"Ran out of time to write?" Helix asks, puzzled. I wave him off. "It's good," I wink to the viewers. Helix shakes his head, sighing. He gestures to my headset. "Click the red button on the left." He says, "That way you can contact me at any given time- as well as...her..." I nod, confused, but doing as told.
Almost immediately, I'm assailed with noise.
"HI HI!!!" A voice screams into my ears. I physically recoil, holding my head. "What the hell?!" Fastening on a headset of his own, Helix barks into the mic. "Damnit, Phlora!! LEARN DECENCY!!" The voice cackles a laugh reminiscent of a small girl. "My bad!! Transferring data to optical stimuli!!"
There was a mechanical whir, followed by a flash of bright light. Forming from this light was a girl, no older than 14, floating midair in a holographic form. She wore pink bunny ears and slippers, accompanied by an oversized cream hoodie with graffiti designs plastered on it. Her form was obviously not to scale- she was barely ten inches tall- so this was probably a projection via her ability. Her face was that of childlike ecstasy.
"So you're the bitch that got caught by Jigoku, huh?"
I glare. "At least I don't get periods-"
Helix interjects. "Both of you, shut the fuck up. We have things to worry about. Phlora, display a layout."
With adolescent glee, she responded, "Rodger Rodger!!"
She snapped her holographic fingers, and in a flash, an image shimmered to life. Rising from the ground was a scaled down, almost tangible map of the facility. In her minute form, Phlora floated down to its level. "They call this place Tartarus." She says. "Nobody's ever gotten out- but that's where we come in."
She jumps across the map, landing in a chamber a few halls down from us. "This is where the main terminal is. It connects to the monorail that spans most of Tenma. This probably your best bet for escaping. Of course, Helix can phase through and inhabit objects, but that doesn't apply to others besides himself, so you'll definitely need assistance in navigation. One wrong move and you get swarmed."
Helix nods. "another problem is that we don't know where Enshi OR the Great One is within this complex, so discretion is key."
I nod. "But the average foot soldier shouldn't be too much to take care of, though." Helix responds, "Maybe, but if they sound an alert, both the Great One and Enshi will know where we are- and we most definitely cannot take them both on at once."
"Zamn."
"Zamn indeed," Helix says.
"Anyway," Phlora pipes up, "I'll be your eyes and ears- so just follow my lead!" I nod, and Phlora dematerializes into a flurry of light, dissipating.
-------
As we walked, things began to change. Slowly but surely, the air seemed to thin, mist rolling in from an unidentifiable source. The cells that lined the walls around us were mostly empty, and what little inmates we did stumble upon, had already succumbed to insanity. In a cold sweat, I stuck close to Helix, who was visibly annoyed with my childishness.
He tapped his headset. "Phlora,"
An excruciating voice ripped into my eardrums. "That's meeeeee!!"
I heard Helix mumble something about a public execution, before speaking. "ETA to the terminal?"
"Should be about five more minutes- oh." She cut off for a moment.
"Phlora?" Helix stopped.
"Ah," Phlora's voice responded. "Fucking fly in my room. I am picking up some heat signatures to your left though-"
Swaying to the side, Helix swerved out of the way of a concealed sword. I jumped back, readying myself, electricity beginning to arc across my hands. "You're awfully helpful," I sneer into the headset.
"Womp Womp."
If I ever see this woman in real life, I'm GOING to fucking dismember her-
"Oi Oi Oi!! Kacchan!! There's some haters in here!!"
My face goes plaster white.
Oh God.
I slowly turn toward the figure emerging from the mist. As it's full form comes into view, I almost cry.
A fucking femboy.
Decked out in full polyester My Hero Academia merch accompanied by fishnet stockings and cat ears, the....CREATURE walks toward us. Helix is frozen still. His face is stone cold. Slowly, he turns to me. "Okoramo..." He looks up at me, his now intensely hate-filled eyes piercing through my very being. "Let's fucking kill this bitch."
"NYA!! I CAN EAR YOU, UWU-"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" In a dazzling display of calamitous sparks, I ascend forth, hand arched to slam his face into the ground. Almost casually, the femboy grins toothily. "Baka."
Spinning in place, the femboy pivots, before parrying my strike with a kick of equal force. Drawing back, I leer. Helix, no longer able to withhold his fury, unsheathes his blade- the residual force of his strength sending a shockwave through the air. Malicious blue energy swirls around him. With an angrily crazed expression, he extends his blade to the femboy, screaming, "KILL YOURSELF!!!"
In a flash of red, Helix seems to simply appears in front of the femboy, who laughs an obviously rehearsed anime villain cackle. In a flurry of blows, their strikes generate a blinding show of energy and light. Falling back from the scuffle, Helix flips backward to my position- before something catches his eye. "Behind you!!"
I could feel it.
An approaching soul.
Phlora never said there was only one heat signature...
Kicking my foot into the ground, I weave out of the way- the axe that should have descended upon me slamming into the concrete below, shattering it to pieces.
A scruffy, deep voice chuckles. "We got a fast one, eh?"
My rage grows deeper.
Bolting out from behind me is a burly man, hairy chest on full display, rippling muscles shaming all others, a snow cap on his head.
He's...Canadian.
I really hate these two.
"Helix!!" I yell. He had already resumed combat with the femboy, but luckily he heard me.
"Yeah?!" He yelled, going in for a piercing shot at the Femboy's snatched stomach.
"You got the Femboy?! I wanna take care of Mr. Maple Syrup over here!"
"Sure...?"
I pump my fist in the air in bliss. I level my gaze on the Canadian. Just because I had gained a significant boost in strength through Calamity Cloak and Tamajutsu, I can't overuse them, less I wear them out.
I crack my knuckles, sliding my jacket off. I grin. "Haven't practiced straight hand to hand in a while." I say. "You'll be my practice." The Canadian spins his axe in his hand, before slamming it int the ground below him.
"Ok, eh."
I sprint forward. At shocking speeds, the man swings his axe, aiming to cleave my head off from its base.
It may be fast, but not as fast as me.
Sliding under the strike, I slam my heel into his shin, knocking him off balance. Cocking my fists back, I assume a ready stance- before releasing a blinding assault. Punch after punch, kick after kick. He had not a second of rest.
Serves him well. He's fucking Canadian.
Through the crunch of bones and the splatter of blood, a few of his cries reach my ears. "Wh-why...."
"Sorry man. Shoulda spawned somewhere else."
In a swift motion, I land a kick square in his chest. He coughs a spray of blood- but not a fraction of a second goes by before I slam my palm into his gut.
Quite literally INTO his gut.
He stops for a moment, stunned at my penetration-
Fuck, that was bad wording.
Anyway-
I grip my hand tight into a fist, before jerking it back- ripping his intestines out. He stands there, bewildered, before falling feebly to the ground, a splash of blood staining the floor below.
I wipe the blood from my mouth. "Next."