"You can do it, Guido, you can," the scientist told himself as he walked through the corridor of the underground level, the same one where the parking lot was located. And where the electrical box was also.

He had to continue straight on the corridor that reached the parking lot, then turn to the right, and next to the wall, it was embedded in it.

Guido swallowed as he pulled a clip out and pried the opening.

Click.

Guido smiled; after all, those summers with Ercole had paid off. He took the bomb out of his robe, planted it in the box, and activated the timer. Giulia should already be finishing her shift, so Guido would give her twenty minutes. He closed it again and looked up.

His family had always been very religious, he not so much, he was a man of science, but tonight, he prayed to whoever was up there for their help.

...

Giulia passed her card through the scanner, then calmly walked out, avoiding looking at the cameras. She thought that would make her look too suspicious; once outside, she continued to the bus stop but ceased when sure she was out of reach of the cameras. She looked over her shoulders; her coworkers were focused on their business, and no one was paying attention to her.

Giulia smiled, finally not having human friends would work in her favor.

She left the concrete path and ran towards one of the corners of the building; when she got there, Giulia put her back on the wall and looked up. The camera was not pointing in her direction; she sighed with relief and walked again until she saw Guido, who had half his body outside the building. The girl was surprised; the door was painted the same color as the wall, achieving a perfect camouflage.

"Wow, it is a secret," she thought.

Guido sighed with relief at seeing her; he took two keys from his pocket and handed them over to her.

"Here they are, the silver one is for Luca, and the gold one is for Alberto," he indicated.

Giulia nodded. Guido stepped aside, showing that the cart was ready; its interior was filled with white sheets to cover the boys.

"And the bomb?"

"I already planted it; it'll blow up in fifteen, so you'd better hurry. I'll go with Ercole."

She made a face at hearing that name and clenched her fists, but then she shook her head; the best revenge would be to save her friends.

"My dad must be on his way."

Guido nodded. Giulia began to push the cart to the laboratory; the time had come.

"Giulia."

She stopped at the sound of her name and turned to see him again. Guido had a sincere look of admiration and respect.

"Good luck," he told her.

Giulia smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, I'll need it."

And with that said, she resumed her march, ready to face her fate.

...

Ercole hadn't left his office since Giulia ran out. It didn't matter to him; on the one hand, he could have any woman he wanted, and on the other, what would Spewlia do? Accuse him with the superiors? Ha! As if anyone was gonna take a maid seriously, the one who cleaned up their shit.

He hoped that made Giulia remember her place.

Some knocks on the door brought him back to reality; he turned to find Guido standing with a bottle of champagne and two crystal glasses.

"May I come in?" he asked.

Ercole raised an eyebrow.

"What are you up to?"

"Me? Nothing," Guido went by, leaving both glasses on his desk, "I just thought you wanted to celebrate; tomorrow is the big day."

Ercole crossed his arms; he had not forgotten all the resistance Guido had put up against the dissection of the monsters. And now he had to assume that he accepted it? And also celebrated it? Something didn't smell right.

"A few days ago, you weren't happy with the idea, and now you are?"

Guido shrugged.

"I've been thinking about it, Ercole, and you're right; it's silly to feel sorry for these creatures. It's better to get out of here as soon as possible," he took a seat and looked to his right, "I had already forgotten how boring life is in Portorosso."

Ercole was still looking at him skeptically, to which Guido rolled his eyes and filled the glasses.

"Would you believe me, then, if I told you that I just want to celebrate the triumph of an old friend?"

Guido raised his glass, offering it to him. Ercole looked at it doubtfully, then looked into Guido's eyes; he moved the glass to the sides.

"Well, why didn't you start there?" Finally, Ercole accepted, took a seat, grabbed the glass from Guido, and smiled.

Guido imitated him and filled his glass, watching the televisions behind Ercole, mainly the third camera in the first row, where a van was pulling into the parking lot.

...

Massimo took a deep breath and braced himself for what was coming, hoping the burn makeup would be enough to throw off the guard, or he would have to get his hands dirty.

Massimo stopped behind the bar and cleared his throat; the guard got out of his booth and walked over to the vehicle.

"Good evening," Massimo said in his casual, friendly tone.

"Evening," the officer replied, taking a flashlight from his pants belt and shining it on his face. Then, Massimo knew that his makeup had worked.

The guard opened his eyes as soon as the light hit Massimo's face, then immediately lowered it and his head, ashamed of what he had done.

"Oh sir, I'm sorry, I didn't know that-"

"Don't worry, it's my first day," Massimo answered as he looked for his card, "I used to work in Milan until a factory exploded and left me this."

He pointed to his scar, but the guard refused to see him.

"It's okay. I can still work; that's the good thing."

He handed him the card, and the one in blue very slowly approached him, took the letter, and examined it without turning to see him. Massimo hoped that it would be quick, but something frustrated his plans. The guard's terrified expression disappeared, replaced by distrust, as he looked at the card, then back at him. Massimo stayed calm, but inside, he was starting to get nervous; his makeup was good, but what about the card? Guido had told him that security rarely paid attention to details. They just saw the card and immediately let one through, so why was he taking so much?

The officer looked at Massimo again, and it seemed that he was no longer convinced of his innocence.

...

Guido clenched a fist under the table while he drank without tasting the drink. Ercole kept babbling about how great he was, but Guido only had eyes to see that the situation was not going well. The identification seemed not to have convinced the guard.

He lowered his glass and squeezed it harder; if they discovered Giulia's dad… he would have to go to phase two early.

He looked at Ercole; the fool was still busy chattering; he hadn't realized what was happening that gave him hope. Maybe he could use it to his advantage.

...

The guard finally lowered the card. Massimo smiled, thinking he had finally convinced him. But then, he noticed that the guard was bringing his mouth closer to the walkie-talkie on his chest.

"Wait," Massimo told him.

The guard turned to see him.

"How clumsy of me; that's my old card. I had forgotten that it had expired; let me show you the new one."

And before the guard could answer, Massimo began to rummage under his seat, hoping to buy time. The guard detached himself from the communicator and approached the car.

"Sir, I warn you that if this is a hoax-"

"No, no, no trick," Massimo answered, sitting up, "see?

And before the guard could react, Machiavelli jumped behind the fisherman and clung to the guard's face with his claws; the man screamed and backed down while trying with both hands to unstick the cat. But Machiavelli wouldn't let go and went back to scratch.

"Down!" Massimo yelled.

Machiavelli released the guard and ran back to the truck. The poor man was about to react when he felt Massimo's huge fist against his face, and he was thrown backward, unconscious.

...

Guido grimaced when he saw Massimo's punch left the poor security man unconscious. He had never seen the fisherman angry, but he knew that when he did. He would see a colossus in action; he just hoped the guard was fine.

"Guido, are you listening to me?"

Ercole's words brought him back to reality; he looked ahead and saw that Ercole was staring at him.

"Oh, sorry, Ercole, I just remembered something they told me yesterday, a poor guy who got beaten up in an alley."

Ercole gave a mocking laugh.

"Probably served him right," he replied, leaning back in his chair and sipping his champagne before continuing. "But as I was saying, my dad always told me I'd never be good enough, but look at me now, look where I am."

Guido, being as careful as possible, looked back at the screens and was relieved to see that Massimo had hidden the body inside the booth. And was now pulling the truck into the parking lot.

...

Massimo was driving towards the loading port, where he had agreed to meet Giulia. Then he was interrupted by a meow from Machiavelli; he turned to see his cat looking at him with a smile as if he had enjoyed what had just happened.

"We won't do this again," Massimo told the cat with a firm voice before turning his attention back to the front.

Machiavelli just smiled.

...

Giulia had reached the laboratory door, hid behind a column, staying out of the camera's view, then looked towards the corridor. No one was visible, which was a good sign; she checked the time on her watch.

"One minute, the time has come," she thought.

She looked up again, ready to run as soon as the lights went out.

...

Guido took out his cell phone and checked the time; the moment had come.

"Remember all the idiots in town? Where are they now, huh? Wasting their lives as fishermen or traders. And I'm telling you because Portorosso is full of-"

Without warning, everything went off, the lights, the computers, everything was plunged into absolute darkness, and best of all, the electric doors began to open.

...

As soon as everything went black, Giulia didn't waste a second and pushed the cart toward the laboratory. She was blind but could hear how the door was opening; it was fortunate that she had walked there hundreds of times because she had memorized the route.

While waiting for it to finish opening, the lights came back on, but they were of intense red lighting that painted everything around her. Giulia swore she was in one of those old horror movies she sometimes watched with mom. It also began to ring a horrible alarm that made his ears shriek.

Giulia closed her eyes and squeezed her ears, ignoring the pain.

The door flew open, and she ran to the pool.

"Luca, Alberto!" she screamed.

The boys came to the surface, covering their ears.

"Giulia! What's that horrible sound?" Luca asked, almost shouting; it was the most horrible thing he had ever heard in his entire life.

"There's no time to explain!" She took out the keys and approached Alberto, but he shook his hands.

"Luca first!"

Giulia nodded and approached Luca, ready to put the key in the lock; the alarm increased, startling her. Her hand lost strength, and she dropped the keys, which sank into the water.

"No!" she exclaimed.

Alberto narrowed his eyebrows and plunged into its search.

"Alberto!" Luca yelled before joining him.

Giulia bit her lip and looked behind her, hoping no one was approaching.

...

When the red lights came on, Ercole stood up and looked around.

"What the hell is going on!?" he yelled in anger.

Guido stood up, faking surprise.

"The emergency lights, there must be something wrong with the power plant."

Ercole was about to grumble when his face grew more thoughtful. He put a hand to his chin, and then as if the illumination had reached his brain, he raised his face with a look that radiated fire from his eyes.

He grabbed his stun stick and ran out of his office.

"Ercole, where are you going?"

"Call for backup! Everyone to the E-3 lab!"

And he went out being made a fury. Guido felt fear in his stomach. He hoped that Giulia was already on her way to the parking lot because he didn't even want to think what Ercole would do to her if he caught her.

He took the champagne and sprinkled it on the televisions. Now there would be no reaction, but when the power returned, the liquid would already have ruined the cables and the memories. Erasing any clue that Giulia had been around the corridors before the happening.

After seeing that he had gotten rid of the evidence, Guido ran after Ercole, hoping he could stop him if things got complicated.

...

The boys came up, with Alberto having the keys. Giulia snatched them from him and quickly put the silver one in Luca's lock, turned it, and after the click, the necklace opened.

"Take it off, quick!" Giulia ordered.

Luca did as told and then threw it into the water. He immediately felt happy when he no longer felt anything around his neck. But he didn't have much time to celebrate since they still had to get to the truck.

"Get in the cart, now!" Giulia commanded.

Pushing himself with both hands, Luca got out of the pool, thanks to the Big Fish for those walking lessons that Alberto had given him. Because once out of the water, he ran to the cart and got in. While Giulia freed Alberto.

"Done!" she said as soon as the necklace dropped.

Alberto didn't wait for an order; he got out of the water and went to join Luca.

Giulia pocketed the keys, remembering she shouldn't leave any evidence behind. And pushed the cart, only this time she couldn't move it, she tried again but couldn't, it was too heavy...

"Shit! I didn't think of the extra weight of the two!" she thought.

Even so, she pushed again but couldn't move it; that was too much for her.

"I can't move it! You two are too heavy!"

"It's the tails!" Alberto shouted, "they give extra weight."

"Not the time!" the girl replied in another attempt to push.

Luckily she was not alone. The boys punched little holes around the cart, put their hands on the ground, and pushed forward. With the extra strength, the car was able to move. Giulia almost fell because she did not expect the impulse, but she held on to the handle and looked to the sides, noticing what her friends had done.

"Good idea!" she told them.

She pushed again, and the cart flew to the exit.

"Now we turn!" she yelled.

They obeyed, digging their claws into the ground, the car turned slightly, and the boys took off and went forward again.

"Don't worry, it's almost a straight line!"

...

Ercole was rushing down the stairs to the second floor, where the laboratory was located. When he opened the door, he hurried out and collided with Ciccio.

"Ciccio, you imbicile!"

The blonde had heard Ercole's cry of alarm, so he too came to help, only he had run so desperately that Ciccio didn't really notice where he was going.

"I'm sorry, Ercole, it's just that the lights went out and-"

But Ercole didn't let him finish and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, dragging Ciccio down the hall.

"Quiet, idiot! Someone's trying to steal those things!"

That made Ciccio react immediately. Ercole released him while running, as the robust one took out his gun and began to load it, then followed his boss.

...

"Here, here, turn to the right!" Giulia yelled at the boys when they reached the corner.

They put their hands back on the ground, and the cart turned with such force that Giulia had to let go; it hit the wall and stopped.

"Sorry, guys," Giulia apologized.

"We're good," Luca replied, taking his finger out of the sheets, thumb raised, though Giulia suspected from his tone that he had gotten a little dizzy.

BANG!

A hole opened in the wall. Giulia swears that she felt the bullet pass behind her head. Some of the concrete got stuck to her hair.

"Stop!" she heard Ercole yell at her.

Her heart began to pound like a locomotive. Ercole was literally on her heels if he caught them…

No, he wouldn't.

She picked up the cart again and began to push it faster.

"Quick! Quick!" She whispered, the boys starting to push harder, "Ercole is behind me!"

Luca grimaced; they weren't gonna lose him if he was behind them, he would catch up, and then it would be the end. He stopped pushing and poked his eye out of the hole he had made. That tunnel was full of tubes with steam, like the one that came out of the hot rocks on the island when you poured water on them, which gave him an idea.

"Giulia, stop!" Luca screamed.

"Are you nuts?!"

"We can't lose him, but I've got an idea, trust me!"

Giulia bit her lip. Ercole was not only trained but also armed. She had the disadvantage of pushing a cart with two very heavy sea monsters, so if Luca said he had a plan, it was because it was a good one, so she stopped.

"What are you doing?!" Alberto yelled at him.

"Do the same as I!" was the only answer Luca gave him.

Luca leaned over the sheets, raised his arm, and then struck the tubes with such force with his claws that they split open, and a wave of steam shot out of them. Alberto opened his eyes.

"Luca, you're a genius!"

Alberto jumped out of the car.

"Alberto!" his two friends screamed.

"Go on! I'm right behind you!" And without waiting for an answer, he slapped the tubes on his left using his tail. The corridor began to fill with steam; it was so hot that Giulia had to move forward so she wouldn't get burned.

"Let's do what he says!" Luca agreed.

"Are you serious?!" Giulia questioned.

"We don't have time to argue!" The last thing Luca wanted was to leave Alberto behind. But he knew how stubborn his brother was, so arguing would only waste time. It was better to do what he said.

Giulia nodded, having the same thoughts as Luca. She began to run, noticing it was easier without Alberto's weight. The purple one wasted no time; he extended his arms to the sides, sticking his claws to the pipes, and ran, tearing the tubes until the whole place was flooded by steam. It was impossible to see anything in that mist, plus the temperature had risen considerably.

...

Ercole lowered his gun; he saw someone in the hallway, but the light didn't help him to identify who it was. He could only make out a human shape there; maybe, he missed it.

He growled as Ciccio came with him, also with his weapon ready.

"They're in the hall, quick!"

They both ran, and when they arrived, they pointed to the front, only to find a surprise, the corridor was full of steam; it was impossible to see beyond the mist.

"Shit!" Ercole grumbled; he tried to get inside but quickly stepped back; it was too hot. "Ah, to hell!"

He aimed straight ahead, not caring if he didn't have a target as long as he hit something. His finger was about to pull the trigger when someone arrived, held the gun, and raised it to the ceiling.

"No!" Guido screamed.

Ercole pushed him against the wall.

"Guido! What the hell are you doing?!"

"If you kill them, the autopsy would be worthless! We need them alive!"

Ercole frowned, but Guido didn't soften his gaze; they weren't kids anymore, and he couldn't just order him what to do.

"Fine!" Ercole reluctantly agreed; the steam was already thinning anyway.

...

Luca and Giulia stopped as they left the corridor, looking back, hoping to see Alberto.

"Come on…come on…" Luca said through clenched teeth.

Giulia clung tighter to the tube, hoping for the worst; luckily, a figure appeared in the middle of the mist, one with a tail; they both sighed with relief when Alberto arrived with them.

"That was crazy!" Giulia reclaimed.

"But it worked," Alberto responded as he jumped inside.

They immediately resumed their march; they were close.

Massimo had parked, got out of the truck, and ran to the back, the red lights and the siren telling him that Giulia had completed the first part of the plan. It wasn't long before he saw his daughter running towards him.

He opened the two back doors and then went to Giulia.

"Drive," he told her as he tossed the keys.

Giulia caught them in mid-air and went directly to the pilot's seat; Massimo took the cart with one arm and pulled it inside the van. Luca and Alberto were shaken by such strength.

"Wow," Alberto exclaimed in surprise.

Massimo then got in, closing the doors.

"We're in!"

Giulia, already seated and ready, nodded, turned the key, and the engine started. Massimo took a seat and noticed movement under the sheets; he raised an eyebrow and peeked inside; Alberto stuck his head out. The fisherman couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise and let out a small cry. He backed away, colliding with one of the doors. Giulia had described them to him, but seeing the real one… was incredible. Alberto was unlike anything he had ever seen, even having spent most of his life at sea.

Alberto gave a nervous laugh.

"Um- hi?" he said.

Giulia pressed the accelerator, the van moved forward, and the girl realized something, Ercole's car was right in front of them...

She shouldn't, but...

"Laugh now, asshole!" She thought.

She turned the wheel, and the truck went straight for the Maserati 3500 GT.

"Hold on!"

They rammed the car, sending it against the wall, and the passengers were pushed to the sides and the front.

"Giulietta!"

"Sorry, papá!"

Giulia put it in reverse, and when she did, the passenger door of Ercole's car fell off; the windshield, front lights, and side mirrors were broken. And Giulia couldn't help but feel very happy about it.

Now she did head for the exit, just in time, because at that moment Ercole arrived, armed with a legion of soldiers. They had been caught up while waiting for the steam to subside.

"Shoot!" He demanded.

No one disobeyed, and the space was quickly filled with bullets, which hit the back of the truck, destroying some windows. Massimo got down on the floor, and Machiavelli hid under the seat. While the boys lay on the bottom of the cart, hugging each other, hating that horrible sound.

Giulia didn't let that distract her; she shifted to second and stepped on the accelerator again, they began to gain more speed, but likewise, the shots increased. Luckily, they managed to miss them as they went higher and higher in the tunnel. Giulia didn't slow down even when they left the facility behind.

...

By the time the van was out of sight. The generator kicked in, the lights came back on, the alarm went silent, and everything seemed back to normal.

Ercole lowered his gun, unable to believe what just happened; they had... no...

In that, he noticed something else, a burning smell. He looked to his right and saw his car, or better said, what it once had been. He approached slowly, examining the damage; its beautiful red had been lost, the blow removed the paint, and smoke was coming out of the engine. Ercole doubted it would work, the windows were destroyed, and it looked like something out of the dump.

Everyone present looked at each other, knowing Ercole's bad temper. The only one slightly relieved was Guido. It seemed that everything had gone according to plan.

"Um… Ercole," Ciccio told him, slowly approaching.

But at that, Ercole stood up and ran off, heading towards the E-3 laboratory, ignoring any other thought.

"Maybe, just maybe... they didn't come for those things. Maybe, they were here for another reason," Ercole's last traces of sanity told him.

When he got to the lab, the door was closed, and he passed his card. As soon as they opened, he went in and examined the pool; the chains were down. He looked at the water; no movement, no bubbles. Everything was calm.

It was crystal clear.

With all the strength in his lungs, Ercole let the loudest cry he could and struck the shore with his staff.

"NO!"

...

"Giulietta, we're safe here; stop."

"Here? Papá, are you sure?"

"Yes, listen to me, daughter, please."

Giulia wasn't sure, but she did as told; she stepped on the brake and then put the parking brake on.

"What's happening?" She asked, looking back.

"We're gonna change vehicles."

"What?"

But Massimo just nodded, climbed out of the back, and disappeared from sight. Machiavelli went after him; Giulia rolled her eyes; she must have known that Guido and his father would have a backup plan. The important was that the worst part was over. They had succeeded.

She went down the van and then to the back. It had started to snow; it was a beautiful full-moon night accompanied by snowflakes.

"Santa mozzarella, we did it," she told them as he climbed back on, but she didn't get an answer; in fact, since they both escaped, they had been pretty quiet. "Hey, you can come out now; we're out of the lab. Ercole will never hurt you again."

No response.

Giulia narrowed her eyebrows; what was going on?

"Listen, I know my dad got a little scared, but he's a good man, give him time. He'll get used to you."

Then the sheets started to move, and Giulia smiled.

"Come on, get out. I promise everything will be fine." She put a hand on the edge of the cart.

A hand came out and placed on hers, only it was neither green nor purple, nor did it have four fingers, but was white with five fingers, human. Giulia screamed when she noticed that the other hand was human. She backed off, falling out of the car; luckily, the snow softened her fall. Massimo heard the knock and turned to see her.

"Giulietta! What's wrong?" Machiavelli had climbed onto his shoulder, and he also looked worried.

The girl moved back with her elbows, breathing heavily. What was happening? How was there a human in there? What had he done with his friends? She saw when they both entered the cart, how could it be...

The sheets moved again, and someone came out of them, a white-skinned boy with dark brown curly hair, brown eyes, and freckles.

The boy turned to see her, and Giulia felt her heart skip. Who was he?

Before she could ask him, another boy appeared, this one was tan-skinned, with brown curly hair, freckled and green eyes... just like...

Giulia widened her eyes as the craziest idea came to her head. Could it be that…?

The boys looked at each other before looking at her.

"Giulia?" the caucasian asked, and it was the same voice as…

"Luca? Alberto?"