I've Got To Get Out of This Place If It's The Last Thing I Ever Do...

Verdant Green, who had been pulsing with predatory intent, instantly froze. Its vibrant pink dimmed to a nervous, pale lavender.

Emi wasn't sure what was causing the commotion out in the hallways but she had a pretty good guess, ‘Sayaka and Ethan,’ she thought. ‘And looking to breed me no doubt for knocking up Sayaka’.

'That,' the cloud projected, its voice stripped of all its usual bravado and now tight with genuine alarm, 'is the sound of someone who doesn't believe in knockers. Or doors. Or, quite possibly, the structural integrity of the wall surrounding the door.'

Emi took a breath and opened the office door stepping out into the corridor. She could see the glass door with blue borders and outside it sure enough Sayaka and Ethan. Ethan was wielding a heavy dry wall hammer but rather than aiming at the shatter resistant glass he seemed to be hitting the wall or frame near the door.

Another CRASH, this one accompanied by the splintering crack of wood, rattled the heavy oak door in its frame. The lock, a state-of-the-art digital security model, held, but the wood around it groaned in protest.

"Shit. We need to get out of here. The lift," Emi swore, the words a frantic hiss as she scrambled to her feet. Her legs, still trembling from the divine and then fraudulent fucking, threatened to give way, but sheer terror propelled her forward. She burst out of the boardroom, the cool air of the corridor a shocking contrast to the humid, sex-soaked air she was leaving behind. Down the hall, Sayaka and Ethan were a whirlwind of frantic, destructive activity. Ethan, his face a mask of grim determination, was wielding a heavy drywall hammer with alarming efficiency, splintering the wood around the lock.

"Come on, come on," Emi chanted, her fingers jabbing at the elevator button with a ****, repetitive rhythm. The button glowed a steady, unhelpful orange, refusing to acknowledge her panicked pleas. The lift remained stubbornly on a different floor, its display mocking her with a simple number.

'You know, mistress, that's not actually how the electronics of lifts work,' Verdant Green's unhelpful voice chirped in her head, its tone a bizarre mix of academic pedantry and casual observation.

Just as Emi was about to unleash a string of curses at her smug little Familiar, a soft ding echoed from above. She glanced up, her heart sinking. The little orange light above the elevator doors had changed, and the numbers on the display were now climbing, each digit a ticking clock counting down to her capture.

'See?' Verdant Green's chirped in her head, a note of smug satisfaction in its tone. 'It's already on its way up. Which is good for us, right? Means we don't have to wait.' The cloud paused, a beat of deliberate, theatrical suspense. 'On the other hand, it also means someone is on their way. And given the current state of... well, everything... I'm willing to bet it's not the takeout delivery guy.'

Emi's blood ran cold. She spun around, her gaze darting between the steadily ascending numbers and the two figures methodically demolishing the door at the end of the corridor.

"You have to help me Verdant. Please I can't get bred not now!" Emi's voice was a ****, ragged plea, her earlier bravado shattered by the sheer, immediate threat. She jabbed at the elevator button one last time, a futile gesture of panic.

The pink cloud pulsed, a wave of something that felt surprisingly like genuine concern washing over her. 'Okay, okay, don't get your non-existent panties in a twist,' Verdant Green's chipmunk voice was surprisingly gentle, stripped of its usual sarcasm. 'I can't stop a Breeding Pass, you know that. But I can buy you some time. I'm good at that. I'm a master of distraction.'

The elevator dinged again, the numbers now just one floor away. Down the hall, Sayaka gave a triumphant cry. 'Got it!' she yelled, and the heavy lock clicked open. The door groaned, the splintered wood around the lock finally giving way.