Chapter 10
Wraith and the crew had finally arrived at their destination and things were getting spooky. Wraith was used to these kinds of grime, gloom, and glum because it reminded him of his room back before it got destroyed. His house that caught in the fire was one of the things he loved most about life. This was because Wraith hated a lot of things about life in the first place life the bad stuff. He especially hated when people broke into your house and stole things like electronics and other items. One of the items he especially hated people stealing was salad bowls. Wraith was a vegan (a staunch one at that), so when he heard from his mom that one time a guy broke into the house and stole all the kitchenware, he got blisteringly furious. He could not believe some jerk would stoop to that kind of level and steal the stuff that mattered most to him. Salad bowls could be used for more than just storing lettuce for eating. They could also be used to put in carrots, onions, cashews, kale, spinach, fruit slices, onions, chive, radishes, celery, cucumbers, zucchini, and organic dressings.
One of the worst parts about stealing a salad bowl is the loss of opportunity entailing the bowl. These opportunities include the ability to write stories based on aliens and astronauts. Wraith remembered when his younger days exemplified this type of innocent behavior. Wraith and his friends from the lower grades would wear the salad bowls on their heads and run around with them pretending to be the people in their imaginations. Wraith remembered one of his friends would play the evil alien overlord who had enslaved the people on a planet that he did not own previously. This bad guy literally stole the planet and laid claim to all of its resources and would no longer give the inhabitants the benefits of living. This was truly a terrible deed on his part. Thinking back about the times pretending gave Wraith a deep appreciation for how open-minded he and his friends were about serious issues like this. It was one thing to be a king, but to be a king and steal lives away to turn into slaves was a serious moral offense. This is the kind of thing bad people do to good people and then they also know that it's a heinous crime. Wraith never knew why people did such things, even when he took an ethics course at Starlight High. The things that went on in some people's heads was unthinkable at times. Just what did anyone benefit from if they appreciated their own madness. Maybe it was something psychological and that is exactly what brought them out of their own tumultuous recollections of themselves. Maybe they did it out of a yearning for attention and were just a bunch of weirdos and criminals who didn't care who they hurt. This may be because they already got hurt by the people around them. Maybe their parents had to work busy jobs and couldn't spend time with them like the rich kids are portrayed in cartoons. Wraith knew one thing for sure though, if you're going to act this way you should seek out help and stop trying to figure out things for yourself. More often than not, the bad things like desires and hatred will take over the person's mind and that can turn them into a hideous monster with evil thoughts about humanity. It is not a good thing to think about, but it kept Wraith up at night thinking about these kinds of things. This was especially apparent when he wore the wrong kinds of socks as opposed to some more relaxing and fitting pairs.
This new adventure that he and his three friends were about to embark on were living, breathing proof that he might have to reencounter these types of bad attitudes. Wraith recognized the hatred that some people had and that this could turn them into bullies like what had happened to Murray the Armadillo. These new foes were not like Murray however. No, the Treasure Hunters were going to be far worse; he could feel it so strongly. He knew that whoever was lurking in this are would be the type of bad people like his father. These baddies would be bent on greed for other reasons and he bet their boss, whoever it was, would be the type of criminal mastermind with a huge, terrifying goal in mind. He knew this because all the superhero movies did this. Even though it would be cliché like this, he knew that this was probably the way everyone acted. It was either for that cause or for revenge. And revenge was something that Wraith felt sympathetic about, but was also sad about because he wanted the best for everyone and not the worst for someone even if it was just one individual with a semi-reasonable cause.
Knuckles was the prime example of a guy with frustrations, yet morally just attitudes. He was a real guy with the strength to back up his emotions and that's really great. However, it all really depends on just who you are to begin with. A lot of good people can end up on the dark side and a lot of good people can be brought back to the good side. Wraith knew deep down that the Treasure Hunters were a big gain of folks with these very same problems, so he had to remain focused and not let his feelings for their safety get the best of him. They may try to take advantage of his caring attitude and this would spell doom for not just him, but also for Empire which was already weakened enough due to Knuckles's death.
Enoch parked the plane a ways off from the actual destination however. In retrospect this probably was not the best thing for him to do because the walk led them along a crazy, convoluted path with difficult navigation for them. Even though Wraith had a simple enough time getting through, his other three companions were older fellows so it took them a harder time to make progress. Wraith hated this about old people and thought that it was really good that people aged sometimes, but not during situations such as now.
It took seemingly eons to actually arrive at the foot of the base and the nearness was a relief to all since it took forever. Wraith was excited, but also scared because there were big bad boss villains all around them now. He was about to scream because his emotions got so high and freaked out. He did not do so though because he knew better and could control his emotions pretty well now, especially thanks to Kit's wise guidance.
They were at the base, and that was that. The next thing they had to do was break their way in and carry out the duty. The plan was simple. Kit and Wraith had stocked up on EMP bombs. Intel stated that the Treasure Hunter base contained a reactor core that powered all of the organization's equipment. The four of them would infiltrate the base, find the core, and blow it up with the EMPs. This would be a good thing for them. It wouldn't completely defeat the Treasure Hunters, but it would slow them down up until the next phase of war. The last thing the guys had to do was escape unseen. They might not want their identities found. However, it would still be okay since the Treasure Hunters would probably have technology to dust for fingerprints and find the true culprits. Even though Wraith and the gang all wore gloves (save Enoch and his robot suit), they would still be able to find out quite easily who did it. This is because the Treasure Hunters had really, really, really good technology. There was no escape. However, if you could sneak past the whole mess in the beginning, there would be more chances for survival. Wraith didn't want to be caught regardless because he was sure he would get attacked by his father again and he did not want to see that man. However, Wraith still wanted to know more about the society and what their true goal was. It was all still very mysterious and thought-provoking to him and he hated that almost as much as he hated Sonic.
The four of them stuck together the whole time. They decided they would not split up until they got into the base and did the snooping. Luckily, there was an entrance finally found with Enoch using his special vision his robot suit's helmet had access to. He used it and found a spot that looked like a garbage chute. "What goes down must come up," said Enoch reassuringly.
"We go inside there, we end up in the trash bay. It'll be guarded either way, just not on the outside. Inside is a whole different story," said Kit. Everyone nodded in agreement. They all could see there were no guards outside the chute, which was still kind of weird. However, they all agreed that it was probably because most Treasure Hunters have an enhanced olfactory sense, meaning the odor may cause bad things to happen to their minds. Wraith imagined what would happen to his father if he caught a whiff of that stench. It would have probably driven him more mad that usual and that was quite the scary thought. Wraith felt a little scared himself now; how would the four of them survive the climb up such a smelly cavern?
"How will we approach this ordeal?" asked Wraith wide-eyed and concerned with smell chaos.
Kit reached into the backpack he was carrying on his shell and took out a thing. It was a bag that had another thing in it. He pulled out a pair of earplugs and showed them all that they could be used as nose plugs too. "Am I right or am I right, man?" he said with the nose of his plugged.
"You're just too smart for Empire, Kit," praised Ken. He grabbed one of the ear plug pairs and stuck them up his nostrils just like Kit did. He felt smarter with them in and knew a lot about being safe now.
"I'll do it too so that way the safety is reassured," said Wraith proudly as he plugged his nostrils too.
Kit was about to hand Enoch his pair, but Enoch held his robotic palm out in refusal. "I'm already all set, Kit." He pressed a button on his helmet and the helmet sprouted two mechanical sticks that went up his nose and expanded to completely fill them up for the utmost protection.
Kit was taken aback by just how versatile Enoch's robot body was. He did not even need the help of Kit and his nose plug-turned ear plugs. "You might be even smarter than me when it comes to things like this, man," he complimented.
"Far from, my friend," replied Enoch humbly.
"We need to stop chatting even though it is healthy," said Wraith abruptly and they all sighed to clear their minds and then open them to the next phase.
"Let's get in that chute, guys," said Ken.
"I think now is a good time," said Kit.
The four Empire members snuck as quietly as they could over to the trash chute. Enoch boosted them all up it by using his hands as a lift. He boosted up his friends by letting them step on his hands and then he shot them upward. Each caught a hold of the chute's innards and proceeded to crawl skyward. When he got all three up, he scrunched into a squatting position and then himself up with great force. It was somewhat surprising to Wraith that Enoch was so agile. However, he reminded himself that Enoch was a hard worker and with that kind of dedication, the benefits were large and plentiful. Enoch really knew how to use his mechanical body like a pro and this was really kind of cool to Wraith. He wondered what it would be like if he had a robot body himself, but cringed a tad at the fact of being limbless. He wouldn't wish this type of state on even his worst enemy (but maybe the Treasure Hunters if he found out they truly deserved it).
As they climbed up, Wraith could still smell the horrid rancid stench through the nose plugs. He tried hard not to breathe in the foul air, but sometimes it was mostly impossible. He just had to grin and bear it as if he was eating a slice of pizza that had mold all over it, but there was nothing else in the house to eat. This was unpleasant for everyone, he continuously had to remind himself. He did feel better when Kit signaled that he saw the ending of the tunnel. He motioned for everyone to prepare themselves for anything and they all prepared wisely for this time. Wraith heard Kit slug out of the exit and this excited him because he totally wanted to get out. This tube was evil with smell.
Wraith made his way to the opening and breathed a sigh of relief. The victory was short-lived however. The four of them were still in quite the foul-smelling area. This place was where all the trash was and it smelled about three thousand times worse than anything yet. Wraith almost puked due to the absolute death-ridden odor that abounded the room. This should have been expected, of course. This was the room connected to the pipe. It would make sense that all the trash would be stored there. Wraith couldn't bear it though and just wanted to get the mission done as soon as possible. He just wanted to go home and take a shower for thirty years of so. It was really that bad of a smell and that just is not the best of times for anyone.
"Just be glad it isn't summer," said Ken. "Should have that been the case, this lot would've killed anyone who came near it on the spot."
"Dartmouth…" said Wraith between his teeth. His nosed burned, but he was still pretty grateful that he had the nose plugs. Without them, he would probably be dead. The stench was stronger than a superhero who could crush cars with his fists. "Is there at least an exit out of this trash room?" He made a slight whining noise because he realized his clothes were getting drenched in the gross fluids. Would he ever be able to get this scent out of them?
"There is a pair of doors up ahead and I'm reckon nobody wants anyone getting in or out," said Kit in an examining way with authority. He walked up to door and pressed his head against it. He listened for signs of the outside. "So here is the bad news, man…" He turned around to face his posse. "There are two guards out in front guarding this door. Fortunately, they're probably some lower level scum of the Treasure Hunters who won't amount to much of a hassle to trounce. However, if they're just chumps picked to guard stuff, then they probably have hot connections with the big guys. We need to be really careful in this case. We need to find a way out of this room without alerting either of them or any potential unforeseen passersby."
"Well, what good info is that?" said Ken. He was frustrated and also agitated due to the terrible smell in the room. He crossed his arms and snorted in displeased disgust.
"I could pound through the wall," said Enoch. "But that is really, really risky to do, so I won't. Maybe there is a way to draw them away from the door and carefully pry it open."
"Our best case is for the door to open without us doing so," said Kit.
"Maybe we can distract them with noises in here and then they'll come in to see what's going on," suggested Wraith. "We can knock them out then."
"I like the plan, but not the ending," said Enoch. "We need to only sneak past them. If we knock them out, we run risk of alerting the organization of our presence. Our mission is simple: get in, bomb placement, vacate. No need to muddy this quest with unnecessary action, right?"
"That's a good point. Sorry if we didn't like your end, Wraith," said Kit.
"It's okay. I totally agree with Enoch," said Wraith. "Thanks to your suggestion we can be much safer with this, Enoch."
"I know," reaffirmed Enoch with a artful tilt of his head.
"Can we just put this plan into effect already. I don't think my nose can take much more of this," whined Ken.
"Ken's right, man," said Kit with more wise eyes than normal. "The more time we dawdle in here, the more of a risk we have of blowing the whole thing before we do anything."
"A wise scholar once said 'Time is valuable; don't spend it all on admiring said value'," said Enoch with even wiser eyes than Kit for a second, but it all quickly faded because he was not as much in that position.
"Then let's move, Kit," said Wraith. "Tell us when."
Kit picked up a loose pipe and prepared to hurl it at the door. "Prepare to move into the shadows. Blend in here and then use the time in which they investigate the recesses. We move out shortly after they move in. No excuses. Be very careful and try not to alert them in any way, shape , or form. Got it?" Everyone nodded their confirmation for receiving the proper instructions. "Then I will begin the distraction, man." He hurled the pipe at the door and it made a loud CLANG against it. Both objects were metal and this really made a distracting reverberation across the location. Surely this would attract a lot of attention so the four could escape flawlessly.
Unfortunately, it did not seem like the ones outside had actually heard Kit's implemented distraction. It was either that as the case or the people outside did not even really seem to care anyway. The reason for this was a mystery so Kit tried again. He picked up another heavy metal object, another pipe, and launched it with his strength at the door. The two forces met and the sound made itself known again. However, despite Kit's best efforts, no one came to the door still. Kit slowly approached the door and put his head to it again. He listened and could still tell there were guards right outside. Why were they not inspecting the loud noise that he made? It was almost as if they did not even care. Kit grew a bit frustrated with the whole deal. He wondered how the guards could be so nonchalant about hearing noises. This could be a much bigger deal than was initially led onto be. Kit was just not respectful that the guards treated their positions so blatantly uncaringly. He kicked the door several times and then jumped back into his position, ready to sink into the shadows and move onward with the plan. Still nothing.
"What is going on?" said Wraith concerned with anger and puzzled expressions on his face. "I don't see why they won't answer the door when it makes noises like that."
"It smells so bad in here," whined Ken. "Can we please find another way then?"
"It's too late for that now…" said Enoch suddenly. Everyone turned to him in astonished awe. "They have already figured out we're here…"
"How so?" said Wraith.
"Do you hear that?" Enoch looked up and saw that one of the wheels on the ceiling had started squeakily rotating. It was a part of some pulley system and the future was starting to look grim for the four of them. The walls let out a harsh clanking sound and suddenly began caving inward.
"Dartmouth! It's like that scene from the sci-fi movie!" said Wraith in scared life feelings. "What do we do now?"
"So they already found us?" mused Kit. "No matter. Now we can be as reckless as we want." Kit punched his fist together and they lit up somewhat. The gleam caught Wraith by surprise; he had never seen Kit use any sorts of powers just yet. This was an exciting sight to behold and Wraith wondered what would happen next. "Here we go, fellas…" Kit roared and steam came out of his body like he was on fire on the inside. He lunged toward the door and smashed it open, breaking into the Treasure Hunter base for the first time. "Hello, Dolly."
The two guards that had been keeping watch over the door were super surprised to see the intruder right in front of them. They quickly aimed their heavy duty blasters at Kit and fired great shots at him. Kit skillfully evaded all of the incoming bullets and ammo. He dodged like a movie star in sci-fi movies that Wraith was fond of (yet hated for scientific inaccuracies). Kit was so good at avid the attack and ran up to the first guy and delivered a sick uppercut to his jaw. He then spun around and kicked the other guard in the face and sent him hurtling into a back wall. Some other guards caught wind of this assault and ran toward the scene with guns at the ready. Kit steadied his mind and connected his insides with his fists and power. He ran through the line of new baddies and broke them to pieces as he brought them all to their knees. Kit had such amazing strength and was a real champion when it came to fighting with true heart and mind.
Wraith and the others emerged from the opening to assist Kit with his fight. "There's a lot of them. We need to help Kit!" he said heroically and with ready eyes on his ready face. Kit worked alongside Ken with their backs to one another and quickly and accurately moved with strength to take down the attackers. Enoch worked by himself, using his robot body with robot limbs and other stuff to take out all the guards who attacked him. Wraith was really proud that they were all doing a good job even though Kit was clearly better and this was surprising because he looked much less agile which is stereotypically tortoise-related.
Wraith moved in with his fists and tried to mimic Kit's strong thinking. He wanted fists with fire and attack, but he could not because he did not understand how Kit did it in the first place. This was not bad, because he was still able to seriously knock out his foes. It was just something that he seriously needed to learn from Kit how to do because Knuckles did not teach him how that was possible in the first place. It would be really useful for future events because fire fists were utilized for power and also they looked "hot". Wraith would ask Kit later, but should know it now since the people he was going to face later would be even tougher, so he thought. He needed that guidance now and really wished that Knuckles was there to be his guide for that. But Knuckles was dead and this made everyone sad and a little mad because it was the Treasure Hunters' fault in the first place for his killing. Everyone should learn to fight their best with full potential because then the Treasure Hunters would receive the true what's for.
"How do I do his move?" Wraith asked Ken.
"I don't know," said Ken who just succeeded in seriously nailing a baddie between his two stupid eyes in a helmet. He turned to look for more ambushes. There were none so he went back to karate chopping some other guys. "Maybe Kit will teach us when we get home, or at least a break from the chaos going around in here."
"I hope you're right," said Wraith. "I want to pulverize all the bad people here at the Treasure Hunters base like my dad. They'll all pay for what they did to my best friend in the whole wide world."
"Quite noble."
"I know right. I once won a prize at school for how good I think." He then smashed the helmet right off an oncoming attacker. The hit was so smooth as silk, that it literally split the helmet in half like a coconut on the beach. The guy felt immense pain in his cranial region and fell to the ground defeated. He was still alive, but Wraith could tell that this man was not getting back on his feet any time soon due to the harshness of the blow. Wraith smirked at his talent because he knew this was not even one tenth of his power in full exertion. Given a bigger mass of problems, Wraith would be even better and stronger for attacking and would seriously deliver the biggest attack possible and save many, many lives in the process. "OH SNAP!" He excitedly spun around and delivered the most impressive roundhouse kick that Ken had ever seen. The kick collided with seven other guards and combined them into one cluster of pain and misery. The kick was so strong, that it almost mixed up the molecules inside the air to create a nuclear strike. Ken could have sworn he saw some sparks and smoke come out of Wraith's whole leg as a result of the attack.
"That attack was clean!" complimented Enoch, who quickly dispatched a few more guards with his strong robotic abilities. "You should really hone that skill, Wraith. If you do, you can really fight to your maximum potential."
"Given the correct amount of time and attention paid to it, you may be able to win battles like these in a snap," added Ken. "Literally, you could have this entire battle won with just a flick of the wrist."
"I'll keep that in mind, but we first have to win this whole ordeal. Kit needs us and we'll be in big trouble if someone other than a toady arrives," said Wraith with a concerned look in his eyes and a frown that spoke anxiety in a mental sense. He could feel the presence of a much more harmful foe on the rise and he wanted to make sure he saved the day from harm like this.
Meanwhile Kit was really taking out the trash when it came to the onslaught of Treasure Hunter fodder. He whipped around like a madman on a really powerful scooter with jets. He moved with speeds so contrary to people's beliefs about tortoises. He was faster than a speeding bullet at times and that was enough to make the baddies lose a lot. The faster they thought he could be, the more surprises came their way. Kit was just so good at his technique. The fight was in his grasp like a deck of cards with a soul attached to it. Kit was really doing a good job and sooner or later, all of the guards would be cleared away.
The future was looking really bleak for these guys, but Kit knew better than to get a big head over the matter. He had to round up his time battling quick and then grab his teammates and get into a safer area to hide their presence. The Treasure Hunters were now aware of their presence, but that did not mean that they could still sneak. He remembered a thing Knuckles used to say to him relating to fears and espionage.
"I ain't gonna let it get to me, I'm just gonna creep…" Knuckles's words echoed in Kit's mind. He knew that he could do his best whupping major tush here, but who really cared in the long run? All that mattered now was covert maneuvers and hasty decision-making was abounding them at this point. Kit could not afford this kind of speed in thinking regards, so he had to wrap up his time wisely and efficiently so that the main phase of the infiltration could be undertaken. Kit and the others had to hide because pretty soon the bigger and stronger members would arrive on the scene to rip them to shreds. Kit knew deep down in his heart that it would be completely impossible to take down these kinds of guys in big numbers, so they had to all act wisely as a team.
There were four guards left and they all charged in unison at the wise, old Tortoise. He waited a moment and then jumped up with great agility. The four noobs collided with some pretty rotten force. The impact of the four colliding was enough to knock each one out. Kit landed back on the ground from his jumping evasion and walked away to meet up with the others. He knew they needed his guidance for this mission or else really bad stuff would happen during it. He concealed his smile though, because he was truly satisfied with how good he beat the folks he challenged. He was especially grateful that the training he did with Wraith had paid off and expanded his fighting strength. His glowing fist technique had greatly benefitted from this discipline and that meant only a few more of those such training days would beef him up to an entirely new level of top tier glory.
He turned the corner and was pleased to see that the other three Empire members were already finished with the dispatching process. All the guards had either been knocked out cold or preoccupied with coma. Kit walked over to the three and said everything was fine and taken care of. Wraith high fived him and they all went off to begin doing more with the base's inside. The next step was to hide away. After that, the four of them would find the desired location to bomb the reactor.
"Should be a piece of cake, right?" said Wraith with a reassured look, but with a sort of worn out-looking body begging for sleep and rest. He shook his jacket off and smiled. "Nice to see I didn't even manage a scratch on this puppy, huh? I've got a slick nick for this quick pick, babe!" He proudly stared off into the distance. He suddenly frowned and looked gravely at Kit. "Kit, how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," Kit replied. "I got a lot out of that last training sesh we had. Really boosted my power levels, man."
"Enough idle chat, friends," said Enoch looking a tad exhausted, but his robot body was really healthy-looking. "I think we'd best seek refuge before they send more fodder after us."
"How do we even manage, guy?" said Ken, looking desperate and out of breath. He was definitely freaking out about everything now. The future of being here certainly looked like it freaked him out. Wraith wondered if he regretted becoming friends with him. Wraith was kind of a bad luck charm, but at least he was good-looking.
"We manage by sticking close together, taking our time, and not doing anything incredibly stupid," said Kit with determination like a soldier.
"So phase two is underway then," said Wraith. "We hide in the shadows until we get info on the base's locations. The inside should have the reactor somewhere really near."
"It's just gotta be in here," said Ken. "I'm really worried they use some sort of other thing to power this place. Maybe they use a big monster to spin a turbine in order to produce the ample amount of energy. It's just some food for thought. Think about it, though; these guys here can be totally bonkers at times."
"Ken is slightly correct in some ways," nodded the approvals of Enoch. He slowly walked over and placed a robot hand on his worrying friend's shoulder in order to try to calm him down. "The issue now is that we're stuck here until we find a solution to every reason why we're here."
"Enoch, you're a smart guy, but I'm smarter," said Kit. "Therefore we do what I say because I don't trust your guidance over mine. Everybody knows better about that anyway so I shouldn't have to repeat myself."
Wraith nodded and so did Ken. Enoch sighed, but believed the words to be true. "I am eternally in debt to you anyway, Kit. You have proven to be of your worth multiple times in this world. Please try your hardest to guide us with fruitful ambition."
"That's my middle name, man." With that, Kit led his team into a darker area and they made their way into the ventilation system. They all hid out in here and crawled around the base throughout the network of tunnels. Kit was able to map out the entire base's interior and now had a stronger grasp on how to handle what was now before them. He worked hard to understand all of the connections and also confirm strong grasps of the best route to victory.
There was only one problem still abounding from this tactic. The problem was that no one caught sight of any indication of the reactor. Kit was starting to get disbelieving about the whole situation. He then considered that maybe Ken was onto something. Maybe the energy source was generated by another means other than the most obvious. This meant strategies were about to evolve hopefully. Kit knew that if there was a reactor, then there would need to be vents around to ensure there were no overheating problems. However, none of the vents were connected to area suggesting such a device's existence. It appeared that the only thing to proceed doing was search for an explanation for all this.
Wraith was getting annoyed, however. He saw a lot of Treasure Hunters down below. They were all less strong-looking than Sonic though. They were all either guards (like the ones from before) or lab workers such as doctors and scientists. He was bothered by the fact that there was not a single hint of a boss with burly biceps or at least an interceder rivaling Sonic's prowess. Everyone he saw was just a dorky soldier with no life. He wondered if the Treasure Hunters were really a big deal in the first place. There didn't seem to be any hints of any top-tier members around anywhere.
Then it hit him like a brick for the building. There were two pieces of the puzzle missing from this quest so far: the reactor and the stronger members. Wraith's instincts told him that the two must be collected in the same area together. He motioned to Kit and the others that he had a hypothesis. He told the three about the issue and his opinion about the matter and they seemed to agree with him.
Ken was the only one to shake his head though. "Well, how in the world do we even find them now? Our sneaking around will get busted so easily if we can't travel by vent."
"Don't worry," said Kit slyly. "There's still one more approach we didn't attempt yet, man." Kit called the others to sneak into a different area. He led them to an area that looked like a bathroom. The others wondered why Kit would lead them here. "Can't you see? We checked every spot except the really, really deep recesses of this establishment. We have yet to access the sewer system to gain more info."
"How do we access it? You can't be serious about jumping down a toilet or something, right?" remarked Enoch with a stern sense of rudeness and waning disrespect for Kit's brain.
Kit was taken aback slightly by how Enoch was behaving, but he knew it was just hard to hear especially since they're last escapade almost cost them their olfactory systems. He smiled and pointed down at a manhole cover underneath one of the sinks. "Do you guys know what they say about manhole covers? There's a whole 'nother world under there, man. You ready to get dirty once again?"
"No, but I'll do it for Empire's sake, I suppose," said Ken with reluctance on his tongue.
Wraith almost felt like he was going to puke, but he held it back and gave a thumb-up to Kit. "I'mma go through with it, but you owe me when we get done with all this stupid stuff, Kit."
"Enoch?" said Kit expectantly.
"Well…" whined Enoch to himself. "All right, but only because Wraith here says you're in the owing position. When we get back, you WILL polish my suit and clean out all the crud that creeps into the crevices. It's absolutely sickening to think about and especially hard to do myself given I don't really have any hands by my own standards."
"I'll do that 'cause I care, man. But now is a better time than never. No one is in here so we need to break in and blast off that cover. Then we'll sneak in and find out what's down below. Are we all ready?" Everyone nodded to indicate they're individual readiness. "Then let's get crackin'!"