There was a time when he had felt something like sympathy for the nobles. But this was now completely destroyed. Literally. These crazy bastards! One would think that they were reasonable enough to develop a battle plan. After all, they had just received the data yesterday. They only knew about the 9th Elders lab since yesterday. Total less than 24 hours. Why, then, they were just about to take apart the entire lab? Finishing his inner, cursed dialogue, M-21 saved himself with a bold plunge from a particularly large piece of the falling ceiling, which cheerfully crushed two scientists in his place. The gray-haired man casted only a glance behind him.

Without pity.

All around, the chaos prevailed and relatively little attention was paid to it. M-21 was just fine with it. A few minutes ago, he was near a scientist who was about to snap. Or was already crazy. And she was certainly not human. Ignes Kravei a fucking Noble Scientist! This bitch had nothing better to do than shout at the soldiers and throw one of them against the wall with such force, that M-21 did not have to hear the noise to know that this soldier wasn't good for nothing anymore. After that, she still clamoured a bit, biting her nails nervously, a strange sparkle in her eyes.

M-21 thought it was healthier not to get in her way. Kravei was one of the Union's leading scientists. The person responsible when it came to experiments on Nobles and completely out of her mind. Right now the last person M-21 wanted to have near him.

But she smelled like blood.

In his ear, Tao's voice urged him to pick up his legs and disappear. A really good idea. The attack was only after M-21 had joined the new system with the responsible IT members. These people were long dead and even if they did not, they would not have anything to report. Kravei's data and that of the facility was secure on the secret server, far from the Union's access. The rest was just deleted or encrypted by a virus. Rendered useless. No reason to stay here any longer.

Nevertheless, M-21 ran in the opposite direction, deeper and deeper into the interior of the lab, listening to Tao's panicky voice.

"M! Get your ass out of there! What are you doing?!" The gray-haired man hissed and resisted the urge to slap his hand over his ear. The two DA-5 members were probably following each one of his steps. Again and again M-21 could hear the whirring of cameras focusing on him. M-21 glanced around without slowing down. No one to see. Nobody to notice. Good.

"Even louder Tao and I'm going deaf," he whispered into the empty air that popped past him. There was no answer. Just when M-21 wondered if the microphone was perhaps too quiet, the hacker shouted at him through the transmitter. M-21 believed he was going to go deaf for real this time.

"What are you doing?!" Tao's voice was almost over hysteria. M-21 felt a little bit of pride in disconcerting Tao that way. Nearly. "Even longer and you are dead! If you can not find the exit ... It's BEHIND YOU!"

"Tao calm down," Takeo now carefully interjected. Apparently, the hacker was just not good at kidding.

"Kravei," M-21 used the name like a swearword. "She smelled like blood." At the other end of the line it became quiet. M-21 heard Tao discussing it with Takeo. Both agreed that they had no idea what exactly M-21 meant by that.

"That's ... fascinating M, but she's a scientist," it was Takeo who answered him. Perhaps Tao had to cool down. "She's probably been working on an experiment. Why does that stop you from leaving the lab? "

"I ... I thought the smell was familiar." M-21 stopped in front of an exit. The passage was split in two directions. "Somehow I think it comes from the dwarf."

"Holy Shi ... M-21 are you following the scent of blood?"

"Yes," snapped M-21 with a renewed burst of panic. The gray-haired took a deep breath - which, of course, the other two did not miss - and turned right. One more sign that his body was happily mutating and that he damn well did not know why. M-21 resisted the urge to cry out in frustration, forcing himself instead to trust his new ability and follow the invisible trail that opened for him.

"Ok, ok," Tao switched on again. "Easy, I have you on the screen now M-21. It's good that the new chip works fine, eh?" The hacker spoke in a calm, almost easy voice to him, which irritated M-21 in better times let alone now. But he was exactly right. As he continued to roam through the dark corridors, he let the gentle voices of his comrades work on him to become clear again. After all, it was not the first, and probably not the last time, that M-21 or either of the other two noticed something which went far beyond his actual abilities. No reason to get so upset.

That's what M-21 said to himself as he listened to Tao's gentle and sober voice that accompanied him through the dark corridors to a door. The smell became so intense that M-21 had to choke involuntarily. Immediately he heard Tao and Takeo getting restless and he raised his hand to appease them.

"No matter what you find in it now M-21, please try to disappear afterwards. The lab is just being dismantled," as if to confirm a quake went through the corridors.

"Tao, what's that?" Takeo's voice sounded irritated.

"How should I know that," the hacker answers nervously. "M-21 this is a private section of Ignes Kravei. Her own laboratory. I need a moment to unlock the door."

"What's happening?"

"On the surface there was a fight," answered Takeo. "There seem to be some Nobles, but ...," the sniper paused and took a deep breath. "Damn Tao did you see that?" He asked. Tao answers silently, at least M-21 could not understand what he said, but the sound of a heavily used keyboard became even more intense. "I think that includes the strangers who watched the boy and ... some of these Nobles do not look like Nobles. Tao look ... "

"That does not matter now!" The hacker sounded grumpy. "If M-21 meets them, he's as good as dead. Do you understand me M-21?! So look what you have to see and then disappear. The door is open."

Said door gave a click itself. M-21, who inwardly agreed with Tao, opened the door and entered. The little lab was dark and empty. But the smell of blood struck M-21 in the middle of the face, causing the man to stumble for a moment. He had to hold on to the lab bench. The sight of the used utensils on it not imrpve his mood. Also, the sight of him offered, when he raised his eyes, was far from better.

"What is it? I do not have a camera here."

"It's the fucking brat," hissed M-21, resisting the urge to beat said Nobles in his unconscious face. The boy was hanging in the middle. Next to him the girl, whom he had saved only a few months ago at the risk of his own damn ass. To top it off, there was another wretch next door and and bleeding his life out. "Fucking, stupid brat!"

"M-21"

"They're hanging on the wall," spat M-21, too mad to worry about his discomfort any longer. "The runt, his sister and another stupid brat. Looks like Kravei had fun with them."

"Um, look for a way to connect your chip. Then I can hack into the room. If the shackles are for Nobles you will not get them open." Tao tried to keep a clear head and waited patiently until M-21 connected to the only computer in the room. The gray-haired man crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the battered bodies in front of him.

"Why don't I just leave them here?"

"That's tough M-21," sighed Takeo.

"Oh?" Growled M-21 angrily. "These brat want to die anyway. Besides, their parents are probably already here."

"Yes, and Kravei is on his way to you too."

"..."

M-21 stared at the wall. "Tao, why didn't you say that earlier?"

"I did not want to panic you, haha."

With a click, the shackles of the children opened and everyone clapped on the floor in front of him. The boys face-first. Strangely enough, the girl sank elegantly to her knees and then fell to one side.

"I will kill you Tao!"

-.-.-.-.-

To carry three unconscious person out of the lab was not that easy. Two under each arm and the brat on the back, somehow lashed with ropes and straps. At the same time, Takeo had spoken with angelic patience to M-21, to convince him not to drag the boy behind him. Still, M-21 cursed the boy as he ran back through the countless and endless corridors. This time, led by Tao and not by his nose.

"Uh, Ignes Kravei has just discovered that her lab is empty and ...," Tao paused as a huge explosion echoed through the empty corridors. "And Sector 13 and 14 have just collapsed."

"Wonderful," gasped M-21 and continued to pant. The weight he carried with him was slowly getting more noticeable. Knowing that an angry scientist might be right behind him did not make it any better. "Where to?"

"To the surface, of course. There is a load shaft leading upwards. Outside the fights. Well, on the edge of it. Hopefully far enough away that you can drop the kids and disappear. On this page, the Nobles have the control. So you should hurry up a bit."

"Hey, Tao, look," Takeo said breathlessly. The two fell silent for a moment. M-21 pricked up his ears. He heard Tao curse. "These are soldiers, M-21 faster!"

"Oh please," the gray-haired man snorted. In front of him, the corridor opened and he could see the shaft Tao had described to him. M-21 braked, threw his head up and frantically searched for the exit. Far above he thought he saw something like a light, but that could also be his imagination. He tensed to jump, well aware that this distance was a challenge for his modification. He jumped, heard from the corridors the sound of footsteps approaching far too fast, and knew that these soldiers were many times faster than him.

M-21 barely caught the overhang. The weight of the dwarf almost pulled him down again. Tao and Takeo talking hectically in his ear did not make it any better. Suddenly there was a loud bang. The blast hit M-21 unprepared and shuddered him forward to the ground. The ground shook with the force of the explosion and a cloud of debris darted out of the shaft M-21 had just left. The gray-haired man blinked and gasped for breath as his head turned and he felt he was not getting enough air. With ringing ears, he tried to straighten up, holding onto the wall. The two children were in the corridor, he must have dropped them.

There was a fine layer of dust on their bodies.

The weight on his back, which repeatedly pulled him to the side confirmed at least that he had not lost the dwarf. M-21 stumbled to the children and picked them up again. He threw a dazed gaze behind him. The shaft was badly damaged. Deep cracks spread over the ceiling and floor, part of the right wall seemed to have collapsed. In the rubble, M-21 thought he saw a metallic, twitching arm sticking on whose forearm a blade protruded. The arm was still moving. M-21 moved forward. Not keen to know to whom the arm belonged.

Later, the gray-haired could not say exactly how he managed to find the exit and escape from the laboratory. His head was still turning and his right leg did not quite want to obey. Again and again M-21 broke in and had to recover. Only gradually his head became clearer and the pain obvious. The collapse of the shaft might have saved his life. No, it had certainly saved his life. His right leg was literally slit open by a long, deep cut. Sign that someone had tried to carved it. He had not even seen the blow coming.

M-21 was too well trained not to know that his body was pumped full with hormones that made him keep running. He knew just as well that it would not last long. Modified humans had their adrenaline distributions under control. Waste like him, didn't. From experience, M-21 knew how long it would be before it would end. He slashed the heavy door that awaited him in the end and dragged himself outside.

"Krrr ... M ... are you listening?" Tao's voice came from the transmitter as soon as he got outside. The gray-haired man sighed with relief.

"Tao," he muttered, noting how his voice shook. Did he also have a shock? This day was getting better by the minute. "I have a problem."

"Alright, I thought so. After the explosion and the signal interference. I had to switch to a different frequency. We really thought Kravei had caught you. She followed the soldiers shortly after we discovered them. She must have been right behind you!"

"Ah," M-21 staggered. He could no longer hold on to the boy, and the child dropped to the floor with a rude sound. Blood dripped to the floor over his right arm. Another wound he had not noticed. "I have to get out of here," M-21 reached for the child but his fingers felt numb and he just managed to grab the boy by the remains of his clothes. He had to go through. They all had to go through there now. M-21 could not tell where he had been hit, or how much blood he had lost.

"M-21? What's happening? What was that?"

"Tell me ... the children. Can I ... leave them here?" He dragged the kids to a rock that hopefully offered some privacy. His thoughts were working alarmingly slowly.

"Uh, sure. Should you even. There are a few people very close to you and even on the way. Say: You should leave. What is the problem? Apart from the obvious ones."

M-21 severed the ropes and dropped the damned dwarf, who had all heaped upon him, to the ground. The boy was still alive, or at least the gray-haired suspected that strongly. Otherwise he could not change anything now. He had tried to save the child's life, he was unable to do more. At the moment, he did not even know if he would manage to get away from here. "I need ... a short way." He straightened, leaving small puddles full of blood. "Something got me ..." M-21 staggered as he turned.

"Stay West," Tao's voice sounded worried. "Can you do it?"

M-21 owed him the answer.

-.-.-.-.-

M-21 woke at the moment when a door opened. The gray-haired needed a few minutes to orient himself. Everywhere stood boxes, scrap metal and the remains of old pieces of furniture. His brain was lazily trying to figure out where he was, how he came here, and the fact that he felt like shit. Darkly he remembered how Takeo had dragged him back to the base. Consequently, this would have to be the storeroom in the lower basement and from this, M-21 quickly concluded that something was wrong. The person who had entered the room did not seem to be aware of his presence. He heard like he, it was definitely a man, moved some boxes. Apparently looking for something. A little later, the steps moved away, a door was closed and the lights turned off.

The gray-haired took a deep breath and tried to sit up after making sure that he was truly alone. His right half of the body was reacting extremely indignant. His arm was almost numb and his throat completely dry. A quick glance was enough to see that he had been makeshift and rushed to treat his wounds. M-21 stifled a groan as he leaned against a box and took a deep breath. This little movement was enough for him. He felt drained and even lousier than when Shark and Hammer had bothered him. The gray-haired man gently fingered the bandages and cursed as the moisture on his fingers remained stuck. Something was wrong and not only about the wounds. Why was he really hiding here? "I'm awake," murmured softly, waiting for an answer. Hopefully the microphone was activated.

The minutes passed until the door to the storeroom opened again. Footsteps came closer and Tao poked his head through the gap between two boxes. The hacker struggled to grin on the strained face as his eyes fell on M-21. A little later Takeo and he had come to him with difficulty and had taken place on the boxes.

"What happened?" M-21 had to clear his throat. His voice sounded like emery paper.

"Good morning to you M-21," Tao greeted him tightly and Takeo threw him a bottle of water. M-21 caught the bottle and opened it. "Nice to see you survived, although we had a little doubt about that." Takeo nodded in agreement. The gray-haired man just snorted derogatorily.

"Scratches," M-21 said sarcastically and put the bottle on to drink.

"Yeah, only the Kravei was right behind you when you got those scratches. Besides, the good woman has survived and is talking to the Elder right now."

M-21 spit out the water again.