Apollo, where are you? I'm at the table and it's been some time. I don't want to break the rule you put in place however, I'm not going to sit like a duck either. Alright, Imma do it! That is all I can think of trying to justify myself and not to be scared. Dion and Apollo missing, this can't be good. I went to look for them in the bathroom and surprisingly nothing, not even a trace of life.
This set off my meter, my this isn't good-o-meter. There's no reason to be a coward now however, this is Apollo and Dion's life on the line possibly and I don't want to lose anyone. I then ran straight into a man who was walking just as fast, looking like he had just come out of a fight.
"Sorry."
"Move kid."
Suspicious... Dammit, you two! Our squad was already missing, who told you two to do the same? Wait for a second with everyone captured or missing... I'm alone, aren't I?
I don't like this, I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scar- stop, breathe and stop. Evaluate the situation, it's not that bad. Just find them.
I started to critically think about everything. All in fractions of seconds I was crumbling data from days ago to now. I learned to be a pretty smart detective from the group... No, I've always had a reasonable street I.Q, ever since my days on the streets, to defend my friend and to help my grandmother.
"Think Z, why do you feel bad energy from that man, do you really think it's because he wants you to be his successor? You've only known him for a short amount of time! Think..." I said to myself out loud feeling something in my brain turn, I felt even smarter than before more than just crumbling data but putting it all together. To use my brain full function for this moment, to pick up from what I learned there has to be something, anything! That's when everything fell together, and the question he's been thinking of clicked.
That's it! Holy shit! I get it now, why didn't I see it sooner!? The missing piece, the initial reason for my suspicion, a detail so small he overlooked it until the two were brought into question near each other. Something he called out but overlooked. No, Apollo did as well.
"Names. I overlooked the names of things! His name is Venicent Myskot! Idiot, how did you not see it when you're talking about the cities!?"
"From Mystiko then we moved to Venzard." "What a surprise! I started out in the skirts of Venzard!"
It's just Venzard and Mystiko spelled differently! This also confirms a suspicion I had since we first heard of this place, the name of this place. Ever since the bank, I thought what a weird name for a restaurant this big. Now, I see it's just Rehto is just other flipped and Edis is just side flipped. Meaning that this business is owned by The Otherside. Dammit! That means from the very moment we found those coordinates.
Rehto Edis is... Otherside flipped. This business is owned by the Otherside. So from the very moment, we pickpocketed that man, from the very moment we got the coordinates from the bank, from the very moment we stepped foot in this door.
"In some way, The Otherside and the secret organization are working together or have ties."
I even called it out! I need to find them quickly! That's when the place went dark and illuminated on a stage for a show. "Great..." I said in a low tone seeing it would be harder to find them now.
My brain hasn't processed it yet that they were ready for us. Still from the moment, we started t-
"We already knew." Someone said from behind me and already slapped on a pair of cuffs.
"Where-" I tried to say while using Zoe but once I did so it felt like all my Zoe was getting stripped away. Was it the food? The drinks? The cuffs?
"Stop fighting, kid... Your white hair is a huge giveaway, Polemos trash." I heard a familiar voice behind me, the voice of Vincent.
"You could have been something more. What a damn shame. Bring him to the back, and make sure not to upset the flow of the place. You've done it a million times before, don't screw up this one."Venicent said only this time I saw a tag on his suit, it was a sun above a red fist that was the last thing I saw before my vision went blurry.
"I know you have questions, but please hold off, we're getting there. You're getting there."
CHAPTER 23: Dion also speaks...
I woke up in a cold sweat and looked around the room. I was underground in a room where there was glass on every wall reflecting, making me see myself and anything else in the room. That's when I noticed Dion was on the other side of me, tied up.
"D- D- Dion." I managed to let it out even if it was small and weak.
"Z!? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah I am. More importantly, I figured it out, this- this place is controlled by The Otherside. I'd try to save everyone but I failed."
"Don't worry about that right now, as of now let's find a means of escape."
He said that I realized he was double handcuffed. It seems the handcuffs do affect our Zoe. However, this feeling isn't just losing Zoe, we were definitely drugged as well. I can feel the part where they pierced the needle in. When I said I wanted to find them I didn't say I wanted to join them as a prisoner. Speaking of them, where's Apollo?
"Z, I can't get these ropes off my body, I'm simply too weak at the moment but I sensed your Zoe from first meeting you, even if it wasn't a lot. I heard you also trained with my brother a lot, he's an idiot but he's pretty strong and knows what he's doing."
"Where are you going with this?"
"I need you to sacrifice yourself."
"What? What!?"
"Relax. You're going to take a gamble, that's all. These cuffs are concealing high amounts of Zoe but they underestimate you. Even while drugged, you can still push high amounts of Zoe. It's just difficult if there are two handcuffs on."
"I understand. Only one thing, how do I do that?"
"You don't know how to release only Zoe out of your hands?"
"Yes! I do!"
"Great! Now here's the tricky part, Release the right amount of Zoe or just a little over to match what your handcuffs can conceal. Since it's only one handcuff the amount of concealed Zoe it could hold is low"
"Alright, then?"
"Well there really isn't a then that's it but, not using enough or using too much can instate a Zoe restriction, from there it is usually a 5-minute wait but can be more depending on how much of a restriction you used."
"So, the more I fail, the greater everyone is in danger?"
"Basically. So, don't fail so much."
"I'll try. Quick question, how do I know how much Zoe to use."
"You should be able to feel the Zoe if you concentrate."
I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on the Zoe at hand, but it just wasn't happening. "You're too fixated on trying to concentrate instead of concentrating, breathe and feel the Zoe that is on your hands," Dion said, making me snap out of my overthinking, and helping me feel how much Zoe was required.
"250,000 Zoe is concealed in these handcuffs," I said with my eyes closed still focusing on the Zoe in my hand.
"Nice, now hit that number or release more than that number. Remember not too much or little to restrict your Zoe."
"Alright, I'll try." With that, I focused and took a deep breath. I'll hit this limit and save everyone, I will, was all I could think while focusing. Now! I thought to myself, releasing all the Zoe I can into the handcuffs. But to my surprise, they didn't come off.
"We'll have to try again, It seems you used too little. Don't be scared to pump your chest next time."
"I won't. I'm sor-" I couldn't even finish my sentence before tons of pain came crashing through my body, making me feel weak as well. I coughed up blood and my breathing was thin for a little bit but afterward, I just felt weak, with the pain going away almost instantly.
"Sorry for that pain, that's what happens when you realize Zoe is into those cuffs.
"It's fine."
"After all this, I can't wait to fix the agency up so I can sleep in my bed."
"Speaking of... Dion?"
"Yes?"
"Do you... feel guilty?"
"Where is this coming from?"
"Everyone in the agency, I only knew them for a short time but I loved everyone. They felt like family, a very big crazy family. I only spent a little over a month there and I was already emotionally attached to everyone. So for someone like you who walked in on everyone dead do you ever feel guilty?"
"No. I don't feel guilty, I feel angry. Mad that I wasn't I couldn't make it for them however I know they never shame me for it. I want to find whoever did it, and kill them. I want to kill them so bad with my own two hands. Z, don't ever feel guilty for someone else's mistakes instead take those emotions and use them to get the person who is guilty. This applies to anything but especially Zoe. When you are a state of mind where you're mentally and physically damage to the max you can go under a Mind Of Agony. This mindset either improves or get rid of you're Zoe completely. Make it so it always improves you, understood?"
"Understood. Dion?"
"Yes?"
"Your expression and attitude never changes, you're always so calm even now. How can you stay so calm when your life is in the hands of someone else and the people you love are in danger?"
"Well... Trust. I trust you and others more than myself sometimes. It's weird when I say it out loud but I just have a feeling, that everything is going to turn out okay. That even if I died, everyone would still be fine."
"I thought that was your biggest fear."
"It is. Although I know deep inside, it's just me worrying about you guys.."
"I see."
"Now, no more life or serious questions. Anything else but that."
"Pancakes or waffles?"
"Pancakes. 1000%"
"Huh, Waffles are way better. Pancakes are boring while waffles are fun and more delicious! They also soak the right amount of syrup in the cubes so it doesn't just fall to the side like pancakes!"
"Waffles are for children which is why you like them, even so, they're still not better. Waffles become crunchy while pancakes remain smooth, speaking of smooth butter goes on pancakes way better!
"Fair points, but Waffles are still better."
"Once we go back to the agency we'll have a contest and a debate so we can settle this!"
"You're only setting yourself up! Everyone is going to agree!"
"We'll see, we'll see. On the topic of the agency, can you do it this time?"
"Of course, I can! I got nervous and was scared of making mistakes instead of giving it a shot! This time, however, we're breaking out of here!" I said with full confidence starting to focus on the handcuffs.
"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."
Follow what Apollo said, use Zoe not just physically but mentally find the right amount and try to use every fiber of Zoe to make it happen. Charge it up to the right amount! Focus on breathing and use of concentration. Release! That's when the handcuffs melted to the ground and the rope around me got lit on fire.
"It worked!"
"Good job! How did you light the rope on fire as well?"
"My element is fire, so instead of using just Zoe on my arms I used Elemental Zoe, so it would catch the rope on fire while also breaking the cuffs!"
"Genius!"
"Not without your help!" I said cutting the rope, and breaking each handcuff one by one.
"Wait, these are only 250,00 as well. Meaning it only scaled up to 450,000 total Zoe concealment! You're way above that!"
"I know. Just making sure you're ready for where we're going. If you failed the second time I was going to take manners into my own hands and leave you somewhere safe."
"You're crazy!"
"No, I'm risky now, let's find Apollo and get out of here! I think the only reason I did that is that I've been hanging around that man for so long."
Once he said that people wearing a working uniform of all white walked into the room.
"So, you're son doing well Jermy?"
"Well yes, my- Hey get back in those handcuffs!" The man on the right said has the man on the left was pulling out his weapon.
"Wait Z. Before they got the jump on me and Apollo he told me you were learning about Zoe. I also heard he didn't teach you the final form of Specialty Zoe. Am I correct?"
"Yeah, you're correct!"
"Well, get ready!"
"Ready for what!?"
"The final form! 2 on 2," Dion said as the world around us changed into a black inky world. That's when the people in front of them started to drip inside of the ink and eventually stopped moving. Then the world around them came back, and there they were passed out on the floor without any of them laying a single finger on them.
"What was that!?" I asked in amazement.
"That was my ability from specialty Zoe, it's called King Of The Fight.
"What does it do? How does it work?"
"Well, it comes from a sub-genre of Zoe the third one, zone. With this Zoe, you change an area into your personal zone. You can expand it by training your detection and your specialty Zoe and the more you train the more flexible it can become!"
"That's so cool! Why did you say 2 on 2 if your power is called King Of The Fight? Is it because you can only do fair splits?"
"Correct! I can't have six people and split them 4 on 2 It has to be a 3 on 3. If this rule is broken in my zone I take more internal damage to myself than I already receive for having my zone up for too long."
"It's like a bind of trust."
"Exactly! Come on, I'll explain more while we look through the rooms."
"Alright," I said following Dion running out of the room we're tied up in.
"To finish what I was saying, a zone is a bind of trust with that the zone is impossible to break inside of unless you betray that trust. With every time you break that trust the easier the zone is to break."
"Okay, this all makes sense. What happens if someone that is on the opposite team hurts someone on their team? Would it still cause you damage even though their enemies?"
"No. Since they're on the opposite side of me, breaking this rule will cause my Zone to get stronger. Remember when you saw those two men instantly sink to the ground?"
"Yeah."
"They didn't have the required Zoe to stand on the floor that I set to your standards. I can only go as high as my own Zoe, anything higher, and I would also drown." However, if they did have the required amount of Zoe to stand on the ground but started to attack each other then the required Zoe for them to stand would be higher which could make them drown if it's already at a high standard. This changes between different Zones.
"I see, so there are consequences for everyone to make it fair. How about the benefits of even using this technique?"
"Well, Here's the final benefit: it's kind of powerful."
"What is it!? What could it possibly be!?"
"If I can control the power, I can get a slight edge on somebody's physical strength, Elemental Zoe Strength, or Regular Zoe."
"Why not mental strength?"
"Well because if you copy someone else's mental strength your Zone would automatically break and kill you. The reason is that the Zone you're in is created with Zoe so copying someone's mental strength would delete your Zone which would kill you since no one deactivated the zone and since you're the one who started it you die."
"Because Zoe is both physical and mental!"
"Exactly! I like to apologize to you Z. I called you mediocre but I can see why they liked you. You're far from it. You're a smart kid, stay like that."
I finally did it. I convinced Dion I'm not mediocre.
"You're also good at this Zoe thing."
"Well Apollo isn't a bad trainer."
"I guess not Now let's find Apollo and get out of-" Right has Dion was saying that someone busted out of one of the hallway doors right next to us.
"Elemental Zoe: Fire-" I started but the person who walked out the door was Apollo.
"Apollo!?" Dion and I both said at the same time with the same shocked tone.
"There you guys are! I was looking for you guys but then I found this office room and found some important files. I have them in my pants right now so they won't see them missing, so let's leave quickly!"
"Why your pants of all places!?" I said still shocked
"We don't have time to question. Plus the files are starting to poke my p-"
"Stop right there! Let's go! I don't want to hear anymore! Plus Z around don't scare the innocent."
"Alright let's go!" Apollo said as we all started running in a general direction.
"Hey stop right there!" We kept hearing from guards and workers but with us three, it was not stopping us. It felt like ages of running through the lower area, it felt like we were going in circles.
"It feels like we're going in circles!" Apollo said, running out of breath.
"It does, doesn't!?" Dion added
"I knew I wasn't the only one!" I added on to confirm the suspicion
"Okay, team break," Dion said as we all came to a halt.
"Alright, this is pointless! Let's just get out the only way that's reliable at this point, even if that means breaking our identity!" Apollo said, filling his hands with Zoe and shooting Zoe straight upwards. It was like a beam of energy, going all the way up to the roof and shooting straight through.
"That was highly irresponsible! Innocent people could have died!" Dion said in an angry tone.
"Relax, I used detection before I shot the beam. Gosh, you act like I'm a kid." Apollo responded while crossing his arms.
"That's because you are!" Dion responded before he scooped me and Apollo both up and started to fly super fast in the sky and flying on the rooftop of a building.
"There, nobody should have seen us."
"Wait! You can fly?"
"Both of us can."
"Wait, wait, wait. You guys can fly and you haven't been flying this whole time!? We could have made it to our locations ten times quicker!"
"Flying takes so much Zoe and this idiot made me mad earlier so I didn't want to fly." They both said at the same time pointing toward each other.
"Hey!" They both said again looking angrily at each other.
"Okay, well can we fly to our location now?"
"We can't," Dion said, looking at Apollo angrily still.
"Why not!?"
"Well, we have no location to go to," Dion said, looking at me and shrugging.
He's right. Our initial plan was to use the radio stations that would have linked to the two radios if something bad happened in the city.
This is a radio used by out-of-field truckers, however, we have a problem. We need two of these to make this work, I do know what stations this is linked to and this seems a bit more advanced being able to hold direct calls from the looks of it. If we can find two of these and we use the host that we'll enable on these stations we'll be able to hold a call.
Since nothing happened we carried on going to the restaurant. We didn't anticipate Team A to be missing. That's bad on our planning and just unfortunate. Now what?
"Yes, we do," Apollo said out of the blue.
"Really!?"
"Yes, my young pupil!" Apollo said going inside his pants and pulling out coordinates.
"Coordinates?"
"To a place, they called Ground 0"
...
"All your efforts are meaningless. My son died years ago, you're a bit too late sir."
"Don't sir me. Don't try to say we're not related. Don't act like I'm a stranger, now I'll ask one last time where's your son?"