"There is that," Mordred said."I'm going to get dressed."
Lancelot followed him upstairs and headed into his room, which was the first door on the right side, directly opposite Mordred's room.All the way at the back was Arthur, Merlin, and Morgan's room, because the king should always be the hardest to reach.
In his room, he went to the closet that somehow had clothes aplenty for him.Including military spec type shit perfect for this job.Merlin had always been the devil in the details, though.He really had started on all of this from practically the second he woke up, right after they left the game that first time.
Pants, boots, shirt, jacket, all of it reinforced with nano-armor.Almost as importantly, it could come off quickly and easily if he needed to transform.Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.From a trunk on the floor of the closet, he took various tools, including a modern buckler that he strapped to his wrist, an unassuming cuff for now, but it would spring open the moment he needed, syncing to his embedded chip to ensure a near-perfect reaction time.
Downstairs, he gave Merlin a look, "Where did you get military grade equipment, and when the fuck did you have time to?"
Merlin grinned."You continue to underestimate how far being an incubus will get me.Doesn't matter how much the world changes, some things remain the same."
Lancelot rolled his eyes.
Once everyone was back downstairs, Percival asked, "So how are we getting back into the city?I'm assuming you've made sure they won't be able to pin us down."
"I've had time, while working on Amphelise and Ethelfleda, to block us.It won't last forever.The systems Maleagant is working with are just too good.But we've got about five hours to return to the city, do the job, and get back here.In a perfect world, that would be more than enough time, but I'm simply hoping it'll give us enough time to get into the building.After that, it doesn't really matter."
Arthur turned to Guinevere, Elaine, and Iseult."I am sorry you must sit here and wait anxiously.If we should fall, I trust you will do what is best for the three of you, whatever that may be.I entrust the keeping of the kingdom to you, my queen, my friends."
"My king," Guinevere said."Knights.Fight strong and true, and return home to us."She kissed his cheeks and hugged him tightly.
Tristan kissed Iseult farewell, then stepped back and grinned."Look at you, good little women keeping the home."
"I hope someone breaks your nose," Iseult retorted, as Guinevere and Elaine jabbed him playfully in the ribs.Nevermind that Lancelot had seen the effort and skill required to run a household, especially back in their original days.He'd rather go to war.
"Move swiftly, strike hard, but above all, stay alive," Elaine said."Blessings be upon you knights."
Outside, two cars and three bikes awaited them.Mordred and Tristan all but started dancing in place."Please tell me we get the bikes," Tristan said, looking hopefully at Merlin.
"You do.As you'll be the last group out, you need something a bit swifter and more adaptable."
Tristan and Mordred cheered.
Percival and Galahad pouted.
Arthur rolled his eyes."Get in the cars."
Lancelot swung onto his bike and settled the waiting goggles in place.They connected to his chip and lit up with all kinds of road and weather data.The top and sides opened, the helmet within sliding and locking into place around him, nano-tech that allowed it to fit precisely to him.A moment later and the goggles connected to Mordred and Tristan.
Tristan's voice filled his ear."Protection detail starts now.I ride point.You two stay behind me."
"Yes, Captain," Lancelot replied.
Tristan chuckled, then their bikes roared to life, and they took off after the cars that had already headed out.
Lancelot couldn't deny there was something wickedly fun about flying down winding roads on a top-of-the-line motorcycle that he'd only ever enjoyed in game before.No matter how good the sensory equipment, nothing beat a real, live experience.And a modern Courser with state of the art everything could go a lot faster than a horse.
Though nothing would ever beat swimming.
By the time they returned to the city, night had fallen.Usually, the city was kept at a pleasantly dark but not pitch black level, comfortable for anyone out late and a deterrent to criminals.Right now, though, it was as dark as the world beyond the dome.Someone had turned out the lights.His goggles flashed a warning that he was violating curfew, but it vanished almost immediately as Merlin attended the matter.
The last time they'd been downtown had been when they'd gotten Guinevere and Gawain back. When Amphelise had nearly killed him and Mordred.If not for Gawain, she would have succeeded.Yet another painful reminder that Maleagant and his sisters had never been fools to trifle with, and victory was never guaranteed.No, Merlin was right, they should have lost a few times already.Something else was afoot.Lancelot could only hope they figured out what before it was too late to do anything about it.
They parked on the street, well outside of the area that Lancelot was planning on ruining, and walked in scattered pairs to their destination.
The 'mini-mall' building was beautiful on the outside, as all downtown buildings were.It was only outside the dome that aesthetics were discarded as unnecessary.This building had greenery, fancy marble tiles, and other expensive affectations.It was genuinely infuriating that so much could be spent on making something look pretty, but that same money couldn't be spent on making people more comfortable.
Inside, they remained scattered, wandering around like people visiting for appointments, to shop, or whatever, each pair using a different route to reach the same destination: the backroom areas that would lead them to roof access.
