[Lauchenoiria]

The rest of the group made their way down the stairwell, as quickly and as quietly as they could. They left a Shorn One outside the door to the offices on level B3, followed by Maricela Tobin on B4, Xing Yawen on B5, more Shorn Ones on B6 and B7, and finally Samantha Collinsgate on B8. Lily Doll and a Shorn One waited at B7 until everyone else was in place, while Riley Nelson waited one floor lower. Both Auroras held the keycards they’d swiped from guards, waiting for Yawen in the middle to give the signal. When it came, both pairs swiped their cards and headed forward into the detention levels.

*

Riley Nelson cracked open the door to level B8, peeking for merely a second in order to see what was happening beyond. She clocked two guards within immediate range, signaled to her Shorn One partner, and then opened the door as they both aimed their guns and fired in unison. They pushed forward as the guards fell, running along the corridor to where they believed Tlalzixiūhxa was being held. Upon arrival at the door, Riley used the swipe card she’d stolen, hoping it would work. It did indeed.

She pushed open the door, impatient to discover what was on the other side. Then she stopped, frozen in place as she met the eyes of the other Aurora. Tlalzixiūhxa blinked twice, taking in Riley’s non-Xiomeran appearance, flushed face and the squinting slightly as she recognised her as an older version from the child she’d seen in a briefing sent by Robinson to her Auroras years previously.

“I’m going to guess that this is a rescue attempt,” she said, smiling slightly to Riley as she waited for an answer. For Riley’s part, she swallowed, letting the Shorn One who had accompanied her guard the door while she walked over to the older Aurora and looked her dead in the eyes.

“You broke,” Riley said. It was a statement of fact, not a question. The surroundings of the cell they were in made that perfectly clear.

“I’ve been here months… Rita, is it? It became impossible after they set that… demon on me.”

“Did you tell them?” Riley asked, her voice low. It was clear what she meant. In response, Tlalzixiūhxa turned away, biting her lip and remaining silent. “We’re all dead,” muttered Riley in response, then she gestured for Tlalzixiūhxa to follow her. The older Aurora cooperated, eager to put a border between herself and the ‘demon’, Mariya Adema.

Riley handed Tlalzixiūhxa a gun once they cleared the cell door, and they followed the Shorn One back to the stairwell. Yet more guards appeared around corners, armed with knives and tranquilisers. Between the three of them, each guard who appeared was out of the fight merely seconds after peeking around a corner. Some they shot dead, others they merely injured, judging it on their proximity, what weapon they carried and the appearance of their strength. When they made it to the staircase, without any injuries, they slammed the door behind them, locking it once more and nodding to Samantha who was still standing guard.

*

Back on level B4, where agents working long hours could sleep, Mariya Adema was roused from her slumber by a nagging feeling. She’d been up all night with Cozamalotl, again, and knew she needed more sleep, but something wouldn’t let her rest. It was as if the air itself had become stifling, or there was a noise just outside her range of conscious perception, or perhaps an unnatural quiet where one shouldn’t be. Mariya couldn’t tell, only that she was unable to keep sleeping.

She sighed, and pulled on a fresh set of clothing, brushing and tying her hair back to avoid needing to shower this morning, and headed out of the room planning to go back and give Cozamalotl yet another nasty early-morning surprise. She absentmindedly swiped her keycard to enter the staircase pulling open the door and coming face to face with Maricela Tobin, who had a gun pointed directly at her head. Mariya blinked, then reached for the knife she had strapped at her side. Before she could move, however, Maricela jumped forwards, knocking her head against the wall, and let her fall unconscious back through the door that then shut behind her.