Shackled Exalted

Emil

I can't find anyone.

Emil clicked his tongue out of frustration after peering around the corner of the corridor. He had been wandering the ground level of the lab searching for a lone maintenance staff to switch out of his researcher disguise.

All of the maintenance staff, however, were in groups accompanied by researchers and engineers while they toiled to fix the broken machineries scattered across the facility. The ground level was becoming crowded with activity. And while the Azurite lights hadn't been restored yet, there were plenty of oil lamps being used to provide emergency lighting. Without the cover of darkness, it was significantly harder for him to ambush someone undetected.

Maybe there's a room somewhere with spare uniforms. But where?

Time was ticking down. The five-minute delay that he requested from Petra would be over soon.

Something loud rumbled in the distance. The walls of the facility shook as if struck by a massive force. Flakes of dust and stone stirred from the ceilings while a few of the Azurite clusters fell onto the floor. Emil froze. For a moment, he thought the building was going to collapse.

As he strained his ears, he could hear a persistent thunderous bellow echoing from outside the building.

The river.

"What's going on?!" someone yelled.

A reply confirmed Emil's suspicions, "The containers fueling the steam engine are being overfilled! I think the river might have flooded!"

Didn't I say to wait five minutes?!

Now there was no chance to swap his disguise. The entire ground level was thrown into chaos once more. Maintenance staffs nearby were getting ready to move into the steam engine room when all hell broke loose.

"Incoming!"

The ominous groan of metal echoed over all the chaos. Something snapped off. Then an explosion roared from the eastern section of the facility. Death-curdling screams followed the vicious pop. Emil was still in the corridor by the stairwell when he saw steam surge into the lobby area of the facility. Researchers and maintenance staff caught by the gaseous eruption thrashed and screeched in agony. The floor was quickly drenched in boiling water. The ground level was going to be flooded.

"We have to stop the flow!"

"How?! The water is boiling hot!"

"Get the Sentinels! We need Exalted in here!"

"What's the situation outside?! What the hell happened to the river?!"

Conflicting orders and commands were being thrown out as the overflowing water continued to spread.

I need to move while everyone is still confused.

The destruction of the dam had caused more damage than he and Petra expected. Truthfully, they weren't anticipating a crisis of this level when they came up with this plan.

The staff who were caught in the blast of steam were writhing on the floor. Their bodies were a mess—their skins were blistering red as they peeled off with the scalding burns. Emil was surprised at his own dispassionate reaction. The sight was horrifying, and yet he didn't feel a shred of sympathy as the victims cried and pleaded for an end to their suffering. They deserved worse, if anything, for being complicit with the atrocities committed in this lab.

I won't be able to escape from the front anymore. The lobby area to the entrance is flooded with boiling water. Sentinels will be also be coming over to help with stabilizing the facility.

Emil made up his mind as he sprinted up the stairwell. A conversation from the previous night replayed in his head.

***

"Explain to me why I need to swap into a maintenance worker uniform when the flood happens."

"It's safer. There's less risk of someone realizing that you're not who you're claim to be. A researcher who volunteers to investigate the cause of a flood during a crisis is unusual, if you think about it. Academy researchers are notoriously prideful, and there's few that would willingly subject themselves to labor. There's also a high chance that the Sentinels will deny your request due to safety concerns. Remember that the Council is on high alert after you and your friend killed the professor and his assistants. They know that there's likely still a vigilante in Azure City targeting the Hidden Laboratories."

Emil nodded, eyeing Petra's map where a large 'X' was drawn across the line that represented the river. "I'm surprised the dam wasn't guarded when you found it."

Petra chuckled. "I'm not. Judging by how primitive it looked, it was likely built as a temporary solution before they could get the funding for a proper one. I doubt it'll be on their budget sheets. If I had to make a guess, the Council doesn't even know this dam exists. They can't dispatch Sentinels to guard what they don't know."

"I see. A bureaucratic blind spot."

"It doesn't help that all operations for the Hidden Laboratories are supposed to be top secret. And given the incident with Vigil, I wouldn't be surprised if the Council people responsible for overseeing the labs are overwhelmed."

Emil scoffed. "Alright. But what should I do if I can't secure a maintenance worker uniform in time? There's a chance that Animal Sibyl runs out beforehand. We won't be able coordinate once that happens."

"Well, regardless of the situation, I think it makes sense to destroy the dam to create a distraction. You won't be able to escape with the evidence just by walking out the gates. The Sentinels do an extensive body search on everyone who tries to leave the premise."

Petra fell silent. She had a nasty scowl on her face as she stared at her crudely drawn map. Emil was also deep in thought, considering the alternative options that might be available. Getting into the compound was actually the easy part. Escaping with the evidence undetected was a different story. Once they were inside the Hidden Laboratory, they were on a timer. One, Petra can only maintain possession of an animal for thirty minutes before she would be forcefully ejected. Two, the longer Emil was inside, the greater the chance that someone would notice an infiltration. Their plan wasn't exactly subtle as it relied on tampering with the important machines powering the facility. Soon enough, someone was going to suspect foul play.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"…I have an idea," Petra finally said. The grimace on her face, however, told Emil that this wasn't an option that she liked. "Frankly, it's a stupid idea. But I think it's something that you might be able to pull off."

"Hmm? A stupid idea, you say?" Emil shot her an annoying grin.

"Oh, shut up. Don't be a brat. The entire foundation of this operation was ridiculous to begin with," Petra sighed, "So fuck it, let's just go full stupid."

***

The stairwell was surprisingly empty. Emil expected more panic from the researchers on the upper levels after the facility was flooded. Instead, it was quiet. Either the chaos from the ground floor hadn't reached the top levels yet or the researchers were too immersed in their work to care. Emil found it strange, but he remembered the atrocities these people were willing to commit in order to fuel their curiosity. These were all monsters wearing human skins—common sense couldn't be applied to them.

It wasn't until he was near the seventh floor when he finally encountered someone.

Light from an oil lamp illuminated the dark stairwell. A researcher with a boyish face emerged from the entrance to the floor. Dark bags crowded beneath his eyes. His shoulders were slumped. A small frame of someone hadn't yet matured. He had the haggard look of someone who had barely slept in days. Emil, however, noticed the distinct insignia woven into the shoulder of his black researcher uniform.

An assistant from the Academy.

This was the first time he encountered a direct affiliate of the Academy in this lab. He had to be careful—there was a possible chance here that he might be recognized.

"Hey, what's going on?! T-The walls started shaking!"

He nearly jumped upon being addressed. Emil swallowed his nerves. His heart was pounding as he settled into his mask. He glanced down the stairway to hide his face. "Something happened to the river. The ground level is flooded right now in boiling water," he muttered in lower timbre.

"T-The steam engine malfunctioned?!" the boyish researcher cried with a wide look on his face as he began to descend down the stairs. Light from his oil lamp flickered. His hands must have been trembling.

Emil waited until the researcher was half-way down the first stairwell before making his way towards the entrance of the seventh floor. This was tallest level in the building.

His instincts suddenly screamed when he reached for the entrance door. Bloodlust. The flood of murderous energy beamed at his back like claws of a beast. Emil spun around.

A ball of mana barreled towards them. He immediately dipped and rolled to the side. He felt the scalding heat scorch the surface of his skin as the projectile grazed the top of his shoulder blades. Bam! The mana blasted into the walls of the facility. A radius of burnt marks was left in its wake.

"That floor is off-limits."

The boyish researcher had stomped back atop of the stairs. His left hand was outstretched—his palms fronted by another ball of swirling mana. His tired eyes were now livid, narrowed into a vicious glare attenuated by the bags clouded beneath his eyelids. As if a switch had been flicked, his quibbling and panicked impression from earlier was gone.

Who the hell is this guy?!

Emil slowly backed himself up against the rear of the wall. He couldn't move carelessly. The researcher's next attack was already prepared. The first attack had been a warning shot—a non-lethal hit aimed at his right shoulder. But it would have debilitated him if it landed. The next one likely wouldn't be so accommodating.

He's using Mana Blast.

Another practitioner of the advanced Mana Arts technique. This was the second time that Emil encountered someone who could use this impractical move in combat. The first was Melody.

He was well acquainted with the dangers of this technique. Unlike Gifts, which required at least a few milliseconds of time to activate, Mana Arts were near-instantaneous. The lack of delay was important. The trade-off to the attack was how rapidly it depleted an Exalted's mana capacity and how much faster they descended into Overclock—a trade-off that Emil now knew could be ignored if an Exalted had an unusually high mana capacity. Mana Blast was particularly troublesome to deal with due to a combination of its speed, destructive power, and range.

If this researcher defaulted to this technique, he must have been similar to Melody.

Why do I keep running into these monsters?

The top part of Emil's shoulder was starting to bleed. He could feel the sleeves of his black overcoat becoming drenched.

"Just what exactly do you think you're doing? Everyone in this facility should know that this part of the building is only permissible to access by a select few." The researcher's eyes suddenly glowed blue. "You. I don't recognize that face. Who are you?"

I should have just knocked him out from the very beginning.

Emil slowly raised his hands, feigning a surrender. The researcher inched closer. The sphere of mana in his palms cackled as the strands mana continued to swirl dangerously.

"Explain yourself!"

The bloodlust in the air thickened. The researcher's eyes were wide and feral like a beast defending its territory.

Just come a little closer.

"Very well, interloper. Then die!"

Emil tapped the heel of his foot the instant the researcher unleashed his attack. Mana stormed into his left foot. He pushed against the wall and launched himself forward like a missile. The edge of the researcher's Mana Blast brushed against the side of his torso. The scalding pain iced into his chest. He bit down to endure.

"Ack!"

He slammed his elbow into the researcher's stomach. The man folded, gasping for breath at the unexpected move. Emil wasted no time. With both hands clasped together, he pummeled the researcher's head like a hammer.

There was a faint echo as the researcher collapsed onto the floor. Emil gave him another blow for good measure just in case there was a vestige of consciousness left. No reaction. Blood began to pool instead.

Did I kill him?

Emil sighed in disappointment. This time there was truly no helping it. He couldn't afford for someone that vicious to be chasing after him. Holding the side of his torso, he staggered towards the entrance to the seventh floor.

As he opened the door, he was immediately assaulted by a wave of stale air. The seventh floor was small, consisting of just a single open area. The right half of the floor was filled with shelves of books and a table for writing. The left half consisted of a small workbench along with a variety of tools, measurement devices, and laboratory equipment.

Emil felt the same oppressive pressure against his chest as he did on the second floor. Something nefarious was taking place here.

The floor seemed empty. It was dark, minus the moonlight coming through the sole window across from the entrance to stairwell. Curiosity gnawed at Emil's mind, but he suppressed it this time.

I can't afford to dawdle any longer.

He already had the evidence that he needed. The commotion between him and that researcher might have been heard. Now wasn't the time to get greedy.

Without another glance, he trudged towards the window and forced open the panes. He was greeted by the frigid night breeze. The half-moon stood in the night sky. Parts of its celestial body obscured by clouds.

Emil stepped onto the window sill. He carefully stood up and then turned around to reach for the roof pitch. With a bit of mana, he managed to pull himself up onto the edge of the tented rooftop. He winced as the cold winds blew by.

He was facing the rear wall of the compound. The flooded river was on his right. Motes of light floated up and down the length of the riverbank. Sentinels. The patrols were occupied with the damages caused by the overflowing waters. The compound was in disarray. Even the three watchtowers located on the south, east, and west walls appeared to be focused on the river. There was no one watching the northern wall.

Emil stared ahead. Aside from a small bit of open space, most of the land beyond the north wall were the forests of the Third Sector.

Fifty meters, huh?

That was the distance from the building to the wall. It didn't seem so long when Petra described it during their debriefing session. Seeing it firsthand from the seventh floor's rooftop, however, gave him a different perspective. Emil noted the barbed wires atop of the north wall. Roughly in his head, he estimated a height difference of about thirty meters between his current elevation and the top of the walls.

This really is a stupid plan.

He scoffed. He couldn't imagine Petra of all people would propose such a ridiculous idea. And he couldn't believe that he was actually foolish and desperate enough to do it.

Well, if anything, this is on par for my standards.

Emil closed his eyes. He could feel his heart slamming against the roof of his ribcage. He shivered as the winds stole away the little remains of his body heat. The inside of his black overcoat was drenched—both with sweat and blood from the earlier encounters. He pressed on the side of his torso. Beneath the uneven layers held documents that proved the Council of Mana's involvement in the Hidden Laboratory's atrocities.

Stop wasting time.

He swallowed his nerves and took a few steps back. He leaned on his heels. Mana gathered around his legs. He narrowed his eyes in concentration. He thought of the orphans who suffered namelessly in this lab, rendered into mere numbers and observations recorded on paper. He then thought of Mia and Raz whose lives were dependent on his success. Finally, he thought about his faux life at the Academy. Even if it was just a lie, it was one that he didn't want to leave behind.

Come on, it'll be fun.

He pushed off.

And jumped.