* * *

With families reunited on one end of the facility, it was the other group that had found exactly what they were hoping for—Deeming the nicer metal doors as the main entrance, the place where Remus was forced to leave Sage alone.

Not alone, but with Blake and her father.

Granted, he sort of wished for the former Rogue's opinion, given that he has faced a facility much like this one. But this gave room for Liam Elwood to step up.

"Never thought I'd see myself back at one of these places..." Liam mumbled, the weight of his words pressing down harder than it should to those around him. It always caused his brothers to grimace when either he or Luke brought up the unforgettable time when the two went missing.

Cameron had been younger—just having shifted within the last few years when he realized that the family balance had not only cracked, it had ultimately broke the Elwoods apart.

Some had theorized that is why Leo had made such an uprise in remaining with Sage—Adopting her—Becoming her parents and welcoming her in with such open arms.

She was a big reason why they were able to escape, and that gained her the loyalty of the entire Master of Arms family.

Remus sighed as he truly did not want to dive deeper into this building, knowing what might be happening within it. He choked back the thoughts about Andrew already doing Goddess what after trekking through that awful drain.

But worse of all, he had to continuously shake himself from thinking about Sage. He couldn't afford to be distracted at a time like this.

After getting off easy, he entered into the side—Only to catch Grey standing there with an air of authority on him. And Remus nodded off towards him.

"We've managed to find where the Wolves are located—" Grey informed, though his voice held no sign of it's usual energetic self, "Found the males, and the females should be coming soon. There are a lot who need help waking up and are too hurt to help us. The rest are prepared to tear this place apart." Remus swallowed the information as quickly as he could.

"Send the sick off towards the rest of us," Remus ordered, and Grey agreed, but Liam frowned. "What about Eirene? Did you find her brother?"

"She ditched the first chance she got. The males that need to get out now are in the closet—Haven't managed to see any guards this way." Grey replied, knowing full well nobody wanted to be the one to tell Sage the news of loosing the pup. Thus, the first number of escapists had started to inch up—Leaving Blake to act as the in-between with the rest.

It still didn't feel right or safe to be so far away from either group, so when he caught sight of Severin in the hall, they had nodded as though they were merely coworkers—It was easy.

Too easy.

Leaving Remus to believe that whoever was running this facility was just allowing them to move about for show. For them to get their hopes up, getting them was the first step of the many they needed to get to.

Remus was walking in a pattern, one that might have been influenced by a military black site—But he was all too easy to get grabbed by Andrew, who was in a side closet with a few unknown faces, all of which were dressed the same. "Rem, this place is a fucking maze."
"Yeah, passing around a sticky note with the map on it isn't doing it," Remus grunted, "How's finding the witches going?"

Andrew nicked his arm to one of the smaller males, and he grunted a huff.

"H-hi, sir. The Witches are on the opposite end of the facility. Usually, it's much more secure than what's happening here. They kept us heavily sedated...Not as much as Buck, though." Remus nodded to the stranger but then looked back to Andrew.

"Who's Buck?"

"A wolf that has the body Severin and Luke combined—And then some. He's helping Sev find the females and get them transported to Blake. It's giving us time to scout the other beings here before we tackle the witches. If Chaz is right, we'll want all hands on deck for getting past the protective wall for them. Then we find Almond." The others didn't question the plan, not when time was sensitive down to the very seconds.

However, it did make things much easier when Sage had taken to flashing a light in the trees to give them some sense that the next set of transfers made it.

That Blake returned and would be heading back, though this time, he left empty-handed at the possibility of sticking with the rest of the party upstairs.

While the rest were prepared to head further into the maze, and goddess have mercy, things were starting to turn for the worse as Remus heard the first signs of torture.

"Your turn, Rem," Andrew said, nicking his head to the side at the possibility of killing scientists was very much what he needed right now. Especially after meeting a wolf whose eyes were forever scarred after acid was poured onto their face.

As though it would have any other reaction than the dozen previous test subjects.

Remus did not hesitate as he walked directly into the room, and pulled the doctor's arm away from the female lying on the table before taking him at the back of the head and deciding that this would be the perfect time to ask the questions that had been building up until now.

"I have a hypothetical for you...Dr. Ketner. If someone wanted to find the person in charge, how would they do that?"

"M-master A is not I-in today, h-he should be—T-tonight." Within the sterilized scent, it was easy to smell the sour tint that suggested that he pissed himself out of fear, and Remus smirked.

"Hm, and what were you planning to do here? Removing another kidney? A lung? The heart?" Remus taunted, and with the assistance being handled and the rest of the rooms starting to be sought after and prisoners being secured, it allowed Remus to have a moment of clarity with this scientist.

"I—I'm just following orders."

"Yeah? So am I...You want to know what those orders were?" The question had caused the man to beg, to plea, and Remus inhaled before smiling ever so brightly.

Perhaps turning into the sadistic side that his father had instilled in him.

"S-sir pl-please! H-have mer—"

"I know you aren't saying to give you mercy. But perhaps I should?... This is my mercy," That had allowed Remus to allow his hands to partially shift. His nails had dug right into the center of his chest—Carelessly searching for the organ that he doubted the man had for a moment before laughing in a manner of success.

When he turned to see Andrew, the male shared the same smile—A smug smirk that they were dishing out the Goddess will. "Feel any guilt having fun in this?"

"Nope," Remus laughed, "Not a hint of it."

"Good. Remember what people like that did to Sage, and are doing to these other ones. I know this is new for you to see up close, and we might not be friends with these other creatures, but we certainly faced the same shit, and we need this to end." Andy said, engaging not only Remus, but anyone who needed the pep talk, though, in technicality, Remus didn't know how things could get any worse.

Bears. Mermaids. Nymphs. A Dragon. Vampires—Goddess, if he so much as thought of another, he was sure that Armond had managed to secure one.

But a Dragon?! Remus had assumed they were a myth, dying decades ago from a lack of passing along the very delicate gene of their kind.

Yet any and all impossibilities had left after meeting Buck, the large fellow that was working to break the cages and such—He didn't think beasts could look so tamed, let alone that Dragons actually exist.

"My kind are far and few between, sir, our females are dying—Meaning we are dying." The male said, and it was a fearful reality, it seemed all the Shifters of every species were being hunted for a purpose, and Armond was the very essence of it all.

What was he after?

More importantly, why?

In the midst of their search, a hazard door had caught Grey's attention—and what better way than to make a distraction of the building being caught off guard?

Yet Andy caught just where his attention lay, "I wouldn't touch that shit, Grey. We don't know what's behind there."

"What if it's someone special that Almond thinks they need to be separated?" Grey pleaded, and it was hard to revert back to their word, not when wolves, Vampires, a Dragon, and a few bears were looking at them with expectation.

"What does the map say?" Andrew issued, and Grey took to looking at his scribbling for the hundredth time. "It's a set of numbers, like the holding cells. Means someone—Something, is in there."

"Alright, anyone know any species that could be a hazard?" Andrew questioned, and the majority remained silent, until Alastor's slit eyes turned up.

"A Demon, perhaps?"

"If it is a Demon, we need to get them out. We kill them, then whatever Demonic contract or deal can become public." Remus decided, and it seemed like the best chance, as well as convincing the others that brute strength was needed to unlock this door.

As well as seven damn key cards.

"Whatever is behind here, they sure as hell did not want us to get it," Osmin grunted, heaving away after he and the rest had finally been able to let go.

There hadn't been any sort of alarm that announced their entrance, no, but there was a bit of a process as well—As each of them had walked through an activated misty spray, one that did not smell fowl, but most definitely a sterilization.

"It's not worth her coming down here to tell us what this is..." Remus whispered, knowing that Andy was thinking the same way. But he agreed outright, no, this was something they had to focus on their own—Sage was already this close to her past life, she shouldn't have to renature it entirely.

"Alastor? What is it?" Grey questioned, and their eyes continued to flicker about the room—As though they were looking into an interrogation room.

But there was nothing, nothing more than a box in the center.

"Has the heart of the flame..." Alastor claimed, moving directly toward the connecting door and huffing in damnation when it did not budge. However, the growl that came out of this disguised beast was more guttural than not, and Remus could not argue that he caught the puff of smoke coming from the male's nostrils.

"Stand down, Alastor. We need to think this through."

"Heart of the Flame..." He repeated, and Andrew sighed, knowing that this beast could have been here for years and that was the reason he disregarded authority.

Or, the other possibility, he was a different species entirely.

It was safe to say that none of them knew how the Dragons lived. Yet his disregard for it all was not at all safe for their current predicament.

"Alastor, come on, let's think this through. If they have this locked up for a reason, we have to figure out the why before breaking in." Grey said, a calming hand on the male's shoulder, but that ultimately failed. As touching the beast had been the wrong move, in a moment's notice—Grey was slammed against the wall and earned himself a second snarl.

"He wants me for the same reason he wants them." The Dragon replied, and Andrew held up his hands to signal a white flag. "Who wants you? 'Master'?"

"Yes. He was trying to make—" The admission of another set of mist had settled over them as well as that in the room adjacent to them. Yet that did not give Alastor the sense of clarity, no, he returned to the door in a hurry.

Which had now opened with Alastor's impatient push.

Remus lingered carefully at the edge of the room, only for Alastor to hold up a metal box in victory, one that seemed airtight and locked to the brim.

"Flame Heart." He gestured, and Remus could only nod and encourage him to return back towards them. There didn't seem to be any more debate or urge to stay here, not when the item locked away had seemingly been retrieved.

Retrieved and protected, as Alastor was not letting go of the locked box, and most likely wouldn't for the time being.

With dozens of other beings being relocated and accounted for, the wolves in this part of the vicinity had done one final scope. The bodies were all left as they were, but it didn't mean that the others weren't taking advantage of whatever the given few were carrying on their person. This gave some resting time for Buck to use whatever medical gear could be found to stitch back up the unlucky few.

It surprised Andy that the wolf knew how to do anything of the sort, but he wouldn't be complaining. Not when it gave them the upper hand and the option to keep as many numbers as possible.

But speaking of numbers, both Remus and Andrew had stalled short at the entryway at the end of the hall...And goddess have mercy, but they had finally found Eirene—

The female sobbed silently over her brother, who was shifted and completely gutted right in front of her. Not only that, but he was forever frozen in a look pure terror. His gills looked to have been ripped out, and his fangs were enlarged, as if they were being evaluated before Eirene had come in and sought her own vengeance.

"They killed him!" Andrew reached a hand out before retracting it, not wanting to startle her when she was already feeling predatory and, above all, protective. "Eiren—"

"No! I stayed—I listened to him and I stayed put. I waited!" Her wails of torment had turned into howls, ones that felt as though they echoed in damnation.

And that type of pain demanded to be heard. "I listened to him, I trusted him! And they've—They've gutted him! They waited until he dried up!" There was nothing crueler than a fish out of water, literally.
While it didn't appear as obvious to some, Remus had caught the sign of very chapped lips, exposed patches of skin, and gills that seemed to be as thin as could be.

He was suffocated.

"I made a promise to her that I would watch and help you find your brother," Remus whispered, his voice soft and low, "You need to come with us, you're brother would want you safe and back with your family."

"But my parents will—"

"Will be happy that one of their children was spared, come...We need to get the hell out of here before we're caught. It's a blessing that we haven't been already." Remus offered out a hand, and while it was painful, utterly painful to watch Eirene force herself away from her brother—Though it was not without a prayer, a proper kiss goodbye, all while she took the jewelry that lingered on his body—The necklace, bracelet, and whatever else she saw as she stuffed them into her suit's trousers.

The poor female hadn't stopped crying, and as they rejoined the rest—A rather spunky female had come forward beside Eirene and offered her a hand. It had seemed in good nature, and thus, she took it.

Though it was Andrew who felt relieved that another creature had taken sight to watch the pup. "Are you alright?" Buck asked, clearly uncomfortable by the youngling's tears.

"My brother's dead." She issued, and Buck had placed a hand on his heart before bending down to place it to hers. "He's fought a good battle, and you will live in his honor for what he's sacrificed." The words had meant more to her than the 'I'm sorry,' she's received in passing, but Buck had taken into consideration the shell necklace that nearly looked like a rosary with how she was holding it.

Giving her identity away with ease.

"What's the plan now?" Caleb asked, a bag full of supplies being handed off to Buck before he slugged another one over his shoulders.

"We get them upstairs to the rest of us and regroup before we head to the other half. What's the Dragon's name again?" Remus questioned, clearly losing sight of the dozens of names he'd learned in the past hour.

"Alastor, he hasn't let go of that box for a while..." Caleb replied to the Alpha, but Liam nudged his brother in the arm and shook his head.

"If it comforts him, leave it all alone. I'd like to be upstairs if anything turns south in here. Besides, that'll be a good start to burning this shit hole on fire." Liam suggested, his arsonist's side returning as he shared a smirk with the rest of the former inmates.

It was something he could understand, that they had in common.

Thankfully, the mixture of different creatures was unbelievably different in terms of numbers. And the Wolves of either cell block had done their task of being runners, supplying those inside and out with whatever could be spared.

But Buck remained in the facility. Saying a simple "Job is not done," before continuing with the next soul that needed a look at. "We could really use you out there, too. We didn't bring a Healer."

"Not a Healer." He easily replied, but Remus smirked. "Could be, if you want to. I'd like to think that the pack I come from has a great program." Now that perked the male's interest, but he didn't reply with much more than a grunt.

With Eirene and the more passive species out into the clearing with the rest, Andrew felt more confident now that the injured were out of harm's way.

"Alright, we're going into unknown and likely dangerous territory. We have a good number up above, but that's the last resort. And I have it on good authority that anyone we're about to meet will want to leave." It felt like a daring assumption that anyone from beyond this point was being held as captive, but that still left room for loyalty to said Master.

In all honesty, it felt as though the scientists were only loyal out of fear—Yet that was perhaps even more dangerous, give or take the situation. And Remus was utterly prepared for a shitshow to embark.

______

Date: 03/23/2026

Time: 2:05 PM

Words: 3072