"Ne, Kunikida-kun," Dazai hissed. "Stop staring at your notebook. Usually it's the right thing to do, but we've gotta do stuff right now. We're literally in the middle of a mission. Focus on not getting those two poor abductees killed, will you?"

"Yeah, just something for part of the plan," he said, speeding up. "Doppo Poet! Here, take this stun gun. I'll set off the flash-bang, and you immobilize as many people as you can. Then we find the boss, get the key, and open the vault."

"No need, this looks like an easy enough lock to pick. Shouldn't take more than two minutes."

"And a key will take no more than twenty seconds."

Kunikida sets off the flash-bang, still gritting his teeth about Dazai's stubbornness.

"But it'll take way longer than that to find the key, look at all these people, Kunikida-kun," Dazai said, somehow managing to hold regular conversation while knocking out one of the people he'd pointed to.

"Yes, but—" he said, only to get cut off.

"No buts, you know I'm right, and I've got a lock-picking set in my coat pocket."

"Hhh... fine," he sighed, kicking an attacker in the back of the head before turning back to Dazai. "Give me the stun gun. I'll cover your back, but hurry up."

"Yeah. Attention, my captured friends," Dazai intones with a wry smile at Kunikida. "My colleague and I are with the Armed Detective Agency, and we're here to get you out!"

They hear a faint answer of 'Okay!' and then the loud click of the huge vault door unlocking. Two teenage boys walk out, seeming to be more scared of their rescuers than happy at their rescue as they looked around at the sea of unconscious people.

"Weren't..." one of them asked in shock. "the ADA supposed to be the good guys?"

"Well it's not like we killed them," Dazai shrugged, cutting him a glare. "Actually, the first of them will be waking up soon, so maybe this conversation can walk?"

"Uh, yeah," the second one said, pulling on the first's arm. "Come on Haruto-kun, let's follow them out of here."

"Yeah," Haruto nods numbly. "Anyway, Asahi, where do you think they'll take us?"

"Well," Kunikida interjected, making both boys flinch. "I'm going to assume you know the way home from here?"

"Yeah," Asahi said. "But, where are you two going from here?"

"Four of your colleagues had been abducted as well," Dazai said. "You two were the first, and have been gone for a couple of weeks. Two subordinates of ours went to another base to help two of them. And the four of us will be meeting at the final and most secure base to recover the last two."

"I want to help," Asahi said. "It was hell in there, so I want our friends out as fast as possible."

"No," Kunikida said. "I won't let you kids put yourselves in danger."

"This was awful, and you just told us that our comrades-in-arms are going through worse. I'm coming, whether you like it or not."

"I wanna come too," Haruto said. "It's like he said, this was horrible. If our friends are dealing with even worse, then I definitely want to help them."

"No—"

"Alright," Dazai says, cutting Kunikida off. You can come, just so long as you don't slow us down or get yourselves killed."

"Thanks," Haruto said. "We won't."

"Dazai!" Kunikida hissed. "You can't just bring some kids on missions!"

"They're not just some kids," he replied. "These are their colleagues, and their gang's full of amazing combat teachers and students. They'll have been trained in fighting. They can help more than they might hurt."

"Hhh... fine," he sighed in exasperation. "But they're your responsibility."

"Yeah, yeah," Dazai said, waving him off. "Now kids, there's only a little ways more to go. Now's the time to turn back if you're not absolutely sure of this."

"We are," Haruto said, taking a deep breath. "Let's go save them."

"Stop!" Dazai said, wagging a finger. "We have to wait for Kyouka and Atsushi. This is going to be the hardest part of the mission. We need them to make it go smoothly."

"O-oh. Well then, when they get here..."

"When they get here," Dazai smiled.