Extraction Point

Immediately, there was an ambush within the subway. It was clear that it likely wasn't Yato who stole the Radiation Enhancer. All of these soldiers seemed to be from an organization, likely the Deep Web. With the tracking tag still on the Radiation Enhancer, it's assumed that they don't know how to remove it.

"Let us handle this one," mentioned Derek to Rose as he transformed into mist.

"I'll provide some back up," Zora replied as he flashed a thumbs up, pulling out his gun.

Just as Derek's mist approached the eight soldiers, he split himself, solidifying and knocking two soldiers down to the ground. It seemed that they had no type of Rad-A: Class Ds. They're likely the most common foot-soldier within the Deep Web. That had Derek thinking.

Why are these weak foot soldiers fighting us? If they wanted to hurt us, they'd send more firepower. These people possess no threat at all! Suddenly, Derek heard a loud noise, but it was already too late to react.

VRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

"No way!" thought Derek as he was instantly sucked in by the vacuum, used by one of the soldiers.

If Derek were to transform back, he'd crush his organs. The vacuum wouldn't let him escape. He was trapped! Zora tried to shoot at the vacuum, at an attempt to release Derek. However, the soldier immediately turned around to protect it. They had worn bulletproof vests!

"Stay here!" yelled Zora to Rose, running up to the six soldiers.

He punched one of the soldiers, dodging a hit and kicking another. As Zora kept fighting, he began to feel that something was wrong. These soldiers didn't seem to be trained in combat at all. He was breezing right through them!

"Now!" yelled one of the soldiers.

Zora turned around and was quickly lassoed, the rope tightening once it was around his waist. One of the soldiers that were previously knocked down by Derek had gotten up. Now Zora was trapped by himself!

"Hocus Pocus!" yelled Rose, transforming into metal.

Her rough body let her run over and punch one of the soldiers with great strength, knocking them away and crashing into a wall.

"Hocus Pocus!"

This time, Hocus Pocus had frozen another soldier who was trying to attack Rose. More and more Hocus Pocus were chanted, both on the offensive, utility, as well as healing any injuries that Rose had received. She was a Rad-A machine that could spout out anything that could've helped her situation.

Soon, the soldiers were exhausted from fighting Rose. Their stamina, although great, were draining. In a mysterious turn of events, they dropped the rope that held Zora, as well as the vacuum, and rushed away from the subway, doing their best to conceal their identities.

"There's no doubt about it," mumbled Zora as Rose came over to untie his rope, "Whoever those guys were.. they're total newbies at their job. Their only strong point is how much stamina and endurance they had to keep on going."

"You guys are safe right?" asked Rose as she walked over to the vacuum, "I'm sorry that I just stood by to watch. I should've helped sooner."

"You didn't need to," mentioned Zora, flashing a smile, "We ordered you to stay put anyways. We were just caught off-guard is all!"

Rose turned on the vacuum, flipping the switch and letting Derek out, the mist flowing throughout the subway. As the mist formed together, they returned to Derek's normal body.

"Any longer and I would've puked," groaned Derek as he tried his best to stand up, "What a horrible contraption.."

"Is that why you hate vacuums?" asked Zora, "Must be why I keep hearing complaints from Mara about how dirty your office is.."

"Forget it," replied Derek, shaking off his sickness, "You guys noticed that those group of people were fishy right?"

"It was hard not to notice," said Rose, "But they fared well against my attacks. Good at defending."

"There had to be a reason why the Deep Web sent those guys. I doubt Moth Man would do something as useless as this. It merely delayed the inevitable of us getting to the Radiation Enhancer."

"So Yato is off the hook?" asked Rose.

Derek nodded, "Let's find the Radiation Enhancer first. Then I have a few questions to ask."

—

As the trio reached the courtyard, they had found the Radiation Enhancer stored in a small storage room. It was likely that it was placed here to be picked up from someone who knew the location: a drop off point. It was good that they had come here before that occurred.

"Good.. good.." said Derek as he analyzed the Radiation Enhancer, "This is definitely the machine. We're taking it back. Also.. we're going to head to the culprit of it all."

"The culprit?" asked Rose.

"The only one who can manipulate the video footage to make it seem like Jukkonarius Yato stole the Radiation Enhancer," explained Derek, "Camie Golheart."