."

"That's some good news then," Itzel said. "If Mag doesn't know where Gurk is, then there's a slim chance that we could intercept him."

"What do you suggest then?" Janus asked. "We should all group up and go after Mag and Sheila?"

"Nah. Just passing by the Eco-Dome was enough to see how enormous that place is. Sticking together would be a bad idea," Enidri responded. 

"Splitting up? Sounds dangerous, but the way you frame it makes it sound like it’s our best option for finding Gurk."

Itzel stepped forward in the huddle. "We'll have to discuss this once we actually get inside the Eco-Dome. We're banking on too many things going right."

"Oh yeah." Enidri angled her head to look down the stairs. The path to the ground floor was clear. "Me and Donva have done a good job of taking care of the guards. Let us lead the way. We'll give you a signal once it’s clear." Enidri waved towards Donva who had his back pressed against the wall of the hall, hunched over as he regained his breath. "That means you, little bro."

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Donva hopped off the wall and began moving towards the steps only for Itzel to come in between the pair of half-siblings. 

"What about me?" Itzel said as she patted her chest. "I'm plenty capable of taking down some BRUTEs!"

The swordswoman cocked her head and raised her eyebrow. "Are you though?"

"Yes!"

With her arms crossed, Enidri's coy grin returned. "Last time I recall, you don't have the best track record against this kind of AI. I still remember the highlight reel of the last time you fought one. Of course, it laid you out for a while. So I wouldn't be surprised if your memory of that session is a bit hazy."

"Yeah, but—"

The blade of Enidri's sword flashed out. "Trust me on this. Their protocol doesn't take augmented Ion weaponry into account. A few smart slashes put them down for good. And Donva's got some powers that no one has ever seen before. We'll focus on clearing the path. Besides, if something happens to us, at least there's still a chance for you two to find a different route out."

"But—" Itzel put up one finger, eager to make a point only for Enidri to promptly turn around. 

"No more chatting. Gurk's gonna need all the help he can get. And that's not going to happen by being too reckless. Come on Donva. I think you know the drill by now." Enidri turned off her weapon and slowly moved down the stairs, taking each step with silent precision. Donva followed behind her, making the same silent movement before vanishing underneath the stairway.

"Never thought I'd see you take orders from Enidri like that," Janus said as he stared down the steps and into the light that shined from the bottom floor. 

"Likewise. But I'm not going to question it. She seems to know what she's doing,” Itzel replied. There was a period of silence as both Exterminators watched the empty stairway.

"Flying Cutter!"

As the pair continued to stare down the steps, Enidri's voice echoed upwards along with the crackle of electricity and the twisting of steel. After a few grunts from Donva, some shouting from the swordswoman, and a few laser blasts, there was nothing but silence. Janus and Itzel looked at each other with worry before they both agreed to hurry down the steps. 

"Enidri! Donva!" Itzel called out as she headed towards the end of the staircase. "Everything all right?" 

Both made it to the bottom floor at the same time, just as the swordswoman pulled her weapon out of the head of a BRUTE robot that had been pinned to the wall with it. Once the blade was removed, the destroyed guard slumped over and clanked against the ground as it landed on its side. Surrounding her were several mutilated BRUTEs, all dismembered beyond repair and covered in oozing Essencima residue. Donva stood on the other side of the scrap pile, his hands planted on the ground while tendrils receded back into his arms.  

Enidri turned around after hearing her name. She turned off her weapon and flicked off a bit of soot from her shoulder with the back of her hand. "Oh. I was just about to go upstairs and get you two."