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xvi

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
<<十六>>

09/06/2090
9 p.m.

 ❝ y o o   m i - j o o ❞

she dodges the guards' bodies at the entrance, skillfully jumping over them with a gadget in hand. it is a computer, one Five needs to access the system. she was not Two, but her spells pass off a convincing-enough disguise. she darts around the tall iron walls, having memorized them in three days, taught by Five. 

it was a fifteen minute run to District Seven. "WERTT KSIUT CNFIDSPERDT!" she shouts in the air, using the greatest language of all time - Three's. it either meant "i have retrieved it" or "i have died from a banana peel". 

if Five understood, usually he would go for the first option.

"KUSITFR," came his immediate response, and she had to thank him for being born smart. she scuttled over to their usual spot, where she saw Five slouched over some rubble. "you got it?" he stands up as she comes into view. 

she holds up the computer in victory. "i got it."

(a/n: sorry but i just had to say... i see it, i like it, i want it, i got it. k sorry plz carry on)

his eyes lit up, and reaches forward to grab it, flipping it open the minute it touches his lap.

with just a click and a few taps, he is inside the now-vulnerable I.C.E. system. "how did you get in so quickly? the firewalls were quite strong," she frowns, looking at the excited man. he turns around to face her and gives her an amused look. "come on, Zero. i created them," he replies, turning back to the screen. she sighs. of course he did.

"they're still alive!" he squeals, almost dropping the computer as he stands. she manages to save it a hair's breadth before it grazed the floor. "careful!" she scolds, slapping the back of his neck. 

but she is excited as well. 

they are alive, and she didn't think anything else mattered. 

"we have to get them out," he looks at her with eyes shining with eagerness, but in all their euphoria, they both know that it would be stupid to charge into the building without preparation. 

"we need a plan," she says, and for once she is the cool-headed one. 

⚖

"this is too easy," Five mutters, stepping over the thee-hundredth body slumped on the floor. "easy, not thrilling, but definitely way safer," says Zero, as they make their way to the dungeon that they didn't even know existed. 

down, down, down they went, down the stairs and down the corridors, until the came to a dead end. the isolation chambers awaited on the other side. Zero strapped on a surgical glove, careful not to leave any fingerprints, and held the guard's hand up. she placed it on the sensor, which immediately gave off a green light. the door slid open, and they stalked straight in. 

there were seven chambers in total, but only six were occupied. inside, the Operations. they were weren't dead, but they didn't seem alive, either. 

well, at least still better than the first. 

she turns to Five. 

"i'll carry them."