Hal paused and thought for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hm." he mumbled.

"Complete and utter lockdown..." he said.

"I... wait..." he then muttered, thinking about it.

"I think I can do that, yeah." he confirmed.

"..." he was then silent, thinking about it.

"Yeah... it's... it's drastic, but it CAN be done." he repeated.

"...right." Hal responded, before making his way to the safe. He paused at it for a moment, before opening it. He then shifted through the contents, before finding what he was looking for, pulling the sealed envelope out.

"And here it is." he said, taking it back to the desk.

"This has never been used since the Unit was founded and created." he mumbled sorrowfully.

"But... drastic times require drastic measures, I suppose." he admitted.

Even though Vanessa's control was no longer there... she could see how the pieces of his soul that were missing were affecting his overall demeanour.

Hal nodded slowly in response.

Overall, the procedure took about 6-7 solid minutes, but they did it. The 'absolute lockdown' was now in effect, and Hal just leaned back in his chair.

"...it is done." he said.

"This building is now under the strictest level of lockdown possible." he told her.

"To think it's come to this..." he then mumbled.

"But... nothing to be done about it NOW..."

Hal thought for a moment, before nodding.

"Yes." he replied.

He then reached into the safe again, and pulled out a special crystal. One that was exceptionally rare, as it was known for being able to hold copious amounts of frighteningly strong mana. It had all but disappeared from the world, as it did have its limits, and people found them. And broke them.

"Normally I wouldn't use this." he said.

"But again. Drastic times."

"I will try." Hal responded.

"That's all I'll say." he told her.

"Now go. Before this fully takes effect." he said.

"I'll announce it once it happens. But for now... go." he repeated.

"And I hope you find out SOME information." he went on. "This... is just... I don't..." he then stammered, before sighing.

"I give up." he murmured.

"I want to say I'm scared, but... I'm not." he lamented.

Hal just leaned forward, and covered his eyes with his hands.

"...no point in locking the door. It'll just get busted down." he mumbled to himself. "And there will be an automatic announcement when the lockdown takes effect." he continued, before taking the crystal and putting it out of sight, so it wouldn't be disturbed.

Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, an automatic voice blasted over the PA system.

"THIS BUILDING IS NOW UNDER CODE BLOOD RED. REPEAT: BLOOD RED." the automated voice declared.

"Damn you Vanessa." Hal snarled.

"Making me DO this... pushing it to THIS..." he went on.

"HOW!?" he then exclaimed in frustration.

The man that was with her just scowled.

"Damn it all." he cursed.

"It's THAT level of lockdown!?" he exclaimed, before looking at Jordan.

"It's a lockdown. Obviously." he told her. "But it's as strict as possible. It's... well, suffice to say, it's the worst case scenario that CAUSES this sort of thing." he continued further.

"Just... damn it." he muttered.

"At least Liv's here." he then said to the woman beside him.

"...which could be potentially seen as a bad thing OR a good thing." he muttered. "Or both." he added.

Zeke just shook his head slightly.

"That's fair enough, Angela." he responded.

"This is... to say this is an awkward, unnerving, and confusing situation would be understating it." he then added.

"Also, sure, we can see if Liv wants to be in a few shots." he added with a shrug.

"That ok with YOU?" he asked Jordan.

Zeke watched Angela go, and then sighed again.

"Really is." he said.

"Means some real serious shit has gone down." he told her.

"I just hope Angie can get some answers." he then mumbled, before heading to where Liv was and knocking on the door.

"Wanna have your pics taken by Jordan?" he asked.

"Ah, you didn't clearly hear it." Zeke commented.

"Welp, you're here for a bit." he told her. "Which is to say... we're ALL here for a while." he continued.

"Place has gone under the strictest lockdown we can muster." he informed her.

"Blood Red." he stated.

"No, I don't know WHY, and your mother has already gone to see if she can get any information." he continued.

"Basically, you now know all the relevant details I am able to provide. As I know little more now."