With everyone else dividing into teams, the trio had already made a head start to catch up to Parker. Though Henry didn't seem too worried, Alice was on guard, ready to fire at any carnage sister that decided to show their face. "Let's try to avoid what we can, okay?"
”Sounds good to me.” Isaiah stuck his hands in his pockets. He had taken a small side arm with some extra ammo and a golf club. ”How do you want to proceed? Seems like they’ll expect us coming up the nearest staircase.”
"Alternate route?" Henry suggested, holding his handgun. "We can throw them off and make an opening. All else fails, there's always shooting them."
"Uh, we have to preserve ammo though." Alice added.
”Then let’s take the hospital. It’s furthest away, but maybe the jollywops won’t expect us to take it.” Isaiah was practically leading the way towards the hospital staircase. It was a bit further away, but they didn’t run into any problems yet, The floor was littered with robot parts. Alice Parker must have come this way. But when he got to the stairs, he stopped. ”I think I hear something.”
"What is it?"
”Sounds like heavy footsteps.” Isaiah spoke in a whisper, and drew his pistol. ”It sounds like it’s on the second floor. What should we do?”
"Can't we sneak around them?" Henry asked, both siblings lowering their voices to a whisper as well.
"Maybe. I should take a look." The recon said, quietly sneaking up the stairs to take a peak.
Upon creeping up the stairs to the second floor and peeking above the staircase, Alice Masson could see what appeared to be a Nariko bot walking back and forth. The floor looked surprisingly clean, which would suggest Alice Parker had not arrived here yet.
”Wankers!” Isaiah started to walk up the stairs and drew his pistol. ”There’s one down here, and it sounds like it’s running!”
"Damn, we need to move!" Alice aimed her rifle at the Nariko bot's head and fired, while Henry kept an eye out for the bot seemingly running to them.
It just took a single bullet to obliterate the robot’s head. ”Here I go againnnnenenenenennnn...” The robot sighed as its power went out.
”Quick! They’re coming from upstairs too! ” Ice fired his gun once.
But it wouldn’t stop them. It seemed that the carnage sisters on the third floor were pouring down the stairs. Their voices overlapped with each other in a cacophony of chirps. Ice was able to guide everyone into the art plaza.
”The next staircase is just ahead!”
But then everyone heard the doors lock, and a pit sunk into their stomach.
"W-What the hell?!?" Henry nearly yelled.
"Don't tell me..." Alice hid her brother behind her in anticipation.
”Thaaaats riiiiiight!” The monitors crackled to life, displaying a glitching out carnage sister. ”You found Monika!” she giggled. ”Don’t worry, I’ve locked all the doors so that we can play in here all by ourselves!” The infinites could hear the sound of the floor shift, as the traps would soon reveal themselves.
"Son of a-!" The recon never though she'd meet the AI that Mercy faced before, but she wasn't surprised Monika was brought back. She and Henry rushed to avoid the traps. "Out of all the people she chooses to bother with!"
"Wait, she's supposed to be digital, isn't she??" The pianist asked, getting an idea.
”Yea, we can’t shoot this one!” Once Isaiah got to the door, he pulled out his golf club and started swinging at it. ”Bloody mandibles! I’m going to need a hand getting this open.” Ice threw himself at the door over and over again, and several revealed buzz saws closed in on their position.
"On it!" Alice hurried over to help Isaiah break the door open, firing at the saws closing in on them.
Meanwhile, Henry had stepped away in search of a computer. If he could get to it in time, Monika wouldn't be a threat to them anymore. He hoped his skills would come in handy, atleast.
Sure enough, Henry did manage to spot a computer in the dining room. There was a laptop plugged into the wall, with a carnage sister standing in front of it.
”Oh no! He found us!” Monika giggled from the laptop’s computer screen. ”You’d better protect me!”
The carnage sister in front of the laptop reached into a drawer and pulled out a cleaver. She hurled it at Henry before reaching for more kitchen utensils. It seemed that she was otherwise unarmed.
Sidestepping the cleaver thrown at him, Henry appeared confused when he saw the sister didn't have actual weapons. Was this a ploy? Or was it just dumb luck? Either way, he shot the bot in the head while her back was turned.
”Hmm, maybe she should have brought more than me along.” Monika sighed. ”So is it game over now?”
Henry could hear Ice scream outside.
”Sounds like I got one! Haha!”
The floor started to open up, revealing saws.
If Henry hadn't taken the title as Infinite Pianist, he was sure to have become the Infinite Hacker. He didn't have time to lose. He ran up to the laptop and began to make quick work of Monika's deletion. "Say goodnight, you psychotic harlot!!"
”Later, cutie!”
And with that, the AI was gone. Henry hurried back to Alice and Ice. "Is everyone okay?!"
Alice Masson looked to be okay. They were surrounded by bent and broken saws, but Isaiah…
”I got cut!” He was holding his wrist, which, bled no matter how tightly he held it. ”I-I won’t stop bleeding! We need to get to the patients quarters! At least the door seems to have opened.”
"Ohthankgodyoutwoareokay-" Henry calmed down.
Alice was trying to help stop the bleeding, leading the way to the patients' quarters this time. "Where did you go, even?"
"Oh, I may have deleted Monika from the system. She won't be a concern now."
They managed to get to the third floor. The sound of Parker ripping apart carnage sisters could be heard. They had to be careful here, but it was important that they rushed to the patient quarters for Ice. He was still bleeding and wouldn’t stop without medication. If every room was equipped with what they needed, they just had to break inside.
Isaiah was getting weak though. There was a tail of blood behind them. ”Hells! I’m getting Dizzy!” he collapsed in front of one of the doors. ”G-Get the door open!” He was starting to breath faster. It could be panic, or it could be a vain attempt to get more oxygen into his lungs.
"Henry's already on it, just hold on a little longer for us...!" Alice reassured Isaiah, gently moving him to where he was leaning against her for support. She tried her best not to appear worried, though it was obvious. Once the pianist got the door open, they hurried inside the room to patch the blood donor up.
Henry nearly dropped the medication in his haste, but he managed to find it. It read “For ice-Ice-Baby’s polycythemia vera, when he gets a boo-boo.” There was no time to laugh though. He injected it into Ice’s arm, and the bleeding stopped immediately.
”Did it work?” His breathing was ragged, but he was still awake. ”I don’t think I can stand. Crumpets!”
"It should work. Here." Henry and Alice helped Ice sit down, the latter sitting down next to him. Then the pianist searched the room for fresh bandages.
Ice groaned. It wasn’t hard to find bandages, as there were plenty in the first aid box. ”We’re in danger until we get to the next floor.” Ice struggled to draw another breath. ”I’m having difficulty seeing, but I should be fine if I have something to lean on.”
"If you have to, you can continue leaning on me if you want." Alice suggested, catching the bandages Henry tossed to her. She replaced the bandages on Ice's wrist with the fresh ones.
"Are you sure you want to head back out, in your current condition?" Henry asked, concerned.
”I would if we had the luxury of time.” Isaiah leaned against Alice like she suggested. ”And these rooms aren’t safe anymore, now that the rules have been removed. I’d rather not be left behind, but if it’s the difference between all of us or just me kicking the bucket, you know what to flipping do!”
The stairs to the fourth floor were right in front of them. Maybe fifty more feet to go.
"Right, I understand." Henry said, grabbing an extra med-kit. "Let's go."