"…Saves us the trouble."
Elric's words hadn't even settled...
When the tunnel lights died.
Not flickered.
Not glitched.
Cut.
Darkness swallowed the space.
Mii grabbed his sleeve instantly.
"Player?!"
A low hum replaced the silence.
Deeper than before.
Heavier.
Kaida-9's voice cut through.
"…Power disruption."
Sera's tone sharpened.
"…No."
A beat.
"…Containment."
A thin line of light ignited along the tunnel walls.
Not bright.
Not enough to see clearly.
Just enough to outline shapes.
Edges.
Movement.
Pix whispered...
"…Oh that's not good."
The ground beneath them shifted.
Not violently.
But deliberately.
Panels sliding.
Locking.
Sealing.
Lyra turned sharply.
"…They're restructuring the pathways."
Elric frowned.
"…You mean...?"
She didn't hesitate.
"…They're closing the exits."
Mii's grip tightened.
"…That's not part of the date."
Pix let out a quiet laugh.
"…Nope."
A beat.
"…That's the trap part."
A distant sound echoed through the tunnel.
Not drones.
Footsteps.
Measured.
Synchronized.
Kaida-9 stepped forward.
Positioning herself between the sound and the group.
"…Contact approaching."
Sera's eyes narrowed.
"…Multiple."
The faint light along the walls pulsed once.
And suddenly...
The tunnel ahead wasn't empty anymore.
Figures stood there.
Not fully visible.
But outlined.
Tall.
Still.
Uniform.
Elric squinted.
"…Are those..."
Lyra's voice dropped instantly.
"…Helix units."
The word hit hard.
Pix muttered under her breath.
"…Already?"
Mii leaned closer to Elric.
"…They move fast."
Lyra didn't respond.
Her eyes were locked forward.
Focused.
Sharp.
"…Faster than they should," she said quietly.
The figures stepped forward.
In sync.
Light caught them just enough now...
Sleek armor.
Smooth.
Featureless helmets.
No visible weapons...
Which somehow made it worse.
Kaida-9 shifted her stance.
"…Engagement imminent."
Sera spoke immediately.
"…No."
Everyone paused.
"…This isn't an attack force," she said.
A beat.
"…It's a retrieval team."
Silence.
Mii blinked.
"…That sounds worse."
Pix nodded.
"…Yeah. Way worse."
Elric rolled his shoulders.
"…I'm noticing a pattern here."
The lead figure stopped.
Just outside striking distance.
Then...p
It tilted its head.
And spoke.
The voice...
Too clean.
Too precise.
"Asset identified."
Silence.
Mii whispered...
"…Nope. Hate that."
The figure took one step closer.
"Secondary asset confirmed."
Its head turned slightly.
Toward Lyra.
"…Yeah," Elric muttered. "…that tracks."
Lyra didn't move.
Didn't react outwardly.
But her hand...
Shifted.
Ready.
"Return protocol initiated."
Kaida-9 stepped forward instantly.
"…Denied."
The figure didn't react.
"Compliance expected."
Pix leaned toward Elric.
"…Can I break them?"
"Probably," he said.
"…but let's wait half a second."
Mii whispered, "…Why are they so calm?!"
Sera answered.
Quiet.
"…Because they already think this is over."
That hit.
Elric exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah," he said.
"…I don't like that confidence."
The walls pulsed again.
Behind them...
Another path sealed shut.
Lyra's voice cut low.
"…We're surrounded."
Kaida-9 confirmed.
"…Multiple containment points."
Pix glanced upward.
"…Signals just spiked."
Elric smirked slightly.
"…Of course they did."
He stepped forward.
Just slightly.
The lights flickered in response.
The lead figure paused.
Just for a fraction of a second.
But it noticed.
"Anomaly confirmed."
Elric tilted his head.
"…Yeah," he said.
"…you're gonna hear that a lot."
Mii whispered urgently, "Player, plan?!"
He glanced back at them.
At everyone.
Lyra... tense, ready.
Kaida-9... locked in.
Sera... calculating.
Pix... barely holding back chaos.
Elen... quiet… watching everything.
Mii... close.
Always close.
Then he looked forward again.
"…Step five," he said.
The lights flickered harder.
"…we break the net."
The figure raised its hand.
And the tunnel sealed completely.
No exits.
No openings.
Just them...
And the hunters.