Before we knew it, Boreas and I reached the first floor of the prison. Since most of the guards had been sent to the seventh circle to quell the prison riots, we didn't run into anyone in our mad dash.

"Let's see...Ah, the collection room's over here," Boreas said, taking a left down a hallway.

"The collection room?" I echoed, struggling to keep up with my partner's pace.

"Where the prison keeps everything they've pilfered from their inmates," he explained, "It's located in the administrative wing of this building, which can be found...Through this door."

Boreas kicked in a door we had found near the front entrance of the prison. When we entered, we were faced with a ghastly-looking secretary. It was at that moment I realized we had just stormed into a waiting room.

"Scream, and I'll blow your brains out," I growled, only for Boreas to hold a hand out to stop me.

"Tell me where the collection room is," he began in a calm tone. "And we won't have to resort to bloodshed."

With a shaky hand, the secretary pointed to a door behind her: "T-Take a left at the first i-intersection. T-The door will be on your right."

Boreas gave her a single nod before we got moving again, and I made sure to shoot her kneecap out before we left the room.

"Was that necessary?" my partner prompted me.

"Yes."

"Okay...Guess I can't argue with that."

We followed the directions given to us and entered a room full of crates. There was a man garbed in a white uniform studying the contents of a nearby crate, and I scowled when I saw him holding my helmet. Shooting him in the back of the head, I stepped forward to retrieve my gear. Peering into the crate my now-dead target was caught rifling through, I spotted my duster, armor, and weapons.

Even though I was more than a little exhausted, I forced myself to put my armor on and strap my weapons back onto my belt. In under five minutes, I was back in my old gear. With a hiss, my helmet was put back on, and I felt myself relax. 

"Ah, hello again sir," Lenny began, "Loading heads-up display...Complete. Loading communications interface...Complete. Loading contact backups...Complete."

When my HUD flashed back to life, I heard Boreas whistle through my commset. "Damn, Lenny doesn't fuck around. I was able to see when you erased everything stored in your helmet, but I didn't know the bloody AI was able to save all your info."

"You see, master Boreas, I saved the backups onto your systems. It was as simple as accessing them again and loading them back into Cylus' helmet."

"...Huh. I mean, you were a military-grade AI before I liberated you, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"Wait, what?" I demanded, rounding on my partner.

Boreas shrugged and left the room. "Not important. Chop-chop, my dude: Time's not a luxury we have right now, so we need to get moving."

I hissed out a sigh and followed him out of the room. I walked with a slight limp since Mayfield really didn't discriminate with his torture methods. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was one step away from hamstringing me. Even if I was treated by a medical team after every bout, they only did the bare minimum. Nothing more. Motherfucker...I wish I wasn't so roughed up...

Boreas noticed my limp and growled. "Do I want to know?"

"No," I hissed, "Sorry, I'm trying to keep up."

"No worries, I understand perfectly," he replied, "So, I have good news and bad news: the good news is that there's an elevator nearby that can take us up to the third floor. The bad news...Well, once we reach the third floor, we'll have to get to the next elevator...Which is located on the other side of the building."

"We'll make do with what we have," I said, "Here's the handgun I pilfered. You'll probably need it."

"Fair enough," he mused as he accepted the small gun, "I doubt I've ever fired one of these before."

"It's not that difficult," I assured him. We walked back into the waiting room, and I shot the secretary in the head before anything else could be said. I had already shot her knee, so there was no point leaving her alive, "Just aim at whatever you want to see dead and pull the trigger. If the need arises, more than one bullet is required."

"W-What the hell man?" Boreas demanded, stumbling away in shock. "Oh, come on! I got blood on my visor!"

"Can't risk leaving anyone alive to give away our whereabouts," I rumbled, "Sorry, but we've gotten this far. I'm not taking any chances."

"I understand that, but you could've given me a damn warning..."

"I'm surprised the secretary stayed put in the first place."

"When a notorious bounty hunter storms into your waiting room and threatens to blow your brains out, you'd be fucking surprised. Shock does wack things to you," he pointed out, "And besides, you shot her fucking kneecap out. It's not like she could drag herself away in the first place."

I shrugged in response, and we returned to the main lobby of the prison. Boreas led me to a nearby elevator, and he cracked this one open after working away on his holo-computer.

We quickly stepped into the elevator, and Boreas started whistling to himself as we slowly ascended through the complex.

"I'll be dropping by in a little under thirty minutes," Alannah warned us, "You better be on the rooftop by then since I won't be able to stick around for long. The UTF will be hot on your heels, so get your asses in gear."

"Wait, we really spent thirty minutes exiting the sub-levels?" Boreas demanded.

I could only offer a helpless shrug. "I was mildly...Impeded, Boreas. I tried to keep myself moving at a decent pace, but I have a feeling I've  experienced a bit of muscle atrophy..."

"No fuckin' way," he retorted, "There has to be a gym in this dump."

"There is, but I haven't been allowed access to it yet," I elaborated, "Probably Mayfield's doing..."

"God damn it..." Boreas hissed, "It's like he's trying to break you down on every level..."

"I hope you ladies know I'm still on the other line..." Alannah chimed in, "Cylus, when you run into Mayfield, show him no mercy."

A crooked grin began to form on my features. "With pleasure, love."

The rest of the trip was silent. When we heard a ding, followed by the artificial voice of a female saying "You have arrived on: floor three. Have a lovely day," Boreas and I stormed out of the elevator compartment and trained our firearms in front of us. Unfortunately, we scared the piss out of a janitor. A quick shot to the head took him out.

"Damn it, Cylus..." Boreas grumbled, stepping over the dead body, "This is why we can't have nice things..."

"We can't leave witnesses."

"I know, I know..."

We hurried through the halls, which were a dark slate blue rather than the sheer whiteness of the sub-levels. Boreas constantly referred to his wrist-mounted computer, and the worry etched into his features did not put my mind at ease.

"What's wrong?" I prompted him.

"I'm studying the cams around us, and I'm not liking what I'm seeing."

"Get to the point."

"Guards, guards everywhere."

"I thought they were dealing with the prison riots."

"They've already dealt with the prison riots, wise guy. Our friends are now aware of the fact you're missing, and they're searching for us right now as we speak!"

I sighed, only to get a bright idea. "Boreas, resort to plan B."

"Plan B?"

"Open up every single cell block in this god-forsaken prison."

"Is that a good idea?"

"It's the only idea that gives us the greatest chance of getting out of here alive!"

"Okay mom! No need to yell at me! While I've been able to scurry around the few security protocols in place, I won't be able to remain hidden after I do this."

"As long as you have access to surveillance cameras, I don't care! Just do it!"

"On it!"

A few moments later, alarms blared all around us. "Warning! Warning! Prison riots in cell blocks one through six on sub-levels one through seven and levels two through seven! All hands on deck! I repeat: all hands on deck! This is not a drill!"

I smirked behind my helmet. "I'm so proud of you Boreas, You truly are an agent of chaos."

"Aw, you flatter me!"

I rumbled out a chuckle. "Are we far enough away from the cell blocks? I'd rather not have to hack my way through crowds of inmates."

"Yeah, we're nowhere near the blocks," Boreas assured me. "Come on, we're getting close to the elevator!"

Needing no further prompting, I followed him through the relatively-undecorated halls. All in all, it took us ten minutes to reach the elevator. However...

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me!" Boreas exclaimed when we spotted the group of UTF troops before us. Judging by their heavy-duty armor and the very-real rifles at their sides, it's safe to assume backup was called in.

Sparing no time at all, I drew my knife and handgun in a single fluid motion. Charging toward the group, I felt my sanity begin to slip. From what I could tell, I was dealing with a squadron of six soldiers. They may have had fancier toys, but the visors of their headgear weren't wholly bulletproof.

Ignoring every single wound inflicted on me, I fell into a blind rage as I began my rampage. I drove my knife into the neck of one target, twisted the blade, and slashed it across their throat before removing it and slamming it into the torso of another target with such ferocity I cracked their combat armor. A quick flurry of bullets mowed down three soldiers in one fell swoop, and I tackled my final aggressor to the ground. Having left my knife in the torso of a long-dead soldier, I opted instead to use my fists. Throwing off the soldiers helmet, I beat him to within an inch of his life before gouging his eyes out

After I realized I had one more bullet left in the chamber, I shot my final enemy square between the eyes. I loosed a jagged breath. That felt...good. Really, really good...

"Cylus...?" I heard Boreas inquire. I turned to regard him, and I could tell he was more than a little perturbed, "Yep...I'll probably have to find you a therapist...Or two...Or maybe a dozen."

"Let's get moving," I growled, "We don't have much time left."

"R-Right," he stammered. The elevator doors opened before us, and we entered. Five minutes later, we reached the seventh floor.

"Now we have to find our way onto the rooftop," Boreas murmured, "Just fuckin' great..."

"I trust your judgement. Just get us up there."

"I'll see what I can do, mate."

We're close...So very, very close. Please, give me this at least...