Outside, in the expansive plaza that stretched before the Karolinska Institute, two distinct factions stood in a tense standoff.
The furthest from the Institute were Erik's companions—Emma, Emily, Astrid, and, technically, Victor.
Just a short ten meters in front of them were the remaining three second-rank guards, one of whom still had Emily's orb stuck in his eye socket, making him tremble from fear and pain.
Another ten meters behind them were the first-rank guards, gathered together in three formations that just barely equated to another three second-rankers.
However, with one of the second-rankers essentially incapacitated due to Emily, the guards made no illusions about being able to subdue the invaders. They had seen how quickly Emily had taken down one of their own, and the first-ranker formations behind them barely counted for anything when compared to real second-rankers.
While both groups were wary of each other, the guards were a lot more anxious than Emily, Emma, and Astrid.
After all, Emily and Emma were constantly kept apprised of what went on down there, while the Institute guards could only guess. Although Astrid had no connection to Erik currently, she knew he was fine, so long as Emma and Emily remained calm.
Suddenly, about ten minutes after Erik left, a group of ten to fifteen scientists began filing out of the elevator in a panic. Their entrance to the scene, marked by a cacophony of curses, sighs of relief, and loud complaints about idiotic muscle heads below, momentarily broke the tension.
"Finally, open air!" one of them praised, lifting his arms in the air.
"Bunch of crazy bastards, fighting in an underground facility. I refuse to be buried before I'm actually dead!" another cursed, grumbling and spitting on the floor.
"Mommy, save me!" a third wailed, tears streaming down his face as he ran towards a female guard, who could only respond with an exasperated eye roll.
These scientists, upon noticing the assembled guards, quickly sought refuge with them, eager to understand the chaos that seemed to envelop the Institute.
One of the remaining three second-rankers, Alex, who had taken command of the guards in Alistair's absence, quickly beckoned one of the scientists over to him without taking his eyes off the people in front of him. "You! Tell me what's going on."
First glancing around to ensure Alex was talking to him, the human in a white coat gulped anxiously but didn't dare disobey. He carefully approached what was clearly something akin to a Mexican standoff. Before gulping when he felt the pure power radiating off these second-rank individuals who could squash him like the tiniest of bugs.
When he arrived next to Alex and glanced apprehensively between the two groups without talking, Alex barked, "Come on, speak up!"
He didn't ask the man to whisper it to him, since he didn't doubt the redheaded vampire's second-rank Runebound hearing would pick up any volume at this distance.
"Uhm, y—yes, sir," the man stammered, and quickly relayed how Erik, Alistair, and the two vampire guards arrived in the lab, before taking Eleni with them to go get Alice. "All seemed fine, but then five minutes later, the structure started trembling and we heard sounds of fighting, so we got the hell out of there!" he finished.
At the mention of a fight, Alex quickly got agitated and changed into werewolf form before brandishing his claws and glaring at the people in front of him. "You! What is going on!? We were complying with your demands!" he growled furiously, while the scientist quickly ran back to the larger group behind them.
"Please calm down," Emma responded with a bright smile and a cheery voice while the calming influence of her nature affinity spread around her. "We know as much as you do!"
Naturally, that was blatantly untrue, as she was currently talking to Erik in a far more troubled tone than she projected to the outside world. Yet, it was Elora instead of Erik who responded and told her that Erik was fine but focused and couldn't respond.
Meanwhile, Alex seemed surprised that it was the only first-ranker among the invaders who seemed to take the lead among them. The reason for that was partially because she was Erik's wife, but also because she had her calming nature affinity, and because neither Astrid nor Emily were particularly interested in a peaceful solution.
Alex glanced cautiously at the three second-rankers the white-haired girl was surrounded by, but since they didn't object, he could only address Emma with narrowed eyes, while continuing to brandish his claws and prepare for a fight. "Are we supposed to believe that?!"
Emma shrugged while keeping her casual attitude and bright smile, while her nature affinity was already working to slightly calm the tensions. "Believe it or not, have things really changed? A confrontation right now would be disadvantageous to all of us. How about we just wait until someone comes back up again."
Both Emily and Astrid momentarily lost their focus as they glanced at Emma with raised eyebrows in surprise. Emily, especially, had never seen this side of Emma, and even her bloodlust now took a backseat to her surprise. Yet, they quickly refocused on the situation at hand, deciding to think about Emma's behavior later.
Even Emma was a little surprised at herself, but all she could think of was that Erik trusted her, and that he wouldn't want this situation to turn into a large-scale battle. Thus, she had pulled qualities she didn't know she had from unknown depths within her.
It seemed Emma could be quite the leader and negotiator when she wanted to be, which were qualities that she had shown before on more than one occasion.
And indeed, her words did make the guard think, as a complicated expression appeared on his transformed face. Finally, he nodded and took a more casual stance, though he remained in werewolf form. "Fine, we'll wait."
There was nothing that guaranteed Emma was telling the truth, but he could feel a sort of trustworthy and calming aura surrounding her, causing him to instinctively want to listen to and trust her.
So they waited for ten more minutes, until, finally, the elevator dinged again.
All eyes turned towards the metal door as they anxiously anticipated who was coming up again. All eyes, except for the second-rankers, who kept a cautious gaze on the people in front of them.
Finally, the doors opened, and a smirking Erik stepped out, with the head of a cute and young wereverine sticking out from his right shoulder.
"Miss me?" he chuckled as he looked around at the dismayed first-rankers ahead.