✭°Damianya°✭ ʷʰᵃᵗ ⁱᶠ

lily

I turned to Loid. "Is it concerning, or is that just me?"

Yor called outside, "Loid-san! Housemaster Henderson says that Anya was absent today, which is strange because I watched her go on the bus." Loid's face lit up, and within minutes we were hurrying down the stairs and taking a taxi to a rundown street. Even more concerning, if you ask me.

Poverty was loud and clear in this dimly lit alleyway. Still processing why I'm following my neighbours into a questionable setting. Yor sped forwards at a killer speed, dashing to a wonky, crumbling brick wall with hanging spiders and crawling beetles.

The chilly air caused our noses to burn a reddish hue, not to mention my numb fingertips. She jammed two fingers into a brick that happened to be a lever and squeezed us onto the platform as it began its slow descent.

"Wait for us!" I looked behind me to see Yuri Briar and Becky Blackbell rushing to join us. Becky had one fluffy woollen gloves, a beanie, and a coat. Striding big steps next to her was Yor's younger bro, Anya's uncle.

I had first encountered Yuri when we were both about to ring the doorbell to the Forger's apartment and when Yor answered, he shot me one last nasty glare before facing his sister and giving her his brightest smile. 

What a toad of a man.

"Sis!" Yuri embraced Yor the entirety of the way down to the cold, uninviting floor. Loid made a funny expression, a judgemental look speaking volumes at the unused rooms.

"It's creepy as hell," I fall in step with Becky, "how spotless each room is, yet there are marks on the window panes that drag their way to the floor as if the people were trying to escape."

She gave me a sidelong glance. "I don't know why we're here. I met Yuri on my way to check up on 'Anya' cause she wasn't at school today, and we both saw you guys cramming into a taxi." Curiosity got the better of her, I bet.

We stopped at a magnificent archway, the edges carved with delicate engravings of the same text in ﷼⫋؋Σ's letter. As we passed, a chill settled down my spine, tingling and alerting me how eerie this endless silence was. "Nobody's here, so this couldn't possibly be the place where Forger's held captive, or where her sister is either."

Becky looked at me, shocked. "Yeah, we found out that the person who was at school with you the last few weeks indeed wasn't Anya's real self. You were right, someone was impersonating her."

There was a polished wood door that read: Manager of Units AA-1A to AN-9A. Yor twisted the doorknob, and inside the room was an elaborate, high-ceiling office with polished oak furnishing and a grand chandelier.

Leaning on the desk was a lady unlike any other I had ever encountered before. She was chatting with an identical version of her, a duplicate but younger and shorter. It was Anya's dupe.

"Lily, who are these people?" Loid and I shared a look. Previously, when we had questioned her, she indeed slipped up and said 'Lily', and if all was true, then Loid was 'Twilight'. The Westalis spy.

The adult version of Lily looked at Loid, a wave of recognition washing over her. "You're the one that helped me that one time years ago!" He nodded in confirmation. "We came to ask you whether you know anyone under the label 007."

"Do you happen to know the location of the *** Headquarters?" Lily nodded. "We're physically restricted by a force barrier, so we can't leave these grounds. But I know for a fact that they're expecting a fresh batch of poison today, and the pick up truck will be here in...3 hours." Well, what other choices do we have?

Me, Lily, and Becky looked through the files in the cabinet, each file containing at least a couple hundred names. AA-1A, nope. AB-1A, no hope either. I scanned AM-1A, empty. I started at the back for the last file on this site, AN. "Guys, this is a thick file. Come look." We gathered around on the carpeted floor and divided the file into 3.