Kazuto shivered. "Damn, it's freezing here."
Asuna chuckled. "What did you expect?"
"I don't know. White beaches? You told me to bring sunglasses."
"Against the snow," Asuna clarified.
"Oh." That was weird. Why would you need sunglasses against the snow?
"We're almost there by the way."
"How do you even know where it is?" he asked.
"Female intuition."
Hm.
Kazuto brought his gloves hand up and pressed the button on his earpiece. "Yui?"
"Yes, Papa?"
"Are you in on this conspiracy?"
"My female intuition helped her," Yui admitted.
"You mean you checked the satellite images?"
"Nepal is a small country," she said. "Difficult to hide a building that shouldn't be there. Also, the electricity consumption was rather easy to find."
"There," Asuna said. She pointed.
Through the snowfall and mist, he could see a bunker-like building. It looked pretty well defended.
"Remind me again why we are going in alone?"
"Because they have hostages. We need to be subtle."
"Yeah, but how are the two of us going to get past those guards?"
"With this." Asuna pulled something out of her pocket.
"Damn. Is that a…"
"Yeah. A mechanical insect."
He studied the tiny metal thing. It was the size of a large mosquito.
"This is gonna fly inside," Asuna said. "And it will connect to their computer system. Then, it will upload a virus. That should give us control. We don't have to go inside."
"Hm. Sounds like a good plan."
"Of course it is," she said. "I came up with it."
"I expected nothing less."
"Let's get started."
She released the insect. The drone made a buzzing sound as it flew away.
"And now we wait," Asuna said. "Could be a while before it can sneak into the main control room."
"I'm freezing."
"Hm. Well the best way to warm up is to share body heat."
"You mean you want to cuddle?"
"I just don't want you to freeze to death. Now come here."
Yuri pulled up the covers in a feeble attempt to block out the sudden light. Those bastards could never let them sleep in. 7 am sharp, the lights went on.
She knew she had to get out of bed quickly, or she'd be late for breakfast. And late for breakfast meant no breakfast in here.
Yuri got out and went to what had to pass for a bathroom. There, she splashed some cold water in her face.
That woke her up somewhat.
She felt terrible. Not a nightmare this night, just very tired. If only they would let her sleep in.
Still, the lack of nightmares was good.
Was it this Kirito figure? Was he having a positive influence on her?
No, no. It couldn't be. She should stop hoping like that. No one was going to come in and save her. She had to save herself. And she could. All she needed was a good opportunity.
She knew she'd only get one chance. So she had to prepare well.
The fundamental problem was that all doors could be locked remotely. And the elevator was controlled from the main room as well. Until she could overcome that problem, there was no point in exposing her secret in a futile attempt at escaping.
She returned to the main room, just in time to see the doors open.
However, today, they didn't come with breakfast.
"You," the guard barked at her. "With us."
"Now?"
"Yes, now. Come on, bitch."
They grabbed her arms and dragged her forward. She didn't resist.
Something was wrong here. They always brought her in after breakfast, not before.
They stepped into the elevator. There, they finally let her arms go.
One of the guards leaned against the back. He yawned.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"Shut it," he cut her off.
Hm. That was all the info she needed. It wasn't 7 am. It was still nighttime. That was why she was so tired. And why the guards looked tired as well.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened. They pushed her outside. She was brought to the usual office.
He was inside, wearing his usual lab coat and suit. He didn't look tired.
"Ah, there you are." He gestured to the chair in front of his desk.
Yuri went to sit. She had no choice after all.
"I had a little breakthrough," the doctor said. "And I thought I'd test it out on our most promising subject first."
He took out a syringe filled with blue liquid.
"Well we haven't tried blue yet," she said. "Could work."
"Or it could kill you," he said. "It tried it on some mice and they died a horrible death. It looked very painful. But hey, you're sturdier, right?"
A shiver went through her body. "I…"
"Are you gonna be a good girl? Or do I need to call them in to tie you on your chair?"
"Wait, I-"
"Let's do that. It will be fun. Guards!"
The guards entered.
Not good.
She had to get out of here.
But she knew that even if she somehow overpowered all three of them, she'd never make it out. They wouldn't let the elevator go up. They'd lock all the doors electronically. Even in this office, there was a camera. They were watching her.
"Tie her up," he ordered.
A guard grabbed her wrist and locked a handcuff around it. He attached the second cuff to the arm of the chair. They repeated the process with her other hand.
Damnit.
"What's wrong?" the doctor mocked her. "Not into bondage?"
"If I ever get out of here, I'm gonna kill you," she assured him.
Yuri struggled, but the cuffs were secure.
"Sure. Sure."
He walked around the desk.
"Now then."
He grabbed her arm and held her still. With the other hand, he brought the syringe to her upper arm.
Fuck that.
She put her foot on the desk and pushed hard. The chair toppled backwards. Yuri hit her head on the floor. She let out a grunt of pain.
"Really?" the doctor said.
"I'm not giving you the satisfaction," she said.
She knew it was pointless. She was only delaying him.
He crouched down.
"There is nothing you can do," he said.
Yuri shut her eyes tightly. She didn't want to see this.
"You are entirely at my-"
Suddenly, the lights went out. Even with her eyes shut, she could sense the change in lighting.
"What the hell?" the doctor said. "A blackout?"
Yuri smiled.
No. An opportunity.
She opened her eyes.
All three of them.
