In the face of a ring of fire sub-dragons, eX-0281 reminded himself to take a deep breath. This was a different terminal than the one in the west sector where eX-0704 would have escaped from. The enemy would have no reason to suspect them here.

Rather, the security officials tried to give them robotized warnings like anybody else.

"The City of Grandesia is undergoing a security threat currently," the lead sub-dragon said. "We can escort Victoria Carabotta to a containment cell on the surface for the time being."

eX-0281 held his ground, setting his icy glare in his direction. "You are interfering with the objectives of Grandesia Power Company in a crisis situation. We have orders to return to the city with the criminal immediately."

The sub-dragon faltered for a moment, seeming to question his own authority. Nevertheless, he fell back on the appropriate emergency protocol. "We have not yet received that order. As such, we will contact your company for confirmation."

A whining growl left eX-0281's throat, trying to let this other sub-dragon know that they were serious. "Do you think the higher-ups want to be bothered by the incompetent lizards at the security administration? Secondary confirmation does not change our orders. It only delays our mission. Escort us to a lift at once."

Immediately after his demand, eX-0704 made a more sympathetic remark. "We're going to receive reprimand if we're not able to do this one, simple thing. We already completed the impossible task of detaining Victoria Carabotta—just the two of us. Can you do some fellow sub-dragons a favor and just let us complete our mission?"

The sub-dragon in charge let out a massive sigh. "Very well." Still uncertain, he emphasized, "Just make sure you don't let Carabotta get away again! If you guys mess anything up, then it'll be our superiors coming down on our tails."

Both beaming with delight, eX-0281 and eX-0704 offered the sub-dragon salute which incorporated the wings.

The commander dismissed some of his men and had them resume their work elsewhere in the station. The remaining sub-dragons formed an entourage that guided the three of them past the normal security checkpoints for civilians. On a quest to rescue Charlotte's mom from detainment by the Grandesia Power Company, they were waltzing right through city security so far.

After making their way to a quiet area of the terminal, an elevator was powered on specifically for them. "Good luck down there," the leader said, standing by the door.

"Thank you." eX-0281 and eX-0704 entered the elevator with the Disco Menace between them.

Once the doors had shut after them, everyone let out a big sigh.

"That wasn't so bad now, was it?" eX-0281 asked.

"Certainly went better than I expected," eX-0704 said.

To celebrate quickly, they did their secret tail flick together. Back there, they had made a good team—one of them acting tough while the other went digging for sympathy.

"Yeah, no," the Disco Menace replied. "These vines are itchy." She wriggled around while the elevator slowly descended.

On the other side of the windows, they could see the lights of the city come into greater focus. Farther in the distance, a dark ring made up a void at the city center. The blackout of the central sector could still be witnessed from all the way up here.

Briefly, eX-0281 flipped on his [Night Vision] to see that the column of smoke from the reactor had died down from earlier. His regular sight could perceive a crisis much closer. Many trails of smoke drifted up from between the buildings, some with visible flames and broken glass.

The north sector was in chaos.

"That's where we're heading?" eX-0704 asked with a talon tapping against the window.

"Yeah," eX-0281 said softly. "Anything in particular we should expect?" He raised his voice with intent to ask the Disco Menace.

"The ecoterrorists and provocateurs of the protest should have all been arrested by now—along with plenty of other innocent parties. Still, anyone fleeing from the area should be on edge. Stay alert in case anybody tries to attack you guys. That GPC logo on your chest looks like a target to a mob."

"Understood," eX-0281 said, shifting uncomfortably in his uniform.

"It should be useful when we get to the jailhouse. Any chance you guys want to sneak in and get Lottie's mom out just like you tricked those guys up top?"

eX-0281 and eX-0704 exchanged a look. "I mean, we can try."

"I'll probably need to get a new helmet to pass convincingly in any official context," eX-0704 said mournfully.

Their rough appearance had made their story back at the security terminal more convincing, but now in the city, it called unwanted attention onto them. Attention was the last thing that they wanted when the current plan involved blending in with other sub-dragons.

eX-0281 had worried about eX-0704's helmet too. "I suspect we can steal one," he began. "Or I can go in alone and call you guys for backup if there's any trouble."

The lift had made its descent such that the height of the other buildings passed them by. At this rate, they would soon reach the ground and have to be ready for action.

"We'll scope it out when we get there. Hey! Would you mind cutting me loose now?"

After glancing at each other, eX-0281 and eX-0704 tried to weigh the cost and benefit of keeping her tied up. More likely, they would run into a group of disgruntled protesters than they would GPC personnel. It would look better to have the Disco Menace untied, and perhaps she could reason things out with any antagonistic civilians.

"Fine," eX-0704 said with a big huff. "I guess we had our fun."

"Thanks for playing along." eX-0281 sliced the vines with a singular claw.

The Disco Menace rubbed her wrists, scratching at them a little bit. Apparently they really were itchy. "I marked the jailhouse on the map. Your navigation isn't working, so just follow me."

Goal point set: Grandesia Security Administration Police Station

Warning: cannot get fix on Member: eX-0281.

Trying for fix….

Trying for fix….

The small error message drew his attention. It was reassuring to have confirmation that his location tracking had been disabled.

eX-0281 examined the map where the destination had been set. Normally, the most efficient route would have been planned for him ahead of time. Without a GPS supplying his own data, that was all the feature was to him: a fancy map.

Warning: cannot get fix on Member: eX-0281.

Trying for fix….

The periodic error notifications were suppressed so that eX-0281 could focus on the task at hand. Oddly enough, eX-0704 had been added to their party when going through security earlier, and his icon appeared on the minimap in an entirely different sector.

What a stupid glitch. 704 is right here!

The elevator doors opened up, revealing the secured position that the Security Administration sub-dragons had against the rest of the city.

A crowd had been backed away from the elevators. Some of the people at the front had angry, shouting faces that demanded to leave the city as scheduled.

The other travelers who lingered around the north elevator terminal had quietly accepted the fact that the lifts were delayed. Their worried whispers underpinned the angry shouts. Although much of the line had thinned out entirely, there were still many people who were too afraid to go home.

Every sub-dragon stood in a defensible position, guns clutched tightly in their claws. It made a shiver run up eX-0281's spine.

"We're not gonna want to come back this way," eX-0704 muttered under his breath.

"Don't worry about it," the Disco Menace said. "I'll have another way to get us out of the city."

For now, they strode past the barricades easily enough with official permission from the security administration.

As they moved closer to the hectic heart of the north sector, some sirens blared louder and voices could be heard shouting. Glass was smashed down the street as two men were busting their way into a shop.

"Somebody hired the cops!" the more observant fellow gasped.

When the other man jumped to full attention, his laughing eyes brushed over eX-0281 and eX-0704 with the Disco Menace. "Nah, that's just the GPC. They're taking care of the rioters not the looters. You gotta look at the logo, dumbass." His hand swung around to hit his buddy on the back of his head.

"Sorry," he mumbled, holding his head with both hands.

eX-0281 and eX-0704 shared a confused look. They shrugged and figured that what the looters had said was about right; it was none of their business.

The shopkeeper was the one who had neglected to protect his business. Security in the city was enforced by owners guarding their own property, hiring the official police companies, or aligning themselves with whichever gang ran the north sector. That was the way things worked in Grandesia.

The Disco Menace seemed to view the situation differently. Striding forth, she stood with her feet set squarely in front of them. Beneath the discotech mask, she was probably smiling wildly.

"Hey boys," she called with a whistle. "Looks like we got a couple of ecoterrorists over here."

"What?" one man gasped.

"Hey man—woman…" the other one stuttered. "Aren't you the one who started it all?"

Hollering over to eX-0281 and eX-0704, she said, "Don't you think it'll be more convincing if we take in a few sorry saps to the jailhouse?"

"Uh, sure?" eX-0281 felt confused, not quite sure if she meant that or the Disco Menace was just looking for an excuse to stop the looters.

"Ah, no!"

"Let's get out of here!"

Both of the lowlifes tried running in different directions, but eX-0281 and eX-0704 blasted forward with their wings and detained each one easily.

"You're under arrest for charges of ecoterrorism against Grandesia Power Company." eX-0281 had no idea why he bothered with spewing out the formal lines, but it felt natural to say when seizing somebody.

"What? No! You've got it all wrong, man—er, dragon sir."

The other man in eX-0704's claws was much more rowdy. "I don't give a fuck about the environment!" he barked, as if that made him sound any better.

"Thanks, guys," the Disco Menace said, clapping her palms together cheerfully. "I'm serious. Liz 2, you can bring these guys in while me and my Liz wait on standby."

"Ah, I see." eX-0281 had been thinking that he could take the Disco Menace in with him, but this seemed like a good revision to the plan. It would probably be easier for him to trick the other sub-dragons without such a high-profile criminal like Victoria Cabarotta arousing suspicion.

"I guess this is the plan?" eX-0281 and eX-0704 dragged along the lazy louts who they could use as props.

It almost scared eX-0281 how well their plan was working so far. The impromptu mission had been too short notice to go off without a hitch, so while they made their way to the police station, his feet began to trudge heavier with a sense of foreboding.