Gio’s eyes narrowed.
’We need to leave.’
"Amaya, this is an ergency. We need to regroup with them and evacuate as soon as possible."
"What? Why?"
Her reaction was imdiately one of surprise.
"If we regroup and investigate, we’ll be able to learn a lot more about their operation. It’s the worst ti to leave right now."
"I know that’s how it looked, but there’s sothing off about this."
He had to find a way to justify it without saying he knew the future.
"It’s too easy. It’s too coincidental. Look how easily they’re moving through the facility and destroying things," Gio said, pointing at the screens.
"How could it be like that?"
The raid they did at the last Rest City was on a similar facility, and it was run by Bloodrend to give their new mbers power. Even at that facility, how much did they suffer from the Apocalypse Church’s weapons?
"Isn’t it just because they don’t want to damage anything here?"
Gio shook his head.
"It isn’t just guns and ammo. You guys must’ve faced traps too. Those deployable devices only activate when Sequencers move through them. They won’t damage anything other than a small area around the target, so it’s unnecessary to worry about collateral damage."
Amaya furrowed her brows.
There were ways the Apocalypse Church could respond if they wanted to. The point was that there was no response at all. The guards chasing them were being blown away like nothing, and the machines they attacked crumpled like nothing.
"You think it’s a trap?"
"I have a sinking feeling. I can’t justify it. I just need you to trust ."
That line again.
How much did he expect from people? How much did he want to do without justification?
’The only way for him to get people to follow these kinds of words is for soone to agree the first ti.’
If he was able to build a track record, his word would beco more powerful than anything else.
Amaya didn’t know if she wanted to give him that power, but she wouldn’t deny him unless she felt differently.
She could understand where his feeling was coming from.
The fact of the matter was that she’d had a similar feeling in her heart since they started descending the elevator.
"First things first, let’s find the team. We can think about the rest later."
She’d made a decision in her heart, but it wasn’t her decision to make.
When they reached Raymond, Gio could give the sa speech.
The cara feeds showed a large portion of the facility. It was relatively easy to find out where the team was in relation to their position, especially since the entire space was built linearly.
Amaya took Gio onto her back like it was normal and shifted her form into sothing similar to a cheetah. They blasted into the tunnel, the blaring alarms filling their ears again, and shot far into its depths.
Gio beca an observer from that point on. Amaya was so agile it felt nonsensical to be a passenger on her back. They didn’t move in a straight line. For as long as they were in the tunnel, it was possible, but every ti it widened into a room, the path ahead of them was blocked.
They were forced to move through and around obstacles to continue, but in Gio’s perception, it appeared as if they stepped into the light for a brief mont before returning to the dark blur of the tunnel.
She moved so fluidly that he didn’t feel it at all. The queasiness his stomach wanted to feel was quelled by Aether, and the rest was history.
The loud sound of explosions, fires, and chaos ca closer and closer until the world slowed again.
There was destruction happening everywhere. The world around them looked like it was collapsing as the various powers of the ground team tore up the space.
The team itself was near the center of the chamber, fighting with no other goal but to destroy as much as they possibly could.
’How long have they been here?’ Gio thought.
There had to be several hundred kiloters separating them from the main body of the machine. How long had Raymond and the rest been battling their way through the facility?
They were too distracted by the fight to notice Amaya and Gio imdiately, but it didn’t take long for them to sense the familiar auras approaching.
Raymond turned his head in their direction with a speechless expression on his face.
Amaya stopped in front of him. Gio jumped off her back in quite a codic motion, but there was no ti for cody.
"Captain," Gio said, emphasizing the seriousness of his words.
"We need to leave now. I’ll explain everything when we get to safety. Right now the priority is to get as far away from this facility as fast as possible."
Raymond stared into his eyes with a grim expression.
"You know what we found out?"
"I do."
"You know more?"
"I do."
"Tch."
Raymond didn’t like it, but he didn’t question Gio’s backing. Rather, what he questioned was how large it truly was. By now, it was too late for him to wonder where Gio’s information ca from.
’I just have to trust him.’
He had been through too many tests. He waited patiently while he was doubted ti and ti again, trying to earn their respect at every step of the way.
He shouldn’t have been here in the first place. Amaya was the last person to let him accompany her without reason.
Raymond looked around, taking everything in one more ti before turning back to Gio.
Gio took his gaze without backing away. They held eye contact for several seconds before Raymond sighed again.
"Okay."
For the first ti, he decided to trust Gio’s whims.
For the first ti, he gave Gio a chance to really prove that all his talk wasn’t for nothing.
"Hey, pack it up! We’re running!"
Raymond yelled and grabbed the attention of the rest of the team.
"Captain? What do you– wait, why is Gio here?"
Jason was the only one who had enough ti to reply before Raymond started running. The rest were forced to follow them while Gio hopped back on Amaya’s back.
The explosions behind them continued even after they stopped fighting.
Rather, it was better to say that those explosions started the mont they started running.
They reached the tunnel Amaya and Gio ca through, leaving the chamber behind them. Only then did their pursuit beco what it was supposed to be from the beginning?
VOOOOOM!
All of a sudden, a massive blast of heat slamd at them from behind. Raymond stopped and blocked it with a wall of fire, his teeth gritted.
’Why now?’
They assud it was because they didn’t have weapons stored in the facility, but that was obviously not true. The laser cannon being blasted at them at this mont was proof enough.
So why were they only coming out now?
’They’re only attacking us like this because we’re fleeing now.’
Nothing else changed.
As they made their rush through the tunnel and reached the next chamber, the dark shadows on Raymond’s forehead only beca deeper.
There were enemies waiting for them in front and many chasing them from behind.
As everything ca together in Raymond’s head, he finally realized what Gio sensed in the security room.
’It’s a trap.’
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