Terrestrial Undead

Chapter 21

009 had left Tesla to sleep and was talking to Miu and feeding them more fish.
"Are these really so good?"
"Moww."
"Well, if you say so."
She was gagging and spitting up dried fish when 003 and Juju appeared, each holding a steel cylinder. 009 stood up and rushed toward them.
"You got some!"
003 proudly held up their cylinder.
"I present to you, Analdine."
"Anal-what?"
Juju stifled a giggle.
"It's what the gas is called."
009 frowned.
"The king has issues. Bell! Come take a look at this."
The doctor was emerging from her tent with a familiar piece of metal in her hands.
"You got some already? Good job, but we'll need more to gas out a whole prison."
"Already on it. We've got disguises and keys on rotation. We should have enough in no time."
003 finished triumphantly. 009 was in awe of the speed and efficacy with which her friend had procured the cylinders, but she couldn't tear her eyes off the mask in Bell's hands, and the doctor noticed.
"Here. Your old friend. I hope you'll like the improvements I've made."
009 took the mask in her hands. It was slightly larger, allowing for an inbuilt ventilator and filter, and had beautifully crafted replicas of the vampire's trademark metal incisors curving down either side.
"Perfect."
"I'll need to replicate it for the rest of the rescue party, but for now, take it and test it. The upper sewers will still be full of the stuff... not to mention vampire hunters."
A bleary-eyed Tesla had emerged from her sleep to see what all the fuss was about, and helped 009 re-fit her mask. The group headed to the upper manhole, and 009 wriggled through with instructions to return in five minutes. Afterward, a search party would be deployed, in case she had a run in with one of the king's henchmen that the upper sewers were bound to be crawling with by now.
There was no need- the mask worked perfectly and all was quiet. 009 laughed as she breathed through the mask using her own lungs for the first time.
When she returned, there were two more cylinders in the stockpile already. 009 smiled at 003, returning the mask to Bell.
"That was quick. You're working everyone hard."
003 looked at her feet.
"I have to save Faith. She's my best friend and the one most important thing to me in the world. I can't even think about where she is right now..."
Trailing off, they went to get some rest, leaving 009 to ponder over herself. Something inside her had started to hurt when 003 had said that— the one most important thing to me in the world. She couldn't imagine why. She felt there was some correlation between those words and the strange ache in her chest, but she couldn't put her mechanical finger on it. Shaking her head and wishing Tesla a good sleep, she headed to her own mattress. It was best she put 003 from her mind.

The next few days passed without any problem other than 003 getting restless. They were constantly counting the cylinders piling up, calculating how long it would be until the rescue mission for Faith could begin. 009 tried her best to calm them, not by kind words but by working hard to bring back cylinders, until finally it was agreed that they had enough. The masks took longer, but soon they had enough for 009, 003, Tesla and Juju, plus some for a support party, and a meeting to outline a plan of action was soon in session.
"Every single cell in that place ought to be unlocked. We can't go in and just let the prisoners stay in a place like that," was Tesla's first input. 003 agreed, but it was obvious that their sole objective as Faith. Bell, however, had other ideas altogether.
"Absolutely, we need to free all the prisoners," she began, "but there's also something else in there that could be the difference between the success or fall of us vampires. Information. There is a log book in there with a file on every prisoner ever taken, and why. It could provide a valuable insight into His Majesty's modus operandi."
009 smiled. It reminded her of her childhood escapade into the Captain's quarters, and she volunteered to be in charge of this particular mission.
When all was settled, 003 wouldn't let them wait. 009 tried not to be hurt by their apparent indifference to herself (why should she care?) and squeezed their hand, wishing them the best of luck before they began. All the same, 009 felt strange inside her metal body, and she was grateful to have Tesla by her side as they set off toward His Majesty's Penal Facility.