Ralphie had been studying how to cook for others with Zumo's help for 90 days and was now a true master of the kitchen. He was capable of creating practically any style of dinner with ease, but the contentment he had clung to for so long would be shattered by tonight's incident.
The sky was devoid of stars, and the moon could scarcely be seen over the sea due to thick clouds. Thunderstruck the ocean as the rain dropped heavily. The thunderstorm was devastating and catastrophic.
A ring of submarines had emerged from the depths of the water and encircled the agent ship where Ralphie and Zumo were stationed. Soon after, a swarm of ropes was thrown up and wrapped around the ship's barrier. They started climbing, with Zumo hearing the loud noises from inside the kitchen, where he was cooking for tomorrow's dinner.
The voices were detected by him from the window in the basement, looking at their feet. They wore black shoes and pants with an expensive suit and tie around their necks. Their suits had a symbol of the moon and sun mixed into one.
"What are *they* up on this ship doing? The Sun and Moon Agency's Special Agents. You don't notice them as active, and they're harder to encounter, but there's probably an entire row of them strewn around the boat.
"Look around the ship for the skipper. We've been given explicit orders to throw him overboard and sink the ship. Make every effort to remain as silent as possible so that no one gets in our path. If you come across any waking children, men, or women, tie them up and tape their mouths. Don't hurt them; those weren't our orders, and there's no reason to kill people who aren't even their captain."
"I've got go look for Ralphie. I can't keep him on the ship alone, nor am I strong enough to fight the SM Agency. Since they're prioritizing the captain, there's a greater risk of them finding me, and due to my reputation as the undercover agent, they'd definitely try to capture me or tried to kill me which is beyond what I'd expect."
Zumo stepped to the kitchen's door and peeked from the frame to scout the area before continuing on finding Ralphie who was probably hiding somewhere in the room. Zumo shut the door silently and stepped outside. He turned the corner and scouted the corridors again and noticed one of the SM Agents making his way out toward the kitchen. Zumo hid his body behind the corner and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike.
The agent stepped to the cross-way of the corridor and suddenly felt a tight grasp. Zumo wrapped his arms around the SM Agent's neck and knocked him out cold. He hid him behind the corner and then continued his way toward his room, where he'd most likely find Ralphie.
For the next few minutes of sneaking under the ship's corridors, he returned to his room and grabbed the handle. He pushed the door where Ralphie, scared on the floor, quickly crawled toward the wall. He was relieved to only see Zumo come to his rescue.
"Zumo... You came..."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare. Here, let's hurry up I'll take you to the outside so that we can leave the ship. There should be a smaller boat in emergency. I'll make sure to keep you safe, come now."
Ralphie accepted Zumo's request and agreed with his escape. They exchanged hands to one another and then started moving their way out to the deck and prepared to leave by entering the boat which they could escape on.
"Zumo, are you sure this is safe? There's so many people out on the deck. I don't think we can leave unnoticed."
"Worry not, Ralphie. We'll be fine, just trust me, okay? I'll get you out of here alive, even if something awful happens to me."
"You won't risk your own life for mine! I've seen movies like these and there's no way I can let it happen!"
"Don't be so loud... Don't worry, we'll both get out alive. Let's go, keep on following me."
They managed to enter the deck without anyone noticing them, and while on top they waited for the few SM Agents to move out of their way and made sure to hurriedly sneak up behind them toward the ladder over which they could enter the boat and sail away.
They were doing well and even made some progress involving escaping without being noticed, but just before they managed to escape unharmed, one of the SM Agents spotted them from behind and immediately shouted out loud.
"Everyone! There's two people up here at the front of the deck.A child and a weird cook. I think they're trying to escape! Hurry up."
"Zumo, they spotted us!"
"You have my permission to eliminate them. The name Zumo is quite familiar. Do not hesitate to kill the child too. They may be working together."
"Roger... Sorry kid, but orders were clear. The friend on your right side must be eliminate due to an insecure expectations of him being more important than we expect."
The SM Agent grabbed the gun and aimed it forward. He quickly pulled the trigger, where Zumo hurriedly hopped forward and pushed Ralphie onto the ship. "ZUMO!"
The bullet pierced Zumo's right knee and due to the wound he was forced to knee onto the floor. He was then shot into the shoulder because of SM Agent's second shot and then quickly shouted out.
"Ralphie, hurry up and escape! That boat should be easy to operate, despite your age."
"W-What?! You don't actually mean that! I won't go without you! You still have the chance to escape, please!"
"Ralphie, don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Get moving, I promise I'll find you the moment I'm done here!"
"But-!"
Zumo closed his eyes from stress and feeling upset upon leaving Ralphie alone and from there called out one more time.
"HURRY UP, before you get shot! Stop being so stubborn and listen to me! If you don't get away now, then you'll never have the chance to cook perfectly for people! You won't even be able to study more meals to prepare! I still have so much to teach you, so do this as your thanks for me helping you and teaching you how to cook! Listen to make and get the hell out of here, now!"
It took several seconds for Ralphie to agree, but finally he clenched his teeth and started using the boat. "O-Okay, but please! Promise me you'll find me and continue teaching me how to cook! I want to be a good cook as you, Zumo, and until you don't come back, there's no way I will ever stop working on the meals! I'll use your name, because I know it'll bring me loads of knowledge! I beg you to come back, I really do!"
Before Ralphie fully left the surroundings of the ship, he noticed a big and flashing smile on Zumo's face who stood up, despite having an injured leg. He turned to face the SM Agent. "I promise... Now, tell me. What the hell do you want with this ship?"
The SM Agent suddenly dropped the gun until somebody stepped from behind him. A man ordered to lower the guns as he stepped at the front. He exchanged views with Zumo who quickly recognized him.
"I thought I told you to kill him, but that's fine Number One. I suppose we can talk things through with it. Hello, Zumo."
"Yules one of the SM's Most-Trusted Agents. I thought you would be guarding the Oxfell Arton Agency. Why the hell are you here? To cause trouble or what?"
"Zumo, I'll keep it easy." He showed a button by raising his arm. "Bombs have been set all over the deck of this ship. The commander of this ship was formerly a dangerous pirate who terrorized the Vast Expanse and murdered innocent people. He was disobedient to the world government and deserved to be punished, yet he managed to flee. We tracked him out and discovered that he was working as a regular ship captain, piloting the vessel across the sea. He needs to be finally removed, and he's already been roped around and put in position at the time of speaking."
"You're planning to destroy one of the agents' ships? You're crazy, who gave you the orders to do that?!"
"The leader of the world government, as well as the admirals, gave us orders. We recognize that many lives have been lost, but if we do not stop this ship's pirate, more people will perish. We needed to take action in these conditions, but I didn't expect to meet an undercover agent and one of the Save & Peace agent organization's administrators on top of this ship, and Ralphie was the youngster you let go, correct? Despite his youth, I'm sure he'll make trouble once he finds he's been the SP Agent all along. I'm sure he's long gone, so following him down isn't the best use of my time."
"There's no way an SM Agency would want to wreck one of the ships and kill hundreds of innocent people! Those couldn't possibly be orders from headquarters!"
"Yes, I'm afraid. Don't worry, I'll make it quick. We'll tether you before boarding the submarines. We'll hit the button when we're finished, and the spacecraft will explode. Hundreds of lives are insignificant in comparison to billions. Please, everyone, hurry up and apprehend SP Agent Zumo. We don't have time to waste."
Zumo was immediately encircled by SM Agents who immediately tied him up. He was powerless to stop them all, and the next thing he knew, he was shoved against the ship's fence, his legs and arms bound.
"Yules! This is ridiculous! You are not required to kill these individuals! At the very least, get them off the ship before we blow it up!"
While the SM Agents began to descend back aboard their submarines, Yules placed his right sole on top of the fence. Yules smiled as he turned around and stretched. "We don't have enough room, and even if we did, we couldn't disobey the international authority. You might even make it if luck is on your side. Zumo, farewell."
"STOP! Yules!!!"
Yules walked away from the ship's deck, ignoring him. He sank beneath after entering the SM Submarines. He pressed the button when the bombs went off all around the ship, once he was deep enough to avoid danger from the exploding ship. It erupted into pieces, a giant fire consuming it and engulfing Zumo.
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Ralphie, who had noticed the turmoil and nothingness on the ship, could see it from afar. He peered over the boat he escaped in, his eyes shook with surprise. His eyes welled up with tears, and he let out a loud scream.
"ZUMO!!!"
To be continued...