Shiori could've been more careful with her words, but now wasn't the time to worry about that. According to Emma, all she had to do was walk out the front door. She soon grabbed her stuff and left the room as she had grown impatient getting caught up in all this family drama. On the way down to the main lobby, anyone that would stop her she would tell them she was Emma's mother, Marie Halbrooke, and excuse her appearance as a "new trend". She knew that about now security would be discovering the damage she caused on the jacuzzi floor.

Beyond Emma’s room was a was a short hall that led to a more open room - a private dining area for special guests, if the number of tables were any evidence. Three guards were chatting amongst themselves - talking about the maid who was apprehended for messing with the cameras. Three more halls branched off from each corner of the room, one of which another guard was leaving down - and directly across from where Shiori entered, the hallway would continue past at least another dozen or so rooms before finally reaching a more open area where the elevator and two more guards were located. It felt like a rather long distance to carry such a large belly, at least Shiori no longer had to worry about avoiding the cameras.

The guards in the dining area, for their part, didn’t treat her suspiciously - likely for fear of insulting a guest and friend of their boss - but they did stare for quite a while; one seemed stunned (if not a bit intimidated) by the huge belly she was carrying, while the second was not-so-subtly ogling her ‘assets’ as she walked by. Only the third one, despite seeming confused by her glasses, offered any courtesy with a smile, a nod and a “Good evening, madam” as Shiori left the room - and sighed to himself when his co-workers immediately began discussing “the lady in black”. The final two at the elevator were the only ones to question her appearance, though the introduction of “Marie Halbrooke” and the story of light sensitivity and dyed hair seemed enough to satisfy them - if not leave them confused about ‘fashion types’ - and let Shiori into the elevator, beginning her trip down to the ground floor.

Throughout the walk to the elevator, Shiroi’s belly would be mercifully calm as Kellie waited in silence for the stomach to stop moving - she wanted to call for help, but was scared their captor would carry out her threat of digestion before anyone could free them. Sarah had almost shut down at this point, still trying to comprehend her step-sister’s words, and it wasn’t until they finally came to a stop that she stirred a bit. The stomach bounced ever-so-slightly as they felt the subtle virago of an elevator moving around them, prompting Sarah to shoot one more time at getting answers. “Hey… what are you going to do to us?” Her voice seemed even, but there was a note of defeat in it. Like she’d already accepted the worst possible outcome.

Shiori sighed having finally reached the elevator. She leaned against the elevator railing as to ease the burden on her aching feet a little. Even an assassin of her caliber would find it quite difficult to carry two girls inside her belly for as long as she has. Shiori then replied to Sarah’s question:

"...I've been asked to escort you out of this building alive, by any means necessary. Your friend in there just happened to be caught up in it. I'll let you out the moment I escape from this place, that is if my stomach doesn't act first. Dammit, holding back is so exhausting." At the same time, her stomach began to make ominous noises. "Just try not to move, it'll only make it worse. I'm almost out of here."

“W-wh… what?” This newest bombshell hit about as hard as Emma’s tirade did - only to the opposite effect, sparking life back into Sarah’s body as she jolted up in surprise. “W-wait a minute…!! Are you… you’re telling me you’re here to save us??” The surprising new wrinkle broke through the sense of despair she’d been in the past few minutes as a rush of questions ran through her head - ’save us from who’, ‘who sent you’ and ‘what kind of lunatic eats someone to save them’ being the first ones to mind. But all of them were ultimately drowned out by the single thing that, for the first time since being stuffed into this tight humid space, gave her some shred of hope. A low, echoing sound suddenly broke her thoughts. Kellie squeaked as she heard and felt the stomach rumble around them, biting her lip as she tried not to move.

“We’re not going to die.”

Art by MrMetroid107
Story and characters belong to me

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