Disclaimer: I don't own Noblesse.

Author's note: Happy new year, dear readers! I hope you are not as sleep-deprived as I am. Enjoy the chapter!


Chapter 54: Doom's eve

The facility waited. The deep humming sound of working machines, resembling a big sleeping animal, filled every room, constant and unchanging.

The white neon light never darkened. The facility slept with open eyes. Cameras stared down into corridors and laboratories, silently recording their observations.

Heavy boots pounded tiled floors and echoed through empty halls. Clothes rustled as overworked scientists changed their sitting position, peering through microscopes and on results pages without grasping the information.

In a small laboratory, the soft clicking of a keypad accompanied the humming.

Hyun Ae worked as fast as she could. It had been a hard fight to shake off the tenacious tiredness. Now and then, her eyes threatened to close on their own accord. Even standing at the console was exhausting.

Now that should suffice, she thought as she saved the file information and halfheartedly tried to cipher it. My luck that the data is stored centrally and every measuring instrument and imaging device is connected to the intranet.

She started when suddenly a voice spoke behind her.

"What would you be doing here, my dear?", asked Crombel.

"Passing the time", she replied slowly while turning around to him. She met his suspicious glare with a steady gaze of her own. "You wouldn't expect me to sleep right now, would you?"

"Indeed not", said Crombel with a smirk. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Hyun Ae wanted to snap at him, but bit her tongue. A thought formed in her head.

"Yes, you could do something for me", she said, trying to sound casually. "Show me proof that M-21 and Cruor are still alive."

"My pleasure", said the scientist and offered her his arm. "Though I do not remember that M-101 was included in our little deal."

"Not that I had planned to get rid of him anytime soon", he added after he saw her shocked expression.

Remembering the way they went proved impossible in Hyun Ae's still dizzy head. She let Crombel escort her around countless corners, through steel doors and up stairwells until they arrived again in his office with the cream-colored sofa.

She thought dimly that the facility must be a lot bigger from the inside than it seemed from the outside. A large part of it had been built underground. The artificial light chased away the conception of night- and daytime.

Hyun Ae sank down on the soft cushions, already tired from walking, like a sick person.

"Do you really think you need those benzos to keep me peaceful?", she mumbled.

"Sometimes I like to keep things easy", replied Crombel from his desk. "So I can invest the saved energy into something else. Come have a look!"

Hyun Ae forced herself to her feet and walked over to where Crombel sat to peer over his shoulder. The three monitors in front of him displayed surveillance videos. One white room was empty, the other two were occupied. M-21 lay on his back, hands crossed behind his head, calmly gazing up to the ceiling; Cruor paced the room restlessly.

She stood for a few minutes motionless, bent nearer to the monitors, observing the two men. She felt as if she had already forgotten their features, the way they moved. Would she have to decide whom to save and whom to abandon that moment, she would not have known how she would have chosen.

Her gaze fell on the timer.

"That is not sufficient", she said, straightening up.

"How so?", asked Crombel, turning around to her in his chair, hand under is chin.

"It is child's play to manipulate those videos", said Hyun Ae. "They could have been recorded ages ago. You would only have to change the timer. That won't do. I want to see them in person. I won't come quietly otherwise."

"You do realize that you are in no position to force me to do anything", drawled Crombel, putting his fingertips together.

Hyun Ae stood her ground, shoulders tensed, crossing her arms. "I do believe your little helpers would have another opinion", she hissed and bared her sharp teeth. "Seventeen scientists. Word is bound to come around."

Crombel shrugged and stood up.

"And here I thought I could make it a bit easier on you", he said with mock concern. "If they become a danger to scientific enlightenment, I shall have to terminate them."

"They don't have to see me", said Hyun Ae. "I just want to make sure they're alright. I don't give a shit for your 'word as a scientist'."

"My, my", mumbled Crombel, shaking his head.

As Hyun Ae turned around at the door, she found that he was still at his desk, typing something. While she watched, he pressed one last key and came over to her.

Out of her line of vision, the middle monitor displayed the message 'data 034Z1 erased'.

Cruor was unsuccessfully trying to calm his nerves. He hoped that Crombel might pass it off as boredom or annoyance, should he watch him pacing up and down the room.

He was scared someone might have noticed the blind spot between two surveillance cameras in the basement. A piece of metal had been wedged between their arms and the wall, rendering them immobile.

Also, even though he had affirmed to M-21 that he would be able to fight Crombel equally, he was not in the least sure of it, himself.

Why would Crombel have created a creature more powerful than himself?, he wondered. He has to have an ace up his sleeve.

In another part of the facility, M-21 was arranging his thoughts, systematically checking their plan for flaws. He was calm and collected, having conspired against the Organization for quite some time before.

There are lots of unstable points, he thought, slightly worried. I should not forget that Cruor is not like M-24. I cannot rely on him too much. He is rash and inexperienced, though his plain fighting strength might make up for it.

He closed his eyes and pictured Doctor Choi's face how he had last seen her. There had still been no warmth in her expression, she had been all business.

I thought the prospect of a possible cure would lighten her mood. She was not in the least impressed. I wish I could ever be important enough for her to go to such lengths as she did for Cruor.

I should not think about this now.

He opened his eyes and sat up. His nose twitched.

It is enough as long as she is happy. As long as Crombel pays.

The door slid open. A tranquilizer dart flitted past him and hit the wall, useless.

"Inept, Crombel", he stated towards the surveillance camera, taking the rifle from the shocked scientist's hands. "Yet you just had to try."

"We have permission to fire, if you resist!", barked a guard from across the corridor.

"Did I say I would?", asked M-21 smiling and raised his hands. "I just prefer walking there myself."


Note: What do you say? Speculations on the plan? Review!