"Five, Nadia, Amelia, Maxine," Sam pauses, his voice lowering to a simmering growl, "Nicole."

"Hm?" Nicole replies casually, and there's a pause as Sam takes a moment to gather his patience. I ignore the curious and slightly concerned looks Maxine and Nadia send me. For once I'm glad Amelia doesn't care.

It's been about six days since Nicole broke into the coms shack, but that doesn't mean the tension has eased any. If anything, it's only gotten heavier, especially since Nicole now knows I was telling the truth. She just has yet to say anything about it.

"You're almost to the coordinates Veronica gave us. You should see a perimeter fence at the end of the gravel road," He says, and while the others don't notice the boiling irritation lying under forced neutrality, I very much do.

"Have you heard back from her since we told her we got the computer core she asked for?" Maxine asks.

"Uh, well, I mean, not heard, exactly. I haven't spoke to her. No one has in weeks," He half-lies. "But she sent a message that she's finally tested the new build we got for her from Blackmoore Castle, and she's ready for us to bring the core here. Is it all secure, Nadia?"

"Still secure, Sam. And still weighin' down my bike." She revs the engine of her bike to pick up the speed to keep at a decent pace without risking of the core tipping. "Do we know why Veronica wants it?"

"Um, well, it's something about helping develop viable anti-V-Type strategies. Maybe she's had a breakthrough."

The zombies that have been following us for the past mile moan, as if they thought we'd forgotten about them. Amelia looks over her shoulder and sneers, revealing teeth that are far too white for someone in an apocalypse.

"I certainly hope she's had something."

Sam hums. "Yeah. Those zoms are still at your six, but you'll be safe once you're through the gate."

Nadia frowns as she looks ahead. "The still-completely-locked gate."

"Uh, well, that's odd." I can hear the confusion in his voice. "Veronica, are you-"

He's cut off by the shrieking sound of an alarm as the gate ahead raises at the speed of molasses. Metal grinds against metal, the sound almost as painful as the sound of the alarm.

"Could that gate raise any slower?" Amelia asks in annoyance and slight panic. When we reach it, it's just high enough that Nadia doesn't have to duck down to drive her bike through, but it's still continuing to rise even after we're through, and the zombies are only two minutes behind us.

Persistent bastards.

"Veronica, close that gate! Fast!" Sam demands, and the gate stops, staying in its place for just a moment before the it starts to lower at the same speed as before.

The zombies reach it, ducking down to go under, not caring about the way the gate digs into the flesh of their backs as they try to crawl through. Their eyes are only on us, eyes glazed over with death-eyes I'd seen time and time and again.

It still leaves me feeling sick to my stomach.

"The front door's straight ahead," Sam says. "All of you, run for it! Hurry!"

We keep running, heading straight for the front door that's only a minute away. The zombies behind us aren't fast, but they're not slow either. We have weapons on us, but the problem is the second we pull the trigger of a gun, the noise will be drawing more zombies towards us. Even locked outside the gate they can be dangerous, mostly because we have no idea just how strong that gate is, or how stable Veronica is.

I think that's one of the reasons Nicole asked to go onto this mission with me. She knows I said that Veronica was having some glitches, but I've been very vague when I am asked to what extent are said glitches. Now that she knows I've been keeping secrets, her response is to wonder what else could I be hiding.

And I know she knows I was telling the truth about the Feive Project. She hasn't said, but neither of us are stupid. It's been days. She'll have gotten her results back by now. I know it's only a matter or time before she corners me to question me, or, on a more extreme measure, corners me to kill me.

I think that's why everyone who knows-Tom, Peter, and Sam-have been making sure I never get the chance to be alone. Even though Sam and Tom both know I can't die, they know it won't stop Nicole from trying if that's what she truly wants.

I'm lucky I have people like them who care about me so much.

But that luck won't mean anything if I end up getting eaten by zombies out here. So I put on one last burst of speed and use my body weight to push the double entrance doors open. Maxine is the second to come in, and she helps me hold both doors open so Nadia can ride in on her bike. Once Amelia and Nicole are inside, we slam the doors shut and lock it, silencing the snarls of the undead on the outside and trapping us in almost complete darkness.

"We're inside, Sam," Maxine pants. We don't stop for too long. This place gives me the vibes that we should keep moving, so I make quick work of walking down the entrance way.

"What is this place?" Nadia asks. "The entryway is very, uh, blue."

"And dark," Amelia adds with a scowl. "Why can't these missions ever take place in a spa?"

"Oh, come on, now, Amy. What's the fun in that?" I tease, almost obnoxiously, reveling in the way her scowl deepens.

"Of course you would ask that. You've probably never been to a spa before."

"And yet I still somehow look better than you."

She laughs. "I'll let you keep thinking that."

"I will keep thinking that," I reply, flipping her off as I do so. But our attention is taken off of each other when there's a hint of static over the speakers, just enough for us to think horror music is about to start playing and we're about to get murdered.

"Welcome to the Aqua Center," Veronica says in a neutral, almost flat tone. "This is a research educational-dangerous-scientific research-dangerous-research facility. Please make yourself at home."

I wince at the repeated words, repeated tones.

"Veronica, what's going on?" Sam asks worriedly, but she ignores him.

"The Aqua Center is a research facility for aquatic life forms. It houses over 3,000 at peak capacity."

"Okay, but why are we here?" Maxine frowns. "Why bring the core to this place?"

"I-I'm... not sure," She replies slowly. "I transferred my primary self-the part of me that runs the rest of me-to this location a few weeks ago and have control of much of its systems. But the reasoning for relocation is difficult to explain at this time."

If Amelia was annoyed before, she's straight up pissed now. "Not good enough. I've been diverting resources and information to you for weeks-months! I expect results."

"Not gonna lie. I'm with blondie on this one," Nicole says with a shrug.

We hear footsteps. It's coming down one of the hallways. I frown, my brows furrowing together. Veronica never said there was someone else here. And if someone else has been here, why didn't they do anything to make this place a bit less dark?

"What is that?" Nicole asks.

"Sound identified as the footsteps of a V-Type zombie partially incased in plastic." Veronica's voice goes from robotic to apologetic as soon as she finishes. "Oh... Oh, I knew I'd forgotten to mention something."

"Is it the one we captured from the creepy mannequin factory?" Sam asks.

"I had to partially cut away the plastic in which it was incased, at which point it became more mobile. The zombie should reach the atrium in the next two minutes."

He chokes. "Two minutes? Well, they need to get out of there! Where should they go, Veronica?"

He gets no answer, and my heartbeat quickens.

"Veronica?"

"Runners, for your safety, please proceed to the labs to your right," She comes in, and I don't know if I should feel relieved or not. "Run!"

I suppose I can't think of that right now. We head right, off towards the labs. The footsteps behind us are loud, echoing off the walls. Memories of the mannequin factory flash before my eyes. It's been months and yet I still remember it like it was yesterday. I still remember running from one of the V-Types. I remember working together with Peter to trap it into a long hallway that ended up with me getting trapped into a dark basement with bioengineered spiders.

It was there we learned that noisemakers don't work to distract it, and we know now that the McShell won't work one either. Speaking of which, Amelia still owes me a scarf, and I definitely plan on reminding her of that once we get out of here.

We have to be careful. Measures used against zombies won't work against V-Types. We could all die today if we mess up. We go through labs with equipment we don't have time to look at, even though I'm sure some of it may be useful to know about, especially when it comes to creating my cure to mortality. Of course, Veronica's message that Nicole nearly deleted wouldn't provide me a cure. It was just some more of Van Ark's notes that she managed to uncover. Maybe if we can get this core where it needs to be and get out alive, then maybe she'll be able to find things to help me just the slightest bit faster.

We keep running, turning as Veronica instructs, although she only instructs when we ask, and then she goes back to her silence. It's worrying, and not just to me. Judging by the look on her face, Nadia's feeling rather anxious. I don't think the emotion comes from her own self-preservation, though. At least, not entirely.

Finally, we enter some sort of aquarium. There are fish swimming all around, even over top of us, but I can't enjoy the view too much. My racing heart and mounting fear are a roadblock.

I ask Sam about the V-Type when I realize I can't hear any approaching footsteps.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, you've lost it for now. And Veronica's given me access to her cams... Well, I mean, she didn't say anything, but the feed suddenly turned on."

"These tunnels are just like the aquarium I went to as a kid," Maxine laughs, looking around, and while Nicole seems to be just as awestruck, she shakes it off and keeps moving forward. She has the right idea. Just because we've lost the V-Type now doesn't mean it won't come back.

"There's another junction up ahead, Sam. Which way should we turn?" She asks.

"Uh, I don't know," He replies, and she glares at nothing in particular. "Half the facility's in darkness. I've got no idea where the V-Type is. Veronica, now would be a really good time for some help."

"Yes. Of course, Sam. I like to help," She responds almost immediately. "Take the path on the right."

The look we all share in the room mimics Sam's unsure tone when he speaks.

"The right again? Are you sure?"

"That's the fourth right we've taken!" Amelia exclaims, her jaw clenched. "I feel as if we are going in increasingly dark and fishy circles, if you catch my drift."

There's a loud growl in front of us, and Nicole and I immediately reach for our guns before stupidly remembering that a bullet will do us no good.

"It's got to be in the room in front of us. I can hear it," Nadia says, and she looks up at the speakers, waiting for something, but not getting it.

"Turn around and go back the way you came. Quickly!" Sam demands.

"Veronica, this isn't working. We need some kind of real direction."

"Go right," She presses.

"No more rights!" Sam shouts, and the V-Type is getting closer, heading for the door that connects the room its in to this one. It's closed, but I doubt that will stop it from getting through.

"Can you see the V-Type, Sam?" I ask. My eyes don't leave the wooden door as we start backing away.

"Yes, I-bloody hell! Veronica, what have you done to it? The skin on one side of its face is stripped off, and its eyes are taped shut."

Nicole smiles sarcastically. "Great, so it's just as blind as we are. Now would you stop with the details and just tell us where to go?"

"Left. Go left. Into the deep-sea fish section."

Maxine's bites the inside of her cheek. "Aren't they kept in darkness?"

"Yes. Mind your footing, but run!"

•

"I can't see you on cams, guys. It's too dark. Are you clear of the zom?"

"I don't know," Maxine replies, looking around but not slowing down. "The only light is luminescent fish."

"Luminescent monster fish," Nadia corrects, pointing to one that floats a bit too close to the glass for my liking. "That one's got teeth like a xenomorph. Huge, jagged, glowing alien teeth. It's almost scarier than the V-Type."

A second later, a growl comes form the corridor we were just in.

I guess that answers Sam's question.

"Almost."

"So, is anyone else going to talk about the elephant in the room?" Amelia all but hisses. "Am I the only one who's noticed that the elephant has been increasingly useless and seems decreasingly in possession of her facilities."

Maxine frowns. "Just so we're clear, the elephant is Veronica, right? I-Five, I thought you said it wasn't so bad. I thought you said she was just performing a little off, but you got out of that basement okay."

"I-I did!" I stammer, but even in the dark, I can see the outline of her face as it contorts into a face of disbelief.

"And that's if she is Veronica. I've been getting more than a whiff of A.N.N.I.E.," Amelia adds, and I swallow, trying to think up a lie because I did promise that I would keep this a secret, and I already told Sam, which was bad enough. I know I have my defense of the fact that he is my husband and I don't want to keep things from him, but still.

Thankfully, said husband speaks up for me. "Veronica's fine. She's just... well, you know, having a few glitches."

I mentally thank him for his lie, especially because I know how much he hates doing it.

"We're stuck in here with an unkillable V-Type, fish and no way through." Nadia's voice raises to the point that it nearly cracks. "A glitch could be deadly! Veronica, if you can hear me, we need you! You've got to pull yourself together!"

The V-Type growls, but I can't figure out where it is. It must've turned somewhere down that corridor because it's not behind us. It's in here, but it's made no move to lunge at us. Where is it? The sound is so hard to hear, echoing against glass and water and walls.

"Veronica!"

"I-I-I'm... I'm unsure if I can be of assistance," She finally says.

"Listen, Veronica, or A.N.N.I.E. or whoever you are," Amelia cuts in, sounding desperate and annoyed. "I have valuable resources that could be of use to you. Intel, equipment. I don't care who you are. If you help me out of here, I can promise a warm working relationship in the future."

"The future?" A.N.N.I.E. asks, her voice glitching, melding with Veronica's before overtaking it. "The future is not guaranteed."

"Great. Now we've got bits of cyber-bitch leaking through," Nicole groans.

Glass cracks and shatters, and through the darkness, beside the fish that are desperately trying to stay in the water that's lowering in the tanks, is the V-Type. It's smashed its way through the aquarium. I can see it shaking its head this way and that as I open the door to a supply closet conjoined to the next room. I close the door once everyone is inside, but not before I see the zombie zoning in on us, following our movements.

I'm not the only one who notices.

"The V-Type's here, Sam!" Maxine shouts. "Its eyes are taped shut, but it knows we're here somehow."

I hear it pushing at the glass, clawing its way out of the aquarium and to head after us. It's probably not fazed by the water on the floor or the fish that have spilled out and are flopping on the ground. I even hear sharp snaps of teeth, probably from fish, but that doesn't seem to stop it by the sound of its growls.

Nadia revs her bike, moving through the narrow closet to get to the door to the next room. "Veronica? I know you're in there. We need you. I need you!"

"Nadia!" Veronica yells almost immediately. "I'm sorry. I'm here. I was trying to clear out some old code. I'm not... as strong as I thought I would be. That's why I need the core, so I can think."

"It's okay! Just focus. Where do we need to go next?"

"Right. I'm sure of it."

She nods, trying to calm her nerves. "Okay. Let's go everyone. Out of this closet and to the right. Run!"

We basically burst out of the closet door just as we hear the V-Type slam into the one opposite of us. I physically recoil, slamming the door shut as I hear the door the zom is hitting beginning crack from the blows. I still remember when a V-Type pulled a Last Rider's head off. They're ridiculously strong and nothing short of steel will keep them out.

We head to the right as Veronica says, out of the conjoining area which looked to housed other fish when they are sick. We keep going, our footsteps not at all in sync. All of us keep looking over our shoulders with every snarl, every growl, every bang of dead flesh against wood.

Each time Nicole starts to grab for her gun with her good hand, instinct and habit telling her to do something that we both know would do nothing. She notices me watching, and her eyes flash with thinly veined anger before returning to something I can only describe as eerily neutral, a look that I remember seeing on several faces at the A.M.T.B.

It scares me a little.

I don't let her see that though. She may not be in the mood to kill me right now, but if she knew just how much I actually feared her, then she would use it to her advantage at a later time. For now I must focus on staying alive and staying away from the undead being that's nearly smashed through the second closet door.

It'll be out in a minute, and then it will be out of that medical area and then barreling down this hallway after us. With that in mind I keep my strides long and fast. We need to get as much distance between it and us as possible.

"There is a room coming up," Veronica says. "Use the door on your left. I don't remember what's there, but it's important. I know it."

My stomach drops. Important. Important does not mean safe. I learned that from her countless experiments while she was human. Those experiments were important, but how many times did we nearly end up dying?

Still, when we reach the door, I help Maxine with getting it open. Whatever's in here can't be worse than the V-Type that I swear I just heard break through the second closet door. That's the logic I use to keep my hands from trembling and my steps from faltering. Whatever is in here can't be worse than the risk of getting turned into an unkillable zombie.

We open the door, turn on the lights, and thankfully nothing lunges at us. Instead we're in a room filled with nothing but electric and fans. They are everywhere, ranging in sizes from small office desk fans to industrial sized ones that would be used in gyms or something.

"Well, this is odd," Nadia blurts.

"I don't think I've ever seen this many fans in one place," Nicole says, seeming fascinated in some of the weird donut ones in the corner. "How did you even manage to get this many?"

"Well, we've sent a few," Sam says. "Janine thought it was an odd request, but well, it's not like we really needed them."

"Yeah, because it's cold as tits out," I complain, which makes him scoff. I can almost sense the words he's holding on the tip of his tongue, just aching to tell me to stop being so dramatic and that I've already been taking his hoodies so I shouldn't complain.

"Some are from Canton, as well," Amelia hums. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think Veronica was setting up some kind of fan-based economy."

The zombie snarls, getting louder and louder. It roars like animal. Its footsteps are quick and uneven.

"The V-Type's coming. Veronica, do you know what we need in that room?" He asks.

"I can't..." There's a glitch of static. "I can't remember."

"Then we have got to leave!" Maxine exclaims, eyes wide. "This is a dead end. If the V-Type corners us, air con won't stop it!"

"It will! That's exactly it! Yes. Turn on the fans. All of them, now!" She demands, and Amelia rubs her temples.

"Lunacy. She's lost in completely."

"I haven't," She replies with a frown in her voice. Funny to describe it like that when she no longer has a body. "I'm 97% certain my faculties are intact."

Nadia nods quickly despite the slight fear that shines in her eyes. "Alright. We'll do it. Maxine and Amelia, get the small ones. Nicole, Five and I will do the big ones."

I quickly look for the switch on the nearest fan, flicking it on. I don't wait for it to come to life before moving onto the next one. Find the switch, switch it on. It's an easy, constant cycle. The rumble of fan blades whirling quickly fills the room, along with the breeze.

But the zombie is already here, snarling and growling as it stumbles in. I back away, as does everyone else. The zombie snaps its head this way and that, and it jerkily takes a few steps forward.

"We're too late! It's here. Five, pick up that biggest fan and throw it. Maybe that'll get it. Maybe that'll kill it," Maxine says, and I know that's just her fear talking, overriding her logic. I doubt I could pick up the biggest fan in here anyway, unless I had a boost of adrenaline. Not that my heart isn't pounding ninety miles a minute because we're all cornered by a V-Type and we have nothing but two guns, an axe, and a ton of fans to keep us safe from something that cannot die.

But that's when I notice... it's not moving. As soon as it got close to one of the fans, it just stopped.

"Veronica? Is this what you wanted us to see?" Nadia asks softly, as if she's afraid being too loud will snap the zombie back into trying to eat us.

"Yes, that's right," She answers, although it sounds as if she's talking to herself more than Nadia. "Turn on fans, stop zombies."

There's a zap that reaches my ears, and the lights go off. The fans stop, the blades starting to slow down.

"But I need the computer core to manage the power drain from the fans, or I won't be able to keep them running. Head out into the tech center straight ahead. Run!"

The zombie is still just standing there, but I don't want to stay and see what happens when the fans stop completely and the zombie comes out of whatever stasis it's currently in. I sprint out of the room and down another hallway with doors and floor that look the same as those before. My legs are beginning to tire, the start of a deep burn in my muscles making me want to slow.

Even after all these years, I get tired and sore. How unfortunate that immortality didn't also give me boundless energy.

My heart hammers in my chest as we keep heading for the tech center. It should only take us a few minutes to get there. Four? Maybe five? Just a few more minutes, then we'll be away from the zombie, and Veronica will be back into her right mind and will save us.

I hope.

"You're making good time," Sam says encouragingly. "From what I can see, the V-Type doesn't seem to be following."

"It's still incapacitated, but if I don't get the core soon, it will be free," Veronica says.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Nadia asks, her voice laced with bitterness and hurt.

"Nadia, I-"

"I've answered all the Roufflnet messages you've sent me. I came on this mission to see you! And you didn't even think to mention you've been having trouble."

She sighs. "It's hard to admit when you feel like a part of you is missing."

Her grip tightens on her handlebars. "I understand that. I understand that better than anyone! But just because something's missing doesn't mean you're less than. You just have to find a way to deal with it. I did."

"I was... embarrassed. I thought I knew what this experience would be like. I chose it!" There's a painful pause. "But without the resources A.N.N.I.E. once had, there are limits to my processing power. I'm not sure what I'm worth. I don't even have a new McShell maneuver."

Amelia huffs through her nose. "Or so you say. What's to keep you from lying? The part of you that's Veronica did that often enough."

"Amelia's half right," Maxine says with a nod. "You do hold things back."

"Here's the truth. The fans are powered down and the V-Type is heading rapidly in your direction," She says seriously. "One last right and you can plug in the core. Please. I can't do it all alone. I need you too."

A growl echoes across the walls behind us.

"Run."

•

"This must be the place." Nicole points ahead at one of the machines halfway into the wall. "I can see the gap where the core it."

Nadia starts untying it from her bike, and I pick it up with a grunt before putting it into its place. There's a pause, then a beep from the core followed by the sound of machines powering up.

"I... remember!" Veronica exclaims happily. "Feels like a shadow's been cleared and I'm me. My mind. My calculations. Myself! Mostly. Thank you, Nadia. I've dropped the security gate to contain the V-Type and you're clear to leave the facility."

Amelia crosses her arms, obviously not impressed. "That's it? You're not going to explain why you're hording fans?"

"Oh! Sorry. It's so clear to me now, I thought it would be clear to you too. I came to the Aqua Center to find out how V-Types without heads track their prey. Deep see fish are the closest natural analog."

"And... that led you to fans because...?" Sam prompts.

"Some fish use their skin receptors to track the location of the things they need. I cut away some of the plastic on this V-Type to see if I could control its movements with air on the skin, but my experiments were unsuccessful before today."

Amelia blinks. "So all we need are fans to protect Abel and Canton? I really should set up a fan-based economy."

"I don't know. But I think I may be able to work it out now," She says. "I'm studying weather patterns to see if wind has an effect on a larger scale. I will come up with something eventually. Soon, I hope, now that I have more of a mind."

Nadia smiles. "I know you will."

"Thank you, Veronica," Sam says. "Everyone, I think we've had enough excitement for one day. Let's go home."

A/N: Here you go, guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please be sure to vote and comment! Thank you and have a blessed day!