"I'm getting a good distance down," I said digging a final good distance to the point I feel we should start breaking into their facility in no time!
"Hey Z," Apollo said from the top peeking over and looking down.
"Yeah?"
"Remember to be adaptive."
"What?"
"Take what I'm saying and think," Apollo said before crawling back to his spot next to Dion.
"Be more adaptive.... With what?" I said starting to dig down more, but his words stuck with me. That's when I hit a medal plating that I couldn't break into, since I damaged my hands so much. Be more adaptive? With what? Did he know this was coming that I hit a wall like this, there was no way. Right?"
I started to think of a way I didn't have to use my full fist but still have the effectiveness of the drill style. Just enough to break through because breaking through a mountain barely coated with Zoe because you practically timed out your Zoe on shackles isn't going to be good on the hands.
"Well, now what?" I said to myself hitting the metal plating with my fist. I could wait until the damage wears off or Apollo and Dion get up. No, I don't want to delay our mission, that could end in death. Now what? Think Z.
"When you use Zoe it's physical and mental, you need to learn how to use both of those sides of your body to accurately use Zoe."
I've been using my mind so much that I haven't been paying homage to the physical side. Zoe is using both physical and mental. I need to explain my technique out loud and use the power of the Zoe my brain gathers so I can strike harder, but can I do that with the state of my fist?
No, my full hand will get exposed, and I will be Zoe blocked from my fist and my hand will hurt for longer. What should I do?
"Remember to be adaptive."
Be more adaptive huh? I think I get what you're finally putting down.
180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOylGpik4x
CHAPTER 25: Allies
180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsI1Lp0Ttk
"This is it!" Kingsley said, turning the corner with Pete following him.
"Alright, let's get our friends out and safe and find the others. they'll have Alfred and we're outta here.
"Yeah, the only thing is, where are we supposed to find them?
"Well, let's just ask a worker. I know it's stupid but, it's not like we're staying we can always beat them down and stuff them into a locker."
"Okay," Kingsley responded by shrugging his shoulders.
That's when they both started to look at their surroundings, it was like the world was caving in and towering over them, and to the side of them were prison cages. It felt like being in a child's drawing of what they think apartments are. Tons of houses towering over the next, with no stop in sight.
People are singing, blood dripping, and blood on the floor. People talking about wanting to kill the other person in the other stall to people trying to hook up through the halls. People are completely naked begging to get out. Some were just sitting there emotionless either talking to themselves or just looking up or down, just staring.
"This place is sick," Kingsley said, putting his head down.
"Agree. It's like this place isn't even monitored at all."
"I don't think it is, some of these people's eyes and souls feel empty and isolated. Like they have forgotten what the feeling of sunlight was.
"Kingsley, I forbid you to end up in a place like here you understand me?"
"Gladly. If I do, shoot me dead first."
That's when the urge of strong Zoe hit them, it was so thick that it felt suffocating. The feeling to them felt familiar and the strong will burning inside that Zoe was only a further reconstruction of who it might be.
"I think I know where one of them is," Kingsley said, earning a nod from Pete as they walked towards the feeling of Zoe they had until they reached the very end of the prison. That's where there were two walls with a tiny window at the top and a small access point at the bottom...
"This is definitely where they're being kept. The top sliding window is for them to talk and look at the prisoners, while the bottom is used for sliding in food and things on that line. You can see by the small tray size at the bottom of the door. Why would they need to do this against a normal prisoner?" Pete said
"Well let's break it down then! Colored Flames: Orange: Burning Sickles!" Kingsley said kicking the door hard with a sickle-like shape under his foot, yet it didn't break the door down.
"Ouch!"
"You okay, Kingsley?"
"Yeah, it's just that, it gave me a headache."
"Headache? Wait for a second, Kingsley make a hand full of your strongest Zoe and put it on that door." Pete said and Kingsley followed what he said. Kingsley put his hand on the door and felt enormous pain from the door.
"Oh god! I'm sorry I made you do that! I didn't know it was going to do this! Oh god, I-"
"It's fine. It's just a little pain but I see what you're getting at. This door is blocking my Zoe and me using a Zoe power has given me a block. Which means to do this we need to either wait or break in manually." Kingsley said, finally catching his breath.
"We have to do it manually. We won't have the time to wait." Pete said, punching the door and instantly regretting it.
"You're right! I know how we can get in!" Kingsley said, starting to kick the ground and break it.
"That looks like solid flooring! Doesn't that hurt!" Pete said, looking at Kingsley starting to mine the ground with his foot.
"There's no other way!" Kingsley said breaking the ground under them.
"Alfred wouldn't want you hurting yourself!"
"Yeah, but this is also for our fellow members! I'd break all my bones to save them!" Kingsley said, breaking down into the ground as hard as he could.
"What's your plan here?"
"Lots of people don't consider the possibility of someone escaping through the ground, so I'll just break in through the bottom."
"I feel so weak. Here you are almost breaking your bones to save whoever is beyond this door, while all I can do is watch and hope you don't hurt yourself." Pete said, looking down with shame.
"Nonsense. You feed the full agency with efficiency and care, you make the best tasting and balanced food to keep us at the top of our game! Without you, the agency would have a horrible diet and no good food. So, we die." Kingsley said more than his last responses.
"Never thought of it that way."
"Yes! My Zoe is back. I can fill it! I don't want to try the door anymore whoever concealed that door of Zoe is strong enough to rival Apollo or Dion. So, I'll break from the bottom and crawl them out safely." Kingsley said breaking into the ground ten times faster than before.
"Wow, your kicks are super deadly."
"I learned from watching somebody else's kicks."
"Who's?"
"It's a long story."
"Well, when we go back to the agency, you owe me a story."
"Fine! However, you have to make bulgogi!"
"Fine, that's fair!"
"I'm glad we can come to that agreement. Now with that, I think I can go even faster! Colored Flames: Orange n Yellow! Kingsley's leg was shining so brightly that if you looked at his foot for too long you were destined to go blind.
"Doesn't that make you want to scream!"
"Nope! Remember, I'm resistant to my flames because it's my Zoe. Now for what I call speed kicking! Break Break Break Break Break Break!" Kingsley kept repeating as he started to break into the ground and then upwards towards the bottom of the cell.
"It goes as deep as a tunnel!"
"I tried to tell her that!" Kingsley said, charging up his final kick. "Colored Flames: Orange, Small Tide Splitter!" Kingsley screamed as he broke the bottom of the cage and a girl fell out.
"Who's that? Who's there!? Yellow-haired boy? That's really you!" A girl who looked like a natural beauty, to say the least. Her hair was orange, and her eyes were green and glossy. She was wearing an orange and black jumper with the number 128 on her back. Her complexion, her voice, her face, everything was a work of beauty.
"Hestia?" Kingsley said holding her in making sure she didn't fall, that's when she kicked the wall and did a flip to make herself stand.
"I'm perfectly okay! Now let's... what are we doing?"
"Hestia! It's great to see you! Kingsley and Pete said at the same time and hugged her.
"That's not what I asked!" She said before tackling them both to the ground.
"Where saving Alfred and everyone else..." They both responded to her in a voice that was low and full of pain.
"Alright, let's go helpers!" Also, can you break these?" She said showing Zoe handcuffs
"I think I can. What's the power level?"
"10,000,000." She said, giggling a bit when she said so.
"10,000,000!?" They both gasped and she smiled.
"Yeah, that's the number!"
"I can't. Only Apollo, Dion, and Zeph can do that but two of them aren't here and the other one is hidden somewhere." Kingsley said while Pete clenched his fist.
"That's unfortunate, oh well let's do our job!" She said with a smile and got to walking and jumped out of the hole.
"How can she be so positive?" Pete said and Kingsley shrugged and followed her.
"Well, I think everyone knows who is in this cell then," Pete said pointing to it.
"Erebos..."
"Yup."
"Well let's get him then!" Hestia said, shooting her hands in the sky with a warm expression.
"Wait. That means I'll have to dig again!" Kingsley said already feeling tired from using so much Zoe on breaking the ground.
"You got this!" Pete and Hestia both said rooting for him.
"Alright, here we go then!" So, Kingsley again does the same thing he did to get Hestia to get Erebos.
"All done!" Kingsley said, kicking the final bit up.
"Why hasn't anyone dropped down ye-" Pete started looking up the hole before seeing somebody jump down butt first and land on Pete's whole body.
"Finally, I was waiting for a pillow to catch my fall." The man said standing up and wiping his butt from the dirt from Pete's back.
"Pete, to be a better pillow next time, don't have dirt on your back, got that pal?"
"Sure..." Pete said standing up and a little out of it because he got slammed by the man.
The man in question had his nails painted black and skulls on his nails and black hair that was tipped with white. He was also wearing one of the jumpsuits and his number was 129 however there was blood in different areas of his jumpsuit.
"Erebos, why are you all bloody? Kingsley commented on seeing the man for the first time in a while.
"I got into a fight with one of the officers here and since then he has been whipping me. It's been mainly the back and I spent days without a meal. But to answer your question, I kept banging my head on the wall, and in the fight with the officer his blood got all on me."
"Why were you banging your head on the wall!?" Kingsley asked in shock.
"You slowpokes took too long for my liking, so I tried to hurry the process. I would have either broken through or died trying but then I started to get a headache."
"Well, I'm glad that you have a headache, or you be dead!" Pete said with concern in his voice.
"Alright, what's the plan!?"
"The plan? Right, the plan! We need to get to Zeph and the others so we can all escape together!" Pete responded to the man.
"That's a boring plan but sure I'm in," Erebos said starting to walk out
"One more thing!" He said looking back from between his legs.
"Yeah?" Everyone said at the same time even some of the people in the cells.
"What's the answer to these?" Erebos said shaking the shackles on his body
"Zeph. Although, we have to get to him." Pete said, walking over to Erebos and patting his head.
"Guess the boring plan is your only way out," Pete said counting to walk forward while laughing.
"I suddenly think this plan isn't so boring now," Erebos said walking to catch up with Pete even though he made fun of him.
"Let's go, those two will argue and be friends and I hope we can stop them at their argue phase," Hestia said while starting to make Kingsley smile and agreed that they picked up the pace to catch up...
...
"Aza. I'm going to die. I wasn't strong enough to face some weak-minded person who works off fake power. Who am I to say though? Bye Aza." Koji said while smiling and keeping his eyes open.
"Koji! No! Stop! Fight! Fight!"
"You want to say I'm weak then admit death? What a loser!" The man said he went for the final blow.
"No!" Aza screamed
That's when the medal plating above them broke and Z came storming in accidentally hitting the brother with the debris that was falling down.
"Woah, Koji you looked messed up," I said with a smirk.
"Z, I. Never mind."
"What? What do I miss?"
"Z!" Aza said with tears in her eyes.
"Okay, I missed something important, didn't I?"
"Brother! You monster, you crushed my brother!"
"Who is she talking about?" I started to look around in the direction of her eyes but for some reason, they always met me.
"She's talking about you!" Koji yelled at me looking at me for being so stupid not to notice.
"Huh!?" Was all I could muster because I didn't do such a thing until the rock under me shattered and a man came out and started to scream at the top of his lungs.
"Who did this!? I want to kill them! They ruined my perfect skin!" The man yelled and screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Sorry, that was me," I said bowing my head down to try to show respect. However, he didn't like that and instead he tried to kill me.
"Look, it was an accident! Why are you so mad about it? It's just some rubble?"
"I was also about to kill this bra-" The man started but then screamed in agony as I looked to see a blade in his back.
"You're a sad excuse for a swordsman for that I use your sword to scar you forever," Koji said having what I can assume is the man's sword in his back and stripping it out with force.
"Oh, he's an enemy," I said since my brain clicked so I kicked and punched the man down.
"Brothe-" The woman tried to scream but was cut off by Aza stabbing her with her hand.
"Before you drop dead, remember this, no matter how pretty you are, if you're also weak you can't survive," Aza said as her hand started to flash.
"Calling all to my hands! Beautiful Blood Circulation!" Aza said has all her lighting traveled through the blood of the woman making her fall flat.
"Z! Let's finish this off!" Koji yelled at me, and I nodded to him. "Stravinsky Septet: Movement 1, Drill Style! Thirty-Second Note Drill!" "6th-Pack Hold! Rounded Down! As Koji cut a circle in his stomach, I pushed it out making him fall to the ground, blood gushing everywhere. Blood dripping from our hands like we just got done eating saucy wings, dripping down.
"We did it!" I said with reasonable excitement that's when Koji walked up to me and looked me in my eyes and said, "Good job." and walked away. Now I'm more confused, ever since I came down here, I was confused.
"Z!" Aza said, running up and hugging me.
"This is new..."
"Shut up and accept it."
"Okay, ha!"
"What took you guys so long!" Aza said, punching my arm.
"The other two are Zoe restricted so I had to come on my own. Oh and we also got kidnapped."
"What!?"
"Don't worry about it, we're fine!"
"Aren't you traumatized or something?"
"No, not really."
"Well... Where are the other two anyways?"
"Right behind you."
"What!?" Aza screamed before turning around and seeing both Dion and Apollo looking around the room.
"When, how, never mind."
"Alright, team! Let's get Alfred and get out of here." Apollo said walking out the door.
"You don't even know where he is!" Aza said
"Yes, I do."
"How are you then?" That's when Apollo turned around and his nose was his wolf form nose and his eyes as well, the red eyes of blood."
"Still, we need to wait for our group, and Zeph is stuck in a Zone somewhere."
"Zeph? Why is here in Ground 0?" Dion said, walking towards Aza.
"They got captured during their mission, as you can tell it wasn't a success."
"Unfortunate! Well, at least now we can bring everyone home."
"I'm sorry, who is Zeph?" I asked because I wanted to know.
"Right, you haven't met any other Top-Fives. Remember when Alfred mentioned it slightly after your first task to mock me?" Apollo asked.
"Lemme think..."
"Suit yourself, alright dog boy let's go."
"I'm looking over that insult for now because you promised me a steak,"
"Ever since the other top-five went on the mission out of state, you started to accept more of my antics."
"Oh yeah! I remember now!"
"Now you'll finally get to meet them!"
"Okay! Where do we need to go?"
"Nowhere, we're right here." A man with black hair that was tipped with white wearing a jumpsuit and his number was 129 however there was blood in different areas of his jumpsuit. The girl behind him was beautiful, Her orange hair and her green and glossy eyes. She was also wearing an orange jumper with the number 128 on her back.
"Apollo! Dion! It's been so long!" She said running up to them with her hands open
"Give me a hug!" She said while they open their arms, the next thing they know she punches them both in the face.
"That's for eating all the cereal the day before I left." She said before hugging them.
"What's their name?" I whispered low to Koji but before Koji had a chance to answer she answered for him.
"I'm Hestia and he's Erebos! What's your name?" With her sweet and tender voice.
"My name i-" I was cut off because then she tackled me and kept me in a headlock.
"I have him! He's not an agency member, how can you not see that?" She said laughing maniacally.
"Hestia! He's a member!" Dion said in utter shock while Koji and Apollo laughed their asses off.
"He is? Well, that explains why nobody was attacking him." She said as she let go of me and I caught a much-needed breath.
"Youn- Youn- Young Pupi- Hahaha! Young Pupil are you- are you alr-"
"Yes, I'm alright!" I responded to Apollo with anger in my voice since he and Koji are just laughing their asses off about me getting put into a headlock.
...
"He's dead."
"Beat him down! I'll come back in a little while. I want everyone out by then! Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir!"
180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIaLjZfiIO
