Their journey to the ground floor went without incident, but the same could not be said for the ground floor. Almost instantly they ran into the yellow barrier that prevented them from moving further, while directly on the other side they found soldiers.
They were told to hold their position while the soldiers came to them for extraction. They were more than happy to obey those orders, except that right after they could hear something approaching them.
Peeking past a corner, they saw a pack of Mutts running by. If they were ordinary Mutts, merely in the Neophyte realm it would not have been a concern at all. But the sight of Mutts running by in a blur was enough to let them know that these Mutts were, at the very least, Initiates.
Even then they might have been able to hold on if they were in their best condition. Unfortunately, they were far from being in a good state. They could not even try going somewhere else, as not only would that increase their chances of being spotted, but the army would have to spend more time looking for them.
In the end, all they could do was retreat, and use Gabriel's red sand to build a wall blocking off the entrance to the hall where they were. Once fully blocked, Gabriel kept adding layers of sand to the wall, making it more durable.
His diligence paid off, because only a few minutes later something began attacking the wall. Gabriel's sand wall, which easily endured the attacks of the tentacles, suffering only minor damage, cracked under the very first attack.
But cracking didn't mean breaking, and with Gabriel consistently repairing and expanding the wall, they managed to buy themselves some time.
Nero and Maximilian prepared themselves for the inevitable fight, while the soldiers from the other side of the barrier simply watched. The rescue team had already been sent, but finding a way to Nero and the rest through uncharted territory was not easy.
The red wall eventually broke and ferocious Mutt dove in through the sand, angry and ready to fight. Yet the very moment his face was revealed, Maximilian blinded him using his ability while Nero attacked.
The Mutt managed to resist falling unconscious, but it was heavily distracted nevertheless. It put up no resistance as Nero sliced through its neck, for it was too disoriented. Unfortunately, it was not alone.
More Mutts attacked, but fortunately they were forced to use the small opening in the wall, which gave the others time to fight them off, while Gabriel tried to repair the hole itself.
The fight was a desperate one despite the huge advantage Maximilian's ability provided. Nero could not use his flames freely within their small confines, though he threw plenty of burning Snowflakes through the hole in attempts to slow down the Mutts.
They managed to kill three Mutts before one of them managed to avoid Maximilian's light beam. It was not disoriented, and so put up a much better fight. Despite his best attempts, Nero was ultimately not able to keep up with its speed. The Mutt smacked Nero across the small room and into the wall. Fortunately, it was not through the yellow barrier or that would have been bad.
From there, the fight became bloody and bitter as they all struggled to kill the Mutts while protecting themselves. Just as Nero began to consider desperate measures, such as lighting their tiny enclosure on fire and then forcefully trying to protect the others, the soldiers arrived.
It was a team of four Initiates led by an Arcanist who disposed of the Mutts within seconds. Gabriel finally let the sand wall collapse, while struggling to stay on his own feet.
"What are you lot doing here? Didn't you get the evacuation notice?" the team leader asked while the other soldiers used some emergency first aid on them, stopping their bleeding and allowing them to regain some semblance of strength.
Nero and Gabriel looked at each other, then towards Maximilian and Arter.
"We were sent to the basement to turn off the security node," Nero said slowly. He knew exactly what was to follow, and knew it couldn't be hidden so he might as well be proactive about it.
The soldier's expression suddenly changed. Nero and the rest didn't know this, but almost the entire team sent to the basement to turn off the security node had been decimated. Shirly had barely made it out under the protection of a few others.
The command centre barely had any hope of their success when the security node turned off. No one knew the situation of those who had managed the feat, and they were in no condition to mount a rescue operation either since not only did they not know where Nero and the rest were in the basement, there weren't enough able bodied Neophytes left.
Most of them were either severely wounded, dead, or had been evacuated for various reasons.
As such, the fact that Nero and the rest managed to get out on their own garnered the soldiers respect. But what Nero said next changed everything.
"We… we discovered a Vault down in the basement…" he whispered, looking directly at the Arcanist. He saw his pupils constrict and his expression suddenly change.
The Arcanist did not ask Nero any questions or confirm his statement. Instead, he pulled out a card and activated it.
"This is Fireteam Indigo-13, requesting emergency support for high value target evacuation! Requesting protocol Clean Sweep!"
Nero was unaware of whether the Arcanist got a response or not, for his entire team suddenly set themselves up as if they were expecting a siege. More importantly, Nero felt an invisible force wrap itself around him.
"It's for your protection," the Arcanist said, though Nero was more than certain that force would prevent any of them from running away. Not that any of them intended to run anyway. Arter wasn't even awake.
The strange yet heavy silence that had fallen over them lasted not even a full minute when Nero felt a distant, yet familiar sensation. It was the sensation of someone incredibly strong. Maybe even an Ascendant.
Nero had barely completed the thought when a woman wearing a plain cloth uniform rather than armour suddenly appeared in front of them, looking like she was ready for the fight of her life. Instead what she got were stares from a few, confused teenagers.
Before her own confusion could become evident, the Arcanist stepped forward and whispered something to her. The woman's expression suddenly changed.
Nero felt something in the air change around him, and suddenly he felt stronger. His weak body began recovering its strength faster, and his sluggish aether regained some of its normality.
"Hold on," she said, as chains came out of her hands and wrapped themselves around Nero, Gabriel, Maximilian and Arter. The next thing Nero knew, he was yanked forward, and being pulled along as the woman ran through the halls, her speed far too fast for him to understand where they were passing.
The very same invisible force that wrapped itself around Nero ended up serving its purpose well, as they were all protected from the whiplash of being pulled along at such fast speeds. All four of them were even flying, their legs prevented from touching the ground by a mystical force.
A few times, Nero was certain that the woman had encountered enemies, and even fought, but everything was happening so fast he could not be certain at all.
When she finally stopped, Nero found himself in the command centre, which was noticeably emptier. Yet before he could focus on the details, Nero felt a pair of hands grab him and lift him up.
His backpack was removed from his shoulder, his weapons and cards confiscated, and his armour removed. Everything was happening too fast for his weary mind to keep up. When he finally settled down, Nero discovered that he was laying nude, save his undergarments, on a medical bed while an entire team of doctors worked on each and every one of his wounds.
He felt a cold, comfortable energy course through his body healing all the aches and bruises. It felt so comfortable that Nero fell asleep without even realising.
When he came to, Nero could feel a severe headache but he didn't pay any attention to that. He was in a bed with a number of drips connected to his arms, and multiple bandages wrapped around his limbs and chest. There was a doctor taking notes nearby, muttering to himself while he wore a frown.
After a few seconds of waiting, when Nero realised that the doctor wasn't paying attention, he coughed to break the silence.
"You're awake?" the doctor said, with surprise and excitement in his voice. "Remarkable. Just as our tests indicated, your body is a lot stronger than what a regular Neophyte should have - no doubt a result of some miraculous drug from the Vault! What can you tell me-"
"That classified," a voice but through the doctor's question, as the same woman who had rescued Nero came walking in.
"Private Nero, I am Major General Ascendant Oana, and one of the commanding officers of the deployment in this research facility. Everything you experienced within the research facility is considered highly classified, and cannot be divulged to anyone without express permission to do so. Do you think you are well enough to be debriefed?
Your other teammates are all still asleep, recovering from the ordeal."