Meteor Arts Saga

Chapter 27

Keiko heard her phone on her desk ringing. She answered the phone. "Hello, thank you for calling Nagise Hospital. This is Director Okamoto speaking... Oh, hello again Chief. What can I do for you?"

Naoki informed her in a calm tone of voice, "I don't want to alarm you, but you and everyone in the facility must evacuate immediately."

"Immediately? What's going on?" she asked.

"There's no time! You have to get of there now! Oh, and here are a few more things, I want you to..."

____________________________________________________________

At the lobby entrance of Nagise Hospital, armed men in armour came swooping into the premises, high and then low. The Hagetaka. They had reached the lower basement levels of the building. The soldiers carrying electric-based weapons, used to stun their targets. They started shooting at the Artists on sight and even chased after them.

The Artists ran for their lives, escaping the clutches of the Hagetaka. But the sentinels decided to stand their ground and battle the soldiers head on, protecting their fellow Artists making their escape. The sentinels used their water to fend off against the soldiers, strong enough to take them all down. But in response, the Hagetaka switched to their lethal guns. They shot them all, one by one. Some got shot in the arms and others shot dead.

While keeping the sentinels busy, some soldiers went ahead, expanded further into the level through the hallways, continuing the hunt.

Meanwhile, the Meteor Samurai burst out of Sakai's room. They heard there was trouble, and the first thing they noticed was Earth, Fire and Water Artists running by at an abnormal pace, and their faces cried in terror.

Koki managed to catch the arm of a running Artist and pulled him to stop. "What's going on?" he demanded.

"They found us!" cried the member.

"Who? Who found us!?" Saya asked.

There was loud banging and it got closer. They turned their faces to the noise, and then men in white armoured suits appeared carrying rifles. The Hagetaka. Saya stepped in and generated a sphere of water and shot away. Koki and Shintaro intercepted them and threw in a couple of punched at their faces and toss them down to the floor.

"What's all that noise?" Sakai asked aloud. "Wait, are they Hagetaka?"

"They are," said Koki. "Somehow, they found us." He asked the member how the Hagetaka detected them.

"I don't know, but they just barged in out of nowhere."

There was noise buffering coming from Saya's person. A radio was strapped onto Saya's belt, emitted a mature, feminine voice. "Saya...? Saya, can you hear me? Please respond."

It was Keiko's voice. Saya grabbed the radio and answered. "I'm here, Mom."

"Thank goodness," said Keiko, relieved. "We got important things to deal with. Are Otomari and Takamiya with you?"

"Yes."

"I want you three to get to my office immediately, and hurry!"

"Right." Saya had told them to follow her to her mother's office, and to the Renmei member to flee for safety.

They rushed over to the director's office and when they arrived, the door was left open and spotted Hagetaka troops inside. The soldiers had Keiko and her assistants surrounded and threatened them with their guns.

"Mom," Saya muttered, hoarsely.

She was about to rush in, but Koki pulled her back. "Are you just gonna charge in like that?"