Piping and wires snaked their way around and above the corridors as they themselves snaked through the labyrinthine maze of corridors of the facility. There were no more high security doors save for the reactor room door at their destination. Marcellus followed Ava but hung back just enough to provide a buffer should they be attacked from the rear. Declan led with Tivon as it was Declan who was sporting a wrist-mounted holo-map. Even with the map this place was nearly an unnavigable web of hallways and rooms.

Every warning bell inside of Marcellus’s head was going off. They passed room after room, corridor after corridor, and yet there was still no real resistance. Not even automated defenses. The bulk of the forces seemed to be outside or none existent. This smells like a trap yet if it was why wasn’t sprung yet? What were they waiting for? It’s almost as though the lack of security was on purpose.

Their first stop was the control room which thankfully was adjacent to the reactor room. It was not much longer before they found it and set Declan up to do his job.

“This shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.” He said, tail twitching as he plugged a few wires from his wrist-mounted computer into the door, began typing furiously, and worked to get the control room door open.

Tivon looked to Ava. “Keep him company. Me and pretty boy will take care of the planting the charges.”

No one complained as they set to their tasks. Marcellus and Tivon headed out back into the corridors and looped around where after a minute or two they came across the last high security door.

Tivon held a hand up to his ear and tapped the ear piece to his comm-link device. “Hey kid, the door’s still closed. What gives? You in or what?”

“We are in but… I don’t know, this might take a little long-“

Warning! Warning! Security breach! Security Breach!

The sound of the automated alarm system blared loud enough to make their ears hurt. A loud slam rang out as a secondary door slammed down in front of the reactor door.

“What the hell is going on Declan?!” Tivon called out into the comm-link.

“I- I don’t know! I deactivated the containment protocols and then the system went haywire. Tivon, we are trapped inside!”

“Stay calm. The entrance to the reactor room is blocked. Can you get it open?”

“I-I’ll t-try to override it.” Declan stammered.

“Move,” Marcellus said as he lifted his hammer, calling forth a scorching flame from his maul.

Tivon had just barely gotten out of the way before Marcellus brought the hammer down upon the reinforced door. The metallic clang was as ear piercing as the alarm. Marcellus stood there, tensed.

“What are you-“ Tivon was saying before noticing the metal around the door beginning to glow white hot. “Right.” Tivon held his hand back up to his ear. “New plan. As long as the containment protocols are still down get yourselves out, grab Erik, and retreat. Me and the pretty boy will finish things here.”

Erik’s gruff voice came through the radio. “Roger that, be aware security is starting to pile in. I had to retreat into the corridor to force them into a bottleneck.”

“We read,” Tivon responded.

Ava’s static-ridden voice came back through the comm-link, “but what about you two?”

“We’ll be fine,” Marcellus said stoically. “Worry about yourselves.”

There was a moment’s pause. “Okay. Be careful Marc.”

Tivon turned to Marcellus rifle pointed down the corridor in case any visitors were to arrive. “How much longer?”

Marcellus lifted his hammer off the door – seeming to rest for a moment.

“What are you doing?!” Tivon cried out in shock.

“My job,” Marcellus said back as he lifted his hand palm forward towards the door and focused. A soft blue-white energy radiated from his hand and a mist of chilled air shot forth and frosted the super-heated door. The sound of bending, breaking, and expanding metal groaned and snapped in the frame.

Lifting his hammer, Marcellus reeled back and swung back with a loud cry. The reinforced door and the door behind flew out of the frame and into the reactor room, splintering into large chunks.