Scylla assessed the room they were brought into quickly and noticed twelve slabs of which nine contained young girls presumably being experimented on by the people in red gowns. There were several guards as well and she bristled at how the helpless witches were being treated and scared by both.
"Two more for you," one of the guards announced their arrival and a red-gowned woman approached Jin first.
"We've never had a male witch before," she said enthusiastically. She motioned for the guards holding him to move him to the empty slab before turning to Scylla.
Scylla recognized her as someone Ben introduced her to while visiting before.
"So, you're the witch who caused Ben to be banished and lose the bright future ahead of him," she said with obvious hatred.
"Did he leave without saying goodbye?" Scylla taunted her, sensing the older woman's interest wasn't just about his career. "He told me you weren't his type."
Raelle clenched her fists when the woman grabbed Scylla by the throat and tried to choke her.
"She's got this," Anacostia told her. "Let her do what she's meant to do."
"I'll enjoy making you pay for that," the woman said, realizing she wasn't scaring Scylla by choking her so she let her go.
"And what are you making these young girls pay for?" Scylla asked with a taunting smile. "Or are they the only ones you can handle?"
"Your girlfriend really can pull people's strings," Abigail relayed to her unit, watching Scylla antagonize the woman.
"I'll show you what I can handle," the red-gowned woman said and signaled the guards to move her to the next open slab.
"Not in front of the girls, please," Scylla requested meekly. "They don't deserve to see this."
"I'd have them all watch what we do to witches," she said. "But they're the only ones we have here."
"That's all we needed to know," Anacostia said, ordering her group to fight back finally. Because of the show Scylla put up, the Camarilla were too distracted to notice the unit had spread out across the room.
.
Raelle positioned herself near Scylla and was ready to strike the guards who were in the process of strapping her in when she heard the order to attack. But before she could strike, Scylla had broken free from one of the guards and grabbed the dart gun of the other to shoot them in turn. "Do you even need my help?"
"Of course," Scylla confirmed with a smile and pulled Raelle over behind her and shot the guard approaching from behind the blonde.
Raelle saw a guard shoot towards them and used her scourge to deflect the dart before whipping the gun out his hand.
"Thanks for watching my back," Scylla said, turning to see what she just avoided. "When did you learn that?" She was quite impressed by Raelle's skill.
"I'll always have your back," Raelle said, pulling Scylla out of the way this time and striking another enemy down. "It's just like defending the hearth."
The two noticed the red-gowned woman trying to escape and went after her together.
"Leaving so soon?" Raelle asked, whipping her hand away from the door handle.
The woman turned hoping to hit a panic-button but came face to face with Scylla.
"Give me a reason," Scylla said, aiming the gun squarely at her. She dared the woman to see who was faster with a tilt of her head and detecting the slightest movement, she fired.
"She blinked, didn't she?" Raelle teased, catching the woman as she crumpled to the ground.
Scylla checked her gun and discarded it when she found it empty. She leaned over and pulled Raelle's dart gun to keep them covered.
Raelle straightened up and saw her unit had everything under control. She and Scylla chose to keep an eye at the door while their companions freed the young witches.
.
Scylla joined the huddle as Anacostia discussed how to move the young girls to safety and possibly escape the building.
"Scylla and Jin will take the girls up to the roof," Anacostia laid out. "We'll cover them and make our way down to find Adil and Gregorio."
"How are they going to get off the roof?" Raelle asked, concerned for Scylla's safety more than herself.
"I'll need your salva," Scylla requested, planning to use them to go down the building with the girls.
Tally offered hers and gave Jin a quick hug before getting ready to head out.
"Are you sure these cameras still aren't working?" Abigail double-checked with Tally.
"Yes," Tally confirmed. She determined they were offline as soon as they encountered one when they were first trapped inside the building. She concluded that the steel gates required the most power so the cameras were sacrificed while running on backup power. It also explained why the guards were spread out doing their checks.
"Maybe we should check again," Jin suggested.
"If they were on, we should have guards outside the door by now," Tally hissed, looking out for any signs of approaching guards and found none.
"Bad move; you shouldn't doubt her; it upsets her," Raelle warned Jin before following Tally out the door.
Scylla saw Jin turn to her for support but she just shook her head and made him focus on their task by handing him the youngest of the girls to carry. She led the way for the girls while Jin covered them from behind as they made their way to the stairwell.
"Stay safe," Raelle reminded Scylla before they parted ways at the stairwell.
Scylla climbed the stairs up to the roof constantly checking for signs of danger. She paused at the door and asked Jin to wait with the girls while she checked. As soon as she opened the door, she found guards standing there.
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Raelle used her weight to keep the metal door closed as a group of guards tried to open it to get to them. "Hurry up guys!"
Abigail found a metal bar and jammed the door. "That was close. How did they know we weren't one of them?"
"They're using signals," Tally observed. "I didn't know how to respond when we passed them."
"Then let's find out," Anacostia said, getting ready to read into the next guard they encountered.
"Too late," Tally said, seeing groups of guards from all possible paths running towards them and shooting darts at them.
The group tried to deflect as many as they could but as more and more guards joined, they were getting dangerously close to getting hit.
"We need to draw them away and give Scylla a chance to get to the roof," Anacostia declared.
"We draw their attention to us then," Abigail said, pulling out her container of salva and quickly gave Tally one.
They all jumped off and landed safely on the ground floor while the guards had to either shoot them on their way down or get down themselves.
"We're sitting ducks," Tally noted, finding no path out.
"Raelle, it's up to you now," Anacostia said. "Izadora mentioned that you were able to generate a protective shield."
"I don't know how," Raelle said in a panic.
"Shitbird, you better figure it out or I will end you if It's the last thing I do," Abigail threatened.
Darts were flying all around them from all angles as they stayed in the middle of the atrium with nowhere to run. Raelle's dread escalated and instinctively a bubble emerged around her and slowly expanded to envelop her companions.
"Now what?" Tally asked, seeing that they were now protected from the darts but not out of danger yet.
.
Scylla jumped out of the door and kicked the two guards near her in turn to the ground. A third caught her by the neck and was trying to choke her but she bit into his arm and gave him a quick chop to the throat that incapacitated him. She looked for the fourth guard only to find him coming down on her with a baton aimed at her head. She prepared to windstrike him but was beaten to it by Ash.
"Are you alright?" Ash asked racing to her side.
"Thanks," Scylla said gratefully, knowing that after being choked several times in short order, she was a bit hoarse for work. "I was worried you were captured."
"I kept hidden just in case something like this occurred," he explained. "They came looking for their companions not long after you guys went in."
Scylla realized that the guards were communicating with one another. She pulled out an earbud from one of them and listened in and sure enough they were talking about an all-out attack on the witches inside.
Jin and the young witches came out of hiding onto the roof. "What's wrong?" He noticed Scylla's alarmed look.
"We need to get them off this roof now," she ordered and offered salva to everyone. When they landed on the ground outside the building, they were met by Quinn and Khalida.
"What's going on in there?" Quinn asked.
"Where's my brother?" Khalida asked, concerned for him as well as the other witches.
"They're under attack," Scylla revealed, wanting to get back as soon as she could. "I'm not sure where Adil is but he was headed to the basement to turn off the backup power."
"What can we do to help?" Quinn asked, offering her abilities.
"Just take them to safety," Scylla said, entrusting the girls to her. "I think I have a plan to help the unit."
Back inside, Scylla watched from the top floor and realized all the guards were fully focused on breaking through whatever was protecting the unit.
"I thought we couldn't do work in here?" Jin asked in awe of what they were seeing.
Scylla shrugged because she had no idea but suspected it had to do with Raelle's powers. "They need our help, and I think I know how to disable them all." She led the guys back to the captain's office but found it was locked.
Ash kicked it open and got them all in.
Scylla found the captain hog-tied on the floor and couldn't help but smile at Raelle's work.
"How are we going to help them?" Jin asked impatiently.
Scylla found a transmitter and set it up to send out the work that she had previously stored on her cylinder.
"Will that work?" Ash asked skeptically.
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Raelle didn't know how long she could keep the protective bubble going and listened to Anacostia and Abigail disagree on next steps. Abigail wanted them to move to the basement and help Adil but Anacostia preferred they stay put and find a way to disable the guards as they got near to the bubble.
"Guys, something's happening to them," Tally observed as the darts ceased and guards dropped their weapons.
"Is this your work?" Anacostia wondered.
"No," Raelle replied honestly. "It can't be."
"That's Ash up there," Tally said, looking up at him checking on them. "That means …"
"Scylla," Raelle finished for her. She was quite eager to get up there to see what her girlfriend had done.
"We can split up," Anacostia suggested, knowing that Abigail wanted to find Adil while Raelle wanted to go to Scylla. "Just be careful in case not all the guards are under her control."
Tally and Abigail headed to the basement while Anacostia went with Raelle.
"Your girlfriend is quite creative and resourceful," Anacostia complimented Scylla. "Leave it to her to figure out how to use their comm system against them."
"I guess they never thought that the earbuds that keeps our sounds out can be used to transmit our work directly through them," Raelle said thankfully. "But doesn't the transmitter need power to keep working?" She stopped in her tracks and it dawned on both of them that the power needed to stay on.
"Abigail, Tally," Anacostia tried to reach them. "Do not turn off the power."
"They're not acknowledging," Raelle said with concern. She was visibly torn between reaching her unit and protecting Scylla.
"She can take care of herself," Anacostia assured her. "The sooner we get to the basement, the sooner we can help her."
Raelle followed Anacostia down to the basement and hoped she was doing the right thing. They found Abigail and Tally trying to revive Adil and Gregorio respectively. "What happened?"
"The room filled with gas when we opened the door," Gregorio related the last thing he knew.
Abigail helped Adil to his feet and turned to shut down the power for him.
"No, we can't shut it off," Raelle said, blocking her. "If we do, it'll ruin Scylla's work."
.
Scylla waited for Ash to report back but when he didn't, she went looking for him. She found he was fighting with half a dozen guards who were swarming him. She quickly assessed the situation and concluded that the guards weren't under her push work because they weren't wearing their earbuds and that they were resorting to fist fighting because they were out of darts.
"She's one of them," a guard shouted to his companions when he noticed her. They broke into two groups that gave Ash a better chance to fight back.
Scylla dodged the guard who tried to grab her and struck him with her elbow to his jaw that sent him reeling. She engaged the other two coming towards her by blocking their strikes with the baton she picked up earlier.
"Behind you," Ash warned seeing the first guard recover and attempt to attack from behind.
Scylla turned just in time to strike him again but left herself open to attack from the other two. She fell to the floor when one of them kicked her back hard. The other kicked her on the side to keep her down.
"This is what we do to witches," one of the guards said, punching her before drawing a Camarilla scythe to kill her.
"No!" Raelle yelled, running towards them. She whipped her scourge twice towards the guard; first to stop him from using his scythe and the next to kill him.
Scylla pushed the body off her and watched as Raelle and her unit engaged the remaining guards. She was grateful for their aid and helped Ash up.
"Clear," Tally said, ensuring they got all guards accounted for.
"I didn't know you cared, High Atlantic," Scylla said, watching the taller witch relax her protective stance after Tally's announcement.
"Just returning the favor, necro," Abigail replied. "You had our back when we were outnumbered, so we have yours when your ass is being kicked."
"So, we're keeping score now?" Scylla asked mockingly.
"Why don't you let me fix you up," Raelle suggested trying to break up the confrontation. She took Scylla's hand and pulled her away from Abigail.
"I'm fine, I don't need you to fix me," Scylla declined the offer.
"I saw how hard they kicked you," Raelle said, checking her bruised face. When she saw Scylla's determined look, she decided a different tack. She pulled a handkerchief to stop the bleeding from the brunette's cut lip.
"I didn't even notice," Scylla admitted, enjoying the tenderness Raelle was showing her.
.
Raelle stood impatiently next to her unit and Gregorio while Anacostia spoke to a group of reporters who were covering the supposed arrest of Spree agents. She understood the need for it but just didn't quite like having to be part of it.
"I know that look," Abigail said telepathically. "You need to be here with us."
"We're supposed to be in custody at the base," Raelle argued. "So, if someone recognizes us, how is Anacostia going to explain that?"
"They're not going to because they're not interested in us," Abigail replied. "And as long as you keep your hood pulled over your face, they won't see you."
"So, why are we here then?" Raelle complained, watching a steady stream of real Spree agents posing as Army escort the prisoners.
"How would you explain Anacostia single-handedly overpowering this many Spree agents? Besides, this was necro's idea."
Raelle rolled her eyes at Abigail to express her continuing displeasure.
.
Scylla watched Raelle's body language intently from her hidden perch and could tell the blonde would rather be with her than there. She appreciated the effort Raelle was putting to keep up the façade.
"Why aren't you down there with her?" Jin asked, walking up behind her to watch the display outside.
"Because like Raelle, I'd rather be elsewhere," Scylla admitted.
"Well, it'll be over soon," he observed, seeing the last groups heading out of the building.
Scylla got off her perch and started to head down when she stopped abruptly that made Jin bump into her.
"What?" he asked, looking at her.
"We never found the head of the Camarilla," she noted with disappointment.
"It's just a matter of time; we've dismantled most if not his entire organization," he said optimistically.
Once they got to the ground floor, they both were ready to reunite with their partners when a movement caught both their eyes.
"What was that?" he spoke up first, confirming for Scylla that she wasn't the only one to notice.
"Let's check it out," she suggested.
"Shouldn't we get the others?"
"It might be nothing besides, I'm sure we can manage," she dismissed it and walked towards the area.
"There's no one here," he said looking around.
Scylla noticed debris on the floor and the wall seemed to have shifted. She studied and quickly figured out how to access the panic room. The wall slid open and they looked into the dark room cautiously.
"Stay close," he said, taking the lead into the room.
They looked around the room and found it had camera feeds from outside the room and outside the building.
"Someone was in here," he noted, touching the coffee cup.
Scylla rewound the one just outside the door and saw the man she was looking for and how they missed him by just a few minutes. She looked around for any clue as to where he was heading to.
While the two decided what to do, they both heard a click and the door closed on them then the room began to fill with gas.
Scylla held her breath hoping to be able to outlast Jin who had been knocked out by the gas. She heard an inner door slide open and then footfalls. She knew she was too affected by the gas to put up a fight so decided to play along in case she could get an opportunity to escape.
A man wearing a mask hovered over her before picking her up.
"What about the other witch?" she heard him ask after putting her over his shoulder.
"We don't need him," another masked man replied as they left the room.