Dorothy's tone was nothing like the fury they had imagined. Worse, her words were filled with an easy amusement. As her voice echoed through their communications channel, Brand, Calder, Snow, and Lin Gong felt their hearts grow heavier.
"Hmm, it seems I'm not very welcome?"
Her voice was not as cold as usual, but the more she sounded like this, the more frightened they became, with only her voice over the Communicator to go on.
"Hmm? No one's answering? Or is your communications system broken? I should have Noel check it for you. Your system isn't very impressive. A few simple little programs were all it took to break in. Well? Do you like my surprise?"
Brand clenched his fists, his heartbeat racing. Finally unable to bear the suffocating atmosphere, he became the first to dare speak. "Dorothy, what have you done?"
The silence broke, but the situation did not seem to improve. Someone had simply dared to speak at last.
Snow's voice was cold and hard, with a trace of agitation. "Did you know about all of this in advance?"
Dorothy laughed softly. Her laughter should have been pleasant, yet at that moment it sounded terrifying. The longer it went on, the more frightened they became, as though the cold had seeped into their bones.
There was a hint of smug mockery in Dorothy's words, her tone full of teasing amusement. "Honestly, though, I really didn't expect you to deploy so many Fourth-Generation Tactical Mecha, brought in from District 25, no less. Especially... working with Jonas. What a delightful surprise."
Brand's heartbeat suddenly quickened, his heart leaping into his throat. That name, Jonas, a name Dorothy should never have known, echoed through the communications channel, as piercing as an alarm. Everyone's expression grew grave, their thoughts seeming to freeze.