Ronan and Doctor Valen looked down at the last of the shapeshifters that had been in the med-bay that day. "I still can't believe they got Jonah. We did something good today. Thank you, Davy. I wouldn't have been able to find the courage to do this without your help. What do we do next? You mentioned their plan. If they unseal the bunker… I don't even want to think about the consequences."

Frankly, he didn't either. He was hoping that putting an end to the gorzerk's plan to unleash the nuclear winter of the outside world into the underground bunker would also be the requirement to complete stage 3. If he had to hunt down every last shapeshifter hidden in this huge place it would be a nightmare. Especially once they realised their plan had failed and truly went into hiding. Even the list from the elite gorzerk didn't mention all of the shapeshifters, just those that had recently gained a new identity for the purpose of their strategy.

"We need to head towards the maintenance area. Where they manage the bunker systems. Either the bodystealers have activated the outer seal already or they need to do so for their plan. Can you take a break from work?" Ronan had found that Doctor Valen's help was useful in rooting out and distracting the shapeshifters.

She frowned and shook her head. "I don't think so. After all the chaos we just caused, everyone here is distraught. I should stay and try to keep everyone levelheaded."

"Right, but if they manage to unseal the bunker then everyone here will be dead. Better to be alive and traumatised than dead and comforted." Ronan was being harsh but the truth was he didn't actually know where the maintenance area was and needed the doctor to guide him. He was just improvising at that point.

His leveling speed had slowed down somewhat once he had outpaced the highest of the elites and was just taking out the regular shapeshifters, but all progress was good progress in his book. All he needed to do was stop the actual unsealing of the bunker.

"That's true. I just feel bad leaving them all like this after we basically killed half of the on-duty medical staff. What about the patients?" Doctor Valen cared about her colleagues and those in her care, which Ronan admired. Now wasn't the time for her to be getting cold feet, though.

"The patients are going to die too, if these bastards unseal the bunker. Also, let's think about this. Are there any patients in an immediately life-threatening or critical condition right now?" The doctor tapped her chin twice and then shook her head. "Then they'll be fine without you. Let's go. I need your help to identify the bastards."

"Right, you need me. Then I guess I have no choice." Ronan wouldn't judge her for thinking whatever she needed to in order to justify this to herself.

The conversation over and the med-bay secured from the influence of the shapeshifting monsters, the pair made their way to the maintenance area. Ronan was hoping this wouldn't take much longer, but he had no idea what they might encounter once they arrived.

"Everything seems so normal from out here. Are you sure you didn't just hit your head and imagine everything?" The doctor had cold feet once they arrived at the maintenance area and prepared to head into the main building where the bunker's systems were operated from.

Ronan barked out a laugh. "If only that were the case. No, Doctor Valen, this is very real. We have to go in there, probably kill a bunch of shapeshifting monsters, and then save the entire bunker from being turned into a frozen wasteland. Just an average day at work." Less killing than one of my average days as of late, if I'm being honest.

That made her laugh. A few seconds later they both returned to seriousness as they prepared to enter. They had already earned a few odd stares due to them being a security guard and a doctor in the wrong part of the bunker, but it wasn't that unusual. The faster they got moving the better. They didn't want any of the shapeshifters to get advance warning of their arrival and have the opportunity to do something that might interfere with their plan.

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The moment they entered they were accosted at the entrance by a stressed-looking woman. "What are you both doing here? We're busy dealing with something right now and we can't afford any distractions."

Ronan turned to the doctor. He didn't really know how to lie that well and he hoped that she would be the one to handle these social interactions. His job was to punch stuff.

"We need to talk with one of your lead engineers. There was a problem in the med-bay and if it doesn't get sorted out urgently the patients will suffer." Doctor Valen placed a gentle hand on the woman's arm. Ronan was impressed at how quickly she'd come up with the lie.

The woman paused. "Right, that sounds… important. Sure. Follow me, we'll get you sorted out in no time." She turned to the left and started to walk then suddenly stopped. Doctor Valen bumped into her. "My bad, it's this way." They marched in the opposite direction.

Ronan felt that the behaviour of the woman was too suspicious for his liking. However, even if it was the shittiest gorzerk actor he'd ever encountered, he wasn't going to just attack her without warning. More to the point, he needed to get deeper inside and figure out how the bunker sealing system worked.

They were led down a corridor and into a waiting room of sorts. "Just give me a moment. You can wait here and I'll be right back with someone who can help you."

The woman left them in the room and shut the door. Ronan heard a click. "She just locked us inside."

Doctor Valen jumped out of the chair she'd just sat in and rushed to the door. As he had thought it was locked and wouldn't open from the inside. "Why the hell did she do that?"

"That was definitely one of the bodystealers. I'm guessing their grand plan is already underway and they don't want any distractions until it has been fully carried out. Well, this suits me better anyway." Ronan yawned and then stood up while doing a few stretches. Physically it was entirely unnecessary but it helped to ground him and prepare himself mentally for what he was about to do.

"What do you mean? How does being locked inside this room suit any of us? They're going to unseal the bunker and doom us all!" Doctor Valen sat down and grabbed her head in her hands, panic creeping into her features.

"Because all this sneaking around and trying to do things through intellect isn't really my forte. Now that they've gone to these lengths to keep us away from the maintenance area, I know they've started. The time for subterfuge is over. Right now it's time for me to start punching these shapeshifting bastards until I find out how to stop them or they're all dead." Ronan tapped his two fists together to emphasise the point. "Now, stand back from the door so you don't get hit."

"Hit? What are you talking about? You can't break through the door with your fists, Davy!" Ronan almost wanted to punch the door open just to prove her wrong, but that would be inefficient and loud.

Instead he formed a mana bolt in his left hand and then tossed it at the locking mechanism of the door. A large hole about the size of a human head was blown through it with a bang. No doubt anyone nearby would have heard the noise, but he was hoping it was more subtle than blowing up the entire wall with a rainbow bomb or something similarly destructive.

In fact he had more than a few luck-based skills he could use to empower his strikes if the situation called for it, but at the moment Ronan was content to simply use what he had in his arsenal. None of the shapeshifters were particularly strong opponents. The difficulty seemed to be in rooting them out.

As predicted, the woman who had locked them in the room came rushing into the corridor as Ronan kicked the broken door into the wall behind it. Doctor Valen nervously crept behind him, keeping a safe distance after watching him blow open the door. "You! What do you think you're doing to the building?"

"Well we need help for the med-bay and clearly you had no intention of providing it. I'm just using the resources at my disposal to find what I need." Ronan tossed a mana bolt at the woman before he even finished speaking. It caught her off guard and blew a hole in her chest.

The moment the spell struck her she seemed to turn inside out, flesh going from pink to grey in seconds. The gorzerk didn't even finish reverting to its true form before a second mana bolt blew another hole right through its midriff, killing it.

"Well, doctor, it looks like things are going to get messy. Just stay hidden behind me and we'll get to the bottom of what's going on here."

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