"What exactly is this place?"

Heisenberg hummed, peeking over his shoulder at Irina.

She was close behind him, walking through the maze-like tunnels on the third floor. Or wherever they were. Had they somehow ventured outside the factory? It appeared to Irina that Heisenberg had drilled through the mountainside; for whatever reason, she wasn't sure. Perhaps he intended to expand the factory.

"I'm excavating for material; iron ore for steelmaking," he explained.

Irina hummed. "I see."

That explained how Heisenberg got the steel he needed to make some of the Soldats; he smelted the raw material mined from the earth; however, Irina imagined making steel took lots of time, and she had no idea how long he had been at this. His entire life, perhaps. That was a long time to hold a grudge.

Still, he must have been lonely. His cruelty towards humanity conceivably developed from the horror Miranda put him through and the fact he holed himself in the walls of the factory. Miranda deprived him of companionship; Irina wondered if he kept her around simply because he needed to vent.

"They move quick," said man stated with a jaunty whistle.

Irina narrowed her eyes. "I'm surprised you can see well enough. This lighting is terrible."

"The only direction to go is forward," Heisenberg stated.

She hummed in annoyance and followed him further into the mines, ready to find the two boys and end the game.

In an open room, they came across a giant drill that lay abandoned, piercing the earth. Irina walked around it with ease as she trailed behind Heisenberg, but a noise caught her attention and made her stop.

What was it? The noise sounded close.

"Do you hear––"

Mihai suddenly tore from the shadows and swung a broken piece of rebar at Heisenberg, hitting him in the side.

"Go to hell, you fucking bastard," he hissed, rearing back to strike him again – Heisenberg grunted in irritation.

Irina lurched forward to stop Mihai, but Luca came around her side and shoved her against the drill, bringing the knife Heisenberg stabbed him with above his head.

He was aiming to kill her.

She brought her arm up, but the blade ripped through the back of her hand; the tip emerged from her palm in a gruesome way. Irina cried out in pain and shoved Luca away from her; the blood made it easy for the knife to slip from his hand.

He looked upset for hurting her but attempted to attack Irina again. However, the rebar pierced his stomach, knocking him to the ground. Did Heisenberg do that? She didn't turn around to look.

Instead, Irina dropped to her knees beside Luca. The rebar had pinned him to the ground; blood pooled around him.

His scared eyes met hers.

"W-why?"

Irina shook her head as tears stung her eyes. How was she supposed to answer his question? With the truth? Would he be devastated if she told him that he had to die because she wanted to live? That was too cruel.

"I promise you that your death won't be in vain," she uttered.

Luca sobbed. "I don't want to die."

Her heart shattered. She got up and hid around the side of the drill, attempting to catch her breath. Did she have a panic attack? What made her think that she could do this?

"Heisenberg," she called out.

Said man grunted in annoyance and watched Mihai pass on before he answered her call, coming around the side of the drill. The knife in her hand caught his attention. He wasn't aware that one of them had managed to stab Irina.

Heisenberg whistled. "What a mess."

"T-take it out," she ordered.

Grabbing her wrist, he grinned.

"This is going to hurt, princess."

Irina was in too much pain to react.

Heisenberg took the handle of the knife and pulled it from her hand, grunting as she cried out. Her scream was horrific. Tears poured down her face. Damn, it looked like it hurt. Tearing her blouse, he draped it around the wound; the blood-soaked through in an instant.

"I need an herb," Irina sobbed.

He ordered her to come along and led her back to the lift, taking her to his room where he made her sit on the bed as he rummaged through a cabinet for a bottle of First Aid Meds he kept stashed.

Once he found it, he twisted off the cap and returned to her side, taking her hand in his.

"W-wait. What is that?"

Heisenberg grunted. "It's medicine, dumbass; better than those herbs you want."

He shook the bottle. "You can read it if you want, but I assure you, the fluid in here will help."

Irina nodded, grunting in pain. She trusted him enough.

Heisenberg tore the rag from her hand and poured the liquid onto the wound. It burned like a bitch, but moments later, the feeling ebbed away and became numb.

"That's going to take some time to heal," he declared, capping the bottle and tossing it into her lap.

Irina picked it up and inspected it.

Medicine that fully heals all wounds. Closes gashes and acts as a clotting agent while restoring function to damaged systems, the bottle read.

She snorted in disbelief. There was a puncture wound in her hand; Irina doubted that she'd be able to move her fingers without restrictions for a while. She gently wiped the blood from her arm, sighing in annoyance.

"Damn, he stuck you good," Heisenberg teased.

She gave him a heated glare. "Go die."

He snorted and sat down on the bed, bouncing her a bit. Glancing at her hand, he sighed. She wasn't as durable as him. Sometimes he forgot.

"Are you going to make it, Irina?"

Irina snorted. "Are you worried about me?"

Heisenberg grunted and swatted her on the back. "Don't fucking count on it."

She sighed and leaned against his arm. "I feel like shit."

"It's for the best that you stay put next time or learn to defend yourself," he stated as he nudged her off him.

Irina grunted. He had a point.

Perhaps the Duke was right to give her that gun. She needed protection. From who, though? Could she even call it protection? Luca stabbed her because she was hunting him. It wasn't his fault. She murdered him.

Tears stung her eyes.

"I need time to process this," she mentioned.

Heisenberg snorted and stood up with a grunt. "Take your time; I have work to do."

Irina shook her head and watched as he sauntered from the room, leaving her alone. She leaned back on the bed and frowned.

What had she become? A liar? A murderer? Her lip quivered in regret. There was no way she could stomach watching another innocent person die in front of her. But what about her freedom?

Irina rolled over and screamed into the mattress, gripping the sheets between her fingers as she wept. Why was this so damn hard? Her mind was a mess. Wasn't there a way to numb it?

She shook with sudden laughter. But why? Perhaps she was losing her mind. Irina took a deep breath and wiped her nose on her sleeve, staring at the fresh wound. It no longer hurt.

Funny, she thought.

The wound looked healed.

Irina narrowed her eyes. Something felt off to her. She decided to ignore it for now and rest. Damn, was she exhausted.