Thirteen's legs never stopped bouncing ever since they got back from Shaw's office. There were hours he spent with his eyes wide open and glued to the door, expecting the black clad soldiers to show up and shove him into a machine to oblivion. None of the sort happened. He should just get over himself and start plotting out a way to get into the systems and bring it down from the inside. For him to do that, he needed help.

That was how he ended up sitting in front of Noak and another girl he hadn't seen before.

Noak gestured to the girl with curly brown hair split into pigtails. "This is Sindri," he said. "We met a few months back. At least, it felt like months."

Sindri rolled her eyes. Her brown skin glistened against the light when she crossed her arms. "If it was not for Noak, I would not bother with you." She tilted her chin towards Thirteen. "What are you dying to say to us?"

Thirteen sat back, his spine digging into the chair's cold metal rails. He was in a negotiating mood. "Help me, and you will be rewarded nicely," he started.

Sindri frowned. "What kind of govno is this?" She whirled to her friend who showed her his palms. She whirled back to Thirteen. "I cannot believe I wasted all that breath to hear this nonsense. I am going back."

"I am not going to lie—I do not have a lot to promise you, but I am on a mission," Thirteen said, staying still with his stance. Show her a bit of anxiety, and she would confirm her bias. He had to show her how convinced he was in his plan. Or at least, some vestiges of it. "And I never give up on it. Not when tons of lives are at stake."

"A mission to die, you mean." Sindri scoffed. "Make me no part of your drivel."

She turned to Noak and stood up, her chair making clattering noises on the floor. "Have fun with this lunatic," she said. "You bring it upon yourself. Do not blame me if you get killed."

With that, she stalked off, wading through the sea of gray and sleeveless vests. She came to a nearby table and sank into it. Thirteen urged the chair back to its table and faced everyone else. Jocasta, Alon, Ji-yeon, and Kevan all had their elbows propped on the scratched laminated surface. Thirteen nodded at Kevan.

Starting link in three, two, one.

A brief sting streaked between his eyes, but a flurry of voices exploded in his mind. As if people found their way into his brain and started tap dancing in it. He fought off the wince creeping into his face, seeing the others do the same as well. For the cameras to not pick up on what they were doing, they needed to keep it as calm as possible.

Kevan took the lead in the mental conversation. Managing different threads of interconnected mental synapses couldn't be easy. A pang of guilt settled in Thirteen's gut. The esper had been in a state of ability strain for a while, and now he was forcing Kevan to exercise his ability again. But if it was for his safety and future, Thirteen had no problems straining every ability available to him. As long as they didn't die, there was still a life to save.

Okay, you warned me about this, but I'm still unprepared, Sindri's voice said over all the thoughts raging in his mind. I hope you don't mind the show I put up earlier.

It's good, Thirteen answered. We need to make it look like our recruitment efforts didn't work.

From across the table, Sindri kept eating her goob. That girl was a brilliant actress. She should be one once she gets out of here. A chuckle. I'm glad you think I'll make it, Sindri replied, having gleaned it through the haze.

Thirteen scoffed, shoveling the cold gruel into his mouth. It tasted like nothing, reminding him of the pastry in red packets back in the Game. Noak said you're willing to help us, Thirteen continued, keeping the conversation strictly for business. Bring me a sedated soldier from any floor, and we'll talk again.

That isn't how you're supposed to talk to your helper, Sindri chided. Across the table, Jocasta snorted, almost spilling the contents of her spoon all over her chest. Ji-yeon grinned, as if she had just thought of an anecdote. Anything else?

Ask around for any information on how to access the camera system. I'll take it from there. Thirteen glanced at Jocasta, and she understood what he meant by that. When we start breaking out, don't go out of your room to preserve your innocence. After this, we'll owe you one.

Noak coughed into his fist. Are you sure it will work? That you only need to get inside the surveillance system?

A prevailing question lingered at the back of the boy's mind—can you really bring down Primeva?

Thirteen dared not make promises with probabilities of success lower than ninety-five percent, so he offered Noak a quick smile. "We will get through this," he said aloud as Kevan terminated the link. "Somehow."

The gaze Noak threw Thirteen told him the boy sincerely hoped so. Thirteen was no stranger to that feeling. He was also no stranger to when it was killed and what would happen after.

Noak tuned out of the conversation. Thirteen met Kevan's eyes once again, and a new link started.

Tell me you actually have a plan on how to get out of this place, Jocasta said. The full truth, this time. We can't be running on just trust. We need to know what we will be doing to the letter.

Thirteen blew a breath and took one last bite before pushing his plate away. We'll get access to the mainframe of whatever security operations this building employs. I'll intercept its program to buy us enough time to take the restricted elevator to the top floor. When we get out, we'll go straight to a port—whichever port—and catch a ride to New York. We'll find Jacqueline Shaw there.

Are you sure Jacqueline could help us? Alon asked. What if she's her father's agent all along? We've been getting information handed out to us about her as early as Geneva.

Plausible. Declan Conway wouldn't be alive at all if she is, Thirteen replied. Anyone who could find her should have been dealt with by Primeva, but all Declan got was removal and relocation. There was no reason for Primeva to keep the journalist alive, just because of all he knows, but they didn't touch him. All the more reason Shaw is keeping an eye on his daughter too, trying to find out where she is. My guess is Primeva didn't know where she was or what's happening to her as well.

As for the plan, Thirteen continued when no one voiced out their disagreement to his hypothesis. I'll use my ability on the whole compound.

Silence. Even the threads in his mind flattened out into thin sheets. By ability, you mean... Jocasta's voice died down to a mere gust of wind.

I am able to alter any living thing's perception of time, Thirteen answered. It was high time he told them. They've been through so much together. If I apply it to the whole compound, or at least, every floor, I might be able to give us time to run towards the restricted elevator.

No, came Alon's reply. Thirteen cocked an eyebrow in the boy's direction. Wasn't Alon supposed to be the first person to throw Thirteen to the fire and not blink while doing it? This was unexpected. We came here together; we'll get out in the same manner.

Whatever sentiment caused you to claim that, take it out of your system now, Thirteen said with a frown. They had this conversation before. Haven't they learned something from that? It doesn't matter if I make it out or not. What's important is that the majority gets out.

You're still useful, Markel, Jocasta interjected. Out of everyone, she knew how to speak his inner language more than anyone. We can't just throw you away. We're your friends.

Kevan supplied a supporting nod. Ji-yeon rolled her eyes but glanced at Thirteen with a glimmer of concern in her eyes.

I told you—I don't have friends, Thirteen replied. After all this is done, you're free to move on with your lives. Even if I don't make it farther, don't stop to save me. Got it?

He didn't wait for their answers. Instead, he pushed away from the table and walked away. His room would provide an adequate space to get his thoughts in order and his plan in motion. If it all worked out, they would never have to see each other again, and Thirteen could finally meet the end he deserved.

Their footsteps came alive in the corridors. Blue light rippled overhead and followed in the wake, bouncing in hazy swirls in Thirteen's head. His fingers flew across the keyboard Jocasta made for him, typing lines after lines of code to override the protocols. The piece of glass bobbed with every step they took.

"How much longer?" Jocasta prompted, her breaths erratic and heavy. "I don't think the corridor could hold them for long."

Thirteen gritted his teeth. He hadn't counted on an artificial machine being in charge of the entire security system. Now, he had to work around the integration, undoing all the progress he made with the surveillance system thus far. He needed some kind of algorithm to work around the integration's access to the systems he had to disable. The access cards Noak retrieved for them only served as a passkey to get into the elevator. To get it to move, to ascend to the topmost floor—that was the hitch.

He punched another code into the system, rerouting the access traffic back to itself. It was a way to trick the system into thinking all actions were carried out by its own protocols, resulting in a cyclic transmission. As long as he disguised his actions as the integration, it couldn't tell it was him.

They reached the elevator—just a slab of metal doors and ancient pulley mechanisms. Jocasta waved the keycard across the sensors, forcing the doors open. Before they piled inside, Thirteen typed a command into the keyboard, sending it out to the integration to execute. Access Denied, came the message on his screen. What the—

Access to the mainframe on multiple points are grounds for troubleshooting protocols. Restarting in 5 minutes. 4 minutes and 59 seconds. 4 minutes and 58 seconds.

"No, no, no," Thirteen hissed, pounding on the keys to execute an emergency override. It might not be the best algorithm, but it should be close.

"What's going on?" Alon oscillated between the lip of the corridor and the yawning elevator car. Their way out of here—so close yet so far. "Why aren't we moving?"

Thirteen clenched his jaw. "If you want to be lasered to a fry inside before the doors even close, go right in," he said. His eyes flitted across the lines of letters and numbers. Signal lost. Signal regained. System rebooting in 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Access Denied. Access Denied. Access Cleared.

"Yes!" Thirteen pumped his fist in the air as his algorithm pushed through. Now, to reroute the internal access deeper into Primeva's own server...

A streak of silver and blue lashed towards his periphery. A blur of black and gray zipped past him. The bullet was thrown out of its trajectory by a lance of wind, embedding instead on the elevator's frame. That was close. Who—

"Whatever you're doing, stop now." Slate's voice bled into his ears. Thirteen's head snapped up to find the girl with dark blue hair and fair skin standing opposite them on the corridor's curb. She might have gained a few more pads and a helmet with the visor turned up, but she was still Slate. "I don't want to fight you."

"Which one did you impersonate?" Thirteen asked. "How long have you been here?"

Slate slowly morphed into a girl with curly dark hair in pigtails. "The real Sindri is hidden in my room," she said. "Spoiler—she's not a good actor."

A curse rang inside Thirteen's mind. He should have seen that coming. No wonder she agreed to help them immediately just from a word from Noak. Why would a stranger help someone with a death wish unless they were desperate to be in on it from the start?

Another set of boots clambered into the scene. A girl without a helmet appeared, and she possessed a face Thirteen recognized. "Dishari," he breathed. What a damned reunion this was.

"Step away from the elevator," Dishairi said, drawing a black dagger from her belt. Her baton hung from her belt and knocked against her leg as she stepped forward. Her English had gotten better too. "We don't want to fight. Just...come with us. Quietly."

"Traitors," Kevan hissed. How come he hadn't seen into Sindri's mind and realized she was Slate in disguise? Was there something missing here? He seemed as surprised as everyone. "I knew there was something wrong when I couldn't hear your innermost thoughts. You wear a jammer in that suit, right?"

Ah, no wonder Kevan hadn't told them anything about any of the soldiers they have encountered. Their minds were built to never be influenced by an esper's ability. What else about them has Primeva made invincible?

Thirteen returned to his work, relaying a quick message to Kevan, directing him to pass it along to Jocasta. From the corner of his eye, he saw Jocasta craft a gun from her hair. Alon and Ji-yeon took up the conversation as he intended.

"What made you turn tail?" Alon fired, his words more to Slate than to Dishari. Of course, the kid had harbored ill-placed things called feelings for the girl since the second half of the game. He was a confused brat dealing with the pubescent complications Thirteen knew nothing about. "What did Shaw promise you?"

"Shaw will not let you see your families," Kevan spouted, having read the response from their heads. Must have become a frontal thought. "He lied about us and where we came from. And you won't be seeing them again because of the job you entered."

Dishari gritted her teeth. "I don't care," she said. "You're not getting in that elevator."

They lunged just as Jocasta turned the gun towards Slate and fired. A loud shot resounded in the corridor. Thirteen's code slipped past the integration's safeguards, and he tapped a quick command to lock it out of its own systems. That should be good for another minute.

Slate stumbled back as Jocasta's shot landed, her helmet flying out of her head. That was all Thirteen needed. His ability surged through his veins, spreading towards their minds. They slowed down, tied down by their own perception of time. To them, everything was so fast their brains and muscles couldn't catch up.

"Now!" Thirteen yelled, ushering the others to the elevator. Jocasta waved the keycard again and shut the doors. He nodded at Jocasta. "Take us to the top."

He kept an eye on the numbers flashing in pixels on a panel. With every ascending number, he sent out his ability in the widest range he could. Anyone who thought of approaching the elevator would never get to them. He also checked the screen on his hand, making sure the integration stayed locked out and to prevent it from accessing the mainframe during their stay in the elevator.

Nineteenth floor. Eighteenth floor. Seventeenth floor. Just a little more...

Without his permission, his knees knocked together, sending him crashing against the elevator wall. Only the sidebars saved him from toppling over. Sixteenth floor. Fifteenth floor. Come on. Almost there.

"Markel, are you alright?" Someone's concerned voice dripped into his senses. The lights blinded him, making it hard to see who it was. Why was their voice getting farther and farther?

Fourteenth floor. Thirteenth floor. His ability bled out of his system, freezing all he needed it to freeze. Pain stabbed into his chest. His gut coiled, his throat joining it. He gasped but tamped any more that might rip out of him. Not yet. Twelfth floor. Eleventh floor.

The numbers vanished, replaced by blobs of red, black, and gold. No. "Markel, what's happening?" The voices multiplied, rising in a panicked crescendo.

"I'm fine," he rasped. He coughed into his hand when he couldn't stop it anymore. He resolved to count in his head. Every floor came every three seconds. It should be the Ninth floor. Eighth floor. The screen lit up, and he restarted the process. Keep the integration out. Freeze an entire floor. Should be easy.

He melted against the wall, his legs losing every shred of strength they have to hold him up. Not yet. Come on. Sixth floor. Fifth floor. Fourth floor. His vision darkened once, but he shook his head to bring it back. His head pounded in relentless waves. Third floor. Second floor.

First floor.

The elevator doors dinged, hissing as they parted. Light from the surface ate away at his vision. They...made it. They really did. Footsteps clambered in loud bursts in his ears. They made it. Now, it was time for him to let go.

He didn't feel his head hit the elevator floor. All he remembered was a chorus of shouts ascending from the depths of hell as they came for him.