Duo Halfbreeds
Chapter Thirteen: An Influenced Animal
The three made their way towards the colosseum, which further confused Gohan but instead of heading straight to the arena, they followed to some stairs, and walked up to the auditorium. From the distance, Gohan could see Kukmop and Daiz, it looked like they were cleaning, wearing similar uniforms.
Priamus stopped before heading to Kukmop and Daiz, handing Gohan what seemed to be the same uniform but on his size. "Here put this on." Priamus said. Gohan gave a confused expression, as he grabbed it, realizing that Priamus and Illusi were also wearing similar outfits.
"What is it?" Gohan asked. He looked at it with confusion as he tried to find a way to put it on.
Priamus adjusted the position of the outfit in Gohan's hands and showed where the zipper was. "A jumpsuit, put it on and I'll explain to you."
Gohan slipped his right leg in then his left leg as he put the jumpsuit on. "Feels weird, why are we wearing jumpsuits?"
Priamus motioned Gohan to follow him. "Cleaning duty uniforms. The auditorium can only be cleaned at night as it's used all day." He said.
Gohan's mouth hung open. "C-Clean? That's what you took me out here for?"
Priamus chuckled. "Not quite." Again he motioned the puzzled Gohan to follow him. "Follow my lead for the moment, okay Gohan?" Gohan nodded in response as the two walked up to a big cart full of cleaning supplies. Priamus handed Gohan a cloth and a spray, then grabbed a mop himself.
Priamus had Gohan follow him as Priamus seemingly mopped the floor between rows of bleachers. "Start cleaning the seats or at least pretend to, make it look like you are, okay?" He said. Gohan, although confused, nodded in response and started to clean the seats.
A short few seconds passed before Daiz started coming Priamus's way. "Is everything ready to go?" Priamus whispered.
Daiz nodded. "Yeah, we're all good, just need to head to our spot and discuss final preparations." He started to walk past Priamus.
"Good. I'll give Illusi the signal." Priamus replied. Daiz walked away and continued to clean different areas. Priamus looked over to Illusi and gave a nod to signal him. Illusi made a forceful blink to show that he got the signal and clenched his right fist as he slightly protruded his middle finger higher than the rest.
"What was that about?" Gohan asked.
"Just wait and see." Priamus answered. He continued to mop forward for another minute more with Gohan following as he wiped down each following seat. "Okay. Let's go." Priamus stopped and dropped the mop and Gohan followed as Priamus walked to the others. "Go ahead and put the spray and cloth down."
Gohan still looked perplexed but placed it down anyways then continued following Priamus. Priamus moved to what looked kind of like a roof hatch with the others catching up shortly after. They walked down a flight of stairs, before turning right down a hallway.
"You a hundred percent sure it's working, Illusi?" Daiz asked.
Illusi nodded. "Oh for sure, all them guards are seeing nothing but us cleaning."
Daiz smirked. "Hah, a simple illusion trick and they can't even figure it out." He chuckled.
The group continued down this hallway before turning to a door that seemed almost…abandoned, like it hadn't been touched in forever, dusty, full of spider-webs, and kind of broke down. Priamus opened the door while Daiz kept a lookout for guards.
Gohan on the other hand was confused. "Where are we going?" He repeated himself from earlier.
Priamus motioned for Gohan to go into the door. "Come on, I'll explain later, ok?" He said. Gohan nodded and sighed as he walked past the door. "Okay, let's go Daiz." Daiz closed the door behind everyone as they all continued down a pitch black room.
It had this strange volatile smell and any noise made kind of echoed a bit. Priamus and the others illuminated energy spheres to light the area up. They were walking on some kind of concrete, and to the right was a somewhat empty ditch. This ditch was full of nothing but junk and small puddles of nasty looking water.
One could only assume this was a sewer, especially with all of the pipes above them. However, the pipes seemed rusty, old, some were broken, and clearly unused like they haven't been for years. After about a few minutes, the group arrived at a nearby little building inside the sewer.
It looked like a small little hut but as they walked inside, there were a bunch of random boxes, and a single round table with several chairs. The others quickly sat down but Gohan was left completely puzzled.
"W-What is this place?" Gohan asked. "And where are we?"
Priamus motioned for Gohan to sit on the chair next to him. Gohan was a bit hesitant but he quickly moved over the chair, noticing a height issue with him and the chair.
Priamus chuckled. "Wait, I got a solution." Priamus grabbed a box from behind him, and slipped it under Gohan as he lifted the boy up. "Before I tell you anything, I'm reiterating myself, how badly do you want to go home?"
Gohan's eyes darted left to right before moving back to Priamus. "What do you mean?" He said. "Of course I want to go home!"
Priamus raised a brow. "Do you really want to return to your homeworld?"
Gohan huffed, he was getting annoyed with this. "Yes!" He said.
"Then how badly do you want to go home?" Priamus repeated himself.
"Really badly!" Gohan replied.
"Tell me how badly you want to go home!" Priamus said.
Gohan growled. "C'mon Priamus, I just told you!" He replied. "I want to go home! I really want to go home!"
Priamus crossed his arms. "What would you do to go home?"
Gohan opened his mouth but then closed it. He realized he never really thought about it but quickly an answer formed in his mind. "I'd do anything to go home!"
Priamus smiled, pleased with the answer. "Alright in that case, from now on I want you to do everything I say without any complaints." He replied. "As for where we are, we're at our base of operations."
Gohan tilted his head. "Base of operations?"
"We've been planning a little something for the last couple of years, lots of setbacks, but to keep it brief…" Priamus paused for a second. "An escape plan."
Gohan's eyes widened in surprise. "E-Escape plan? How are you not being found out?!"
Illusi gave a little wave. "How do ya think? Do you wanna know where the guards think we're at?" He asked. Gohan raised a brow in response. "Still cleaning!"
Gohan's jaw slacked. "What? But we're right here! That doesn't make any sense!"
Daiz laughed. "Nah! Don't you get it? Illusi is a master of illusions! He made us invisible and created an illusion so those guards will think we're all still cleaning the auditorium."
"Then where exactly are we?" Gohan asked.
"An old abandoned sewer." Priamus explained. "This was the original sewer they used before some massive incident, it's been retired ever since in place of a new sewer system."
Gohan looked out the single window, wondering how he didn't notice it before. "Is this where we're gonna escape from?"
Priamus shook his head. "Sadly all possible routes and exits have been blocked out, I've checked every inch of this place, not a single bit." He answered. "There is however another exit…more on that later."
Priamus laid out large blueprints. "There are two main contributors on how we're gonna escape." He said. Priamus pointed to the control room of the blueprints. "Disable the security systems and a big distraction."
"A distraction?" Gohan tilted his head.
Priamus nodded. "In order for us to reach the control room, we need such a big distraction that it requires all of the guards in the facility's attention." He explained. "We'll need the biggest riot we can ever get! The bigger the better! We need everyone's participation in it..except.." He pointed his finger at Gohan. "Yours of course, you'll be busy."
Gohan looked puzzled. "Busy, with what?"
"We can't access the control room because the vents to reach them are too narrow for any of us." Priamus answered. "On top of it, the vents are in Taurus's quarters, and because Taurus is always making you clean his quarters, you're the perfect fit."
Gohan swallowed hard. "M-Me?! How will I be able to do that? I won't know where to go o-or what if Taurus catches me?!"
Priamus gave a hearty laugh. "Not to worry, we'll train you." He said. "You'll have to wait for the moment Taurus leaves his quarters to go check on the riot. We'll time the riot just right so that while you're cleaning for him, he'll be too distracted with the riot, you can sneak in the vents, and disable the security systems."
"How do I do that?" Gohan asked.
Daiz leaned back on his chair. "A switch." He answered. "In the case of certain emergencies, there's a failsafe switch that can shutdown the power to everything in this prison, the main facility, and the colosseum. Any power from outsources that would normally go to it would be redirected and never even reach it."
Priamus nodded in agreement. "Yes and the switch is hard to miss. It's usually a big lever but in this case it's a giant dial." He said. "I've passed by the control room enough to have caught glimpses of the room, and you should see some kind of metal panel to open up with behind it the dial. You'll turn the dial left and disable the system's power."
Priamus explained further, "You'll have thirty seconds after that to get out of there and meet up with us."
"Thirty seconds?!" Gohan's jaw slacked. "That's not very long, how do you know I'll make it out in time?"
Priamus gave a dismissive wave. "Relax." He replied. "We'll make sure that won't even have a chance of happening." He turned back to the blueprints. "Once the power is disabled and the riot is still going, the guards will be so distracted, we should be able to slip through the main facility, head to the laundry hall, and escape past the windows with ease."
A short couple of seconds went by silently. "Then what?" Gohan asked.
"Then we make it to the checkpoint! There Kukmop already has a getaway ship for us, ready-to-go." Priamus said. He moved his gaze to Kukmop. "Right? You made sure your getaway is for sure happening, right?"
Kukmop nodded. "Yeup, he said everything is all set in motion and is waiting for our signal."
Priamus smirked. "Good. We have five days until the escape." He moved his gaze to Gohan. "Until then, we're going to get you ready." He stood up shortly after and started to walk away. "Let's hurry back before anyone notices."
The next morning as Gohan woke up at the crack of dawn, he noticed a strange amount of strangers not far from his cell. He walked to the main prison yard, where he quickly noticed stares at him, these faces were whispering something.
He couldn't quite make it out but…strangely it sounded like they were whispering about him. Gohan brushed it off and shook his head, assuming he was imagining things as he went to the training yard, but he stopped by a bunch of other inmates.
Gohan swallowed hard, taking a step back, his eyes fixed on the three. "U-Uh, w-why are you g-guys blocking the e-entrance?"
They had evil wicked smirks on their faces. "Y'all really think this kid is what the rumor he is said to be?" One said. Standing at seven feet and nine inches tall, he resembled a creature from a bygone era, with a body that could be mistaken for that of a dinosaur. His skin was a pale, sickly hue that ran up through most of his body, with the exception of the area above the middle of his nose, where it had a deep orange-brown coloring.
The sides of his head were adorned with a series of thick, bone-like spines that protruded outwards, giving him a menacing appearance. His overall frame was slim, with long, spindly limbs that ended in razor-sharp claws. Despite his thin appearance, there was a sense of strength and power emanating from his lithe body, and he moved with a grace and fluidity that belied his size.
Another took a good look at Gohan and shook his head. "Feh, the rumor's gotta be just rumors. I mean look at him!" He said. This other inmate was short as hell, looked like a blue anglerfish with short little legs and short little arms. His mouth when closed still showed all of his vicious and sharp looking teeth.
"Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions, Aqualure." Another said. The inmate is tall and slender with a shimmery, iridescent skin that resembles a cephalopod. His long, sinewy limbs and fingers end in suction cup-like pads. He has a small, beak-like mouth and three large, bulbous eyes. The inmate's entire body is covered in small, iridescent scales that provide protection and camouflage. "Whenever the kid is in that colosseum there are some serious tremors to the planet." Aqualure shrugged in response.
The first one took a step forward, to the slightly shaken Gohan. "Maybe we should test him then?" He cocked his head to the right, giving a signaling look at the two. They both chuckled wickedly and nodded in response. "C'mere brat!"
He reached forward to grab Gohan's arm but Gohan instinctively jumped back. "P-Please leave me alone." Gohan begged. "I just want to go into the other yard."
The first inmate laughed as he reached to grab Gohan's arm anyway. Gohan's eyes widened as he slightly froze up. "L-Let me g" He stopped, his mouth closed as his own body began to tremble. He saw a strange flash of…something? Someone? He wasn't sure, Gohan couldn't quite make it out but there was this unfamiliar image that flashed for a second.
The first inmate tried to throw Gohan but Gohan quickly regained his composure and pushed himself off the dino-like alien, jumping a few feet away. He panicked as he realized what he did, the other inmate looked steaming and the two besides him were a bit stunned.
"S-Sorry! D-Don't h-hurt me, p-please!" Gohan gulped.
The first inmate bared his fangs and growled angrily. "You brat! You wanna play that game? Fine!" He stomped quickly forward as he threw a fist at Gohan but Gohan ran, avoiding the attack. He chased after Gohan and threw a fist at him as he approached. The man missed and instead struck a piece of metal and caused a ringing noise.
This caused Gohan to suddenly stop as he dropped into the ground. For a short moment he froze and looked motionless but as the inmate caught up to Gohan, shaking the pain of his hand that hit the metal, he pulled Gohan by the shoulder and prepared to throw a fist.
"You're gonna pay you little sh-!" He was stopped dead into tracks as a powerful fist striking his gut sent him flying. The power of the strike caused a shockwave and the impact against the walls caused a giant hole.
Aqualure and the other inmate were completely stunned. "Holy crap! That kid's got power! He must be a Saiyan!" He gasped, stating the obvious. The squid-like inmate nodded in agreement, slowly as his eyes were fixated on what happened.
The two went to sneak to their friend and grab him but Gohan's head whipped their direction the second they moved. Something was different, one blur of a look and the two saw something frightening in his eyes right before Gohan vanished and knocked both of them out.
Other inmates were watching from afar, many were admittedly surprised and others were scared to move. These others saw the same thing as the two other inmates who were just knocked out, something…wild and ferocious.
One particular individual decided it would be smart to go up and applaud Gohan for what he'd done. This inmate stands about three feet tall on his hind legs, with a slender body covered in shaggy fur that's a mix of gray and white. His face is dominated by two large, dark eyes with slit pupils, which give him exceptional night vision.
The inmate's hands and feet are tipped with sharp claws that can grip onto almost any surface, making him a master of climbing and stealth. His long, prehensile tail can coil around objects and aid in balancing.
The inmate's most distinctive feature is a pair of large, pointed ears that can swivel independently to pick up even the faintest sounds. All in all, he looks like a nimble and resourceful creature that can quickly adapt to any situation.
As he got close to Gohan he opened his mouth. "Yknow, I never liked those three and I'm glad it's about time someone to-" As he placed his hand on Gohan's shoulder, Gohan swatted it away without turning, causing the inmate to stop speaking, a haze overcame and he too was knocked away.
"Are you idiots seriously just gonna stand there?" Another shouted. "Feh! So he knocked out a couple of weaklings!" He got up and made a tough stance, but the second he moved an inch, Gohan darted to him, instantly appearing in front of him.
The only thing this inmate could do was widened his eyes before a powerful blow was sent to his upper abdomen. The blow caused him to cough a mixture of saliva and blood before he went flying and crashed into the wall.
A bunch of other inmates started to panic as they went running. "RUN! THIS KID IS INSANE!" One screamed. The commotion had quickly attracted many more inmates from inside but Khang, Van, Boulger, and Keylo as well. The four had come out around the same time as the many other inmates, noticing Gohan going on a rampage, knocking out inmates one by one.
"What the hell did you do, Keylo?!" Khang was quick to jump to conclusions as he turned to Keylo. Keylo looked defensive and a bit stunned. Van and Boulger too gave Keylo looks, which made Keylo feel a bit betrayed.
"Me?! Come on! If I had something that could make him do that, I wouldn't do it randomly now!" He explained.
Khang arched his brow. "Then what the hell is going on?"
Keylo shrugged. "Beats me." He replied. "But who cares? At least now that kid will get his what for!"
Khang grumbled angrily. "Did you forget that if there isn't order in the prison we're gonna have some issues from the unit!"
Keylo gave a lax look as he placed his arms behind his head. "Eh.. it gets boring that way after awhile anyways." He shrugged. "To be honest, what's the worse that could happen?"
Khang clenched his fists angrily, he opened his mouth to protest against Keylo but stopped as he realize there were more important problems. "Screw this, I cannot believe your bullshit." He turned around and walked away from Keylo with Van and Boulger following him.
Keylo was left flabbergasted and incensed. "B-Bullshit!? What?!" He stuttered, clenching his fists. "Betray me will they! After all I did?! Fine! I'll show them! I'll show them all just what I'm made of!"
Van had a concerned look on his face. "What should we do, Khang?" He asked.
"Yea kid's gone crazy and last time that didn't go so well for anyone." Boulger added.
Khang cocked his head back to the two. "Do the best to control the situation." He said. The other two nodded in response as they faced themselves to Gohan, and aimed to go after him, however before they could, they noticed Keylo going head on first. "What the hell is that idiot doing?!"
Keylo launched himself at Gohan and hurled a fist, but Gohan jumped to the right, easily dodging. He made a quick rebound, appearing behind Keylo and struck a blow with his leg into Keylo's lower back. Keylo.
Keylo was launched several yards back, his body hurtling through the air until it collided with the unforgiving ground. He hit the dirt hard, wincing as pain shot through his body. But Keylo was not one to stay down for long. With a ferocious growl, he was back on his feet in an instant, eyes blazing with fury.
"Stupid kid!" he roared, launching himself at Gohan once again. But this time, Gohan was ready. With a swift movement, he caught Keylo's fist on his own, squeezing it so tightly that Keylo's entire body shook with the force of it. He fell to his knees with a grunt of pain, struggling to free himself from Gohan's grip.
"What the hell!" Keylo snarled, his voice strained with effort. "Let go, brat!" But no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't break free. "Why can't I break free?" he seethed. "This kid is nothing! NOTHING! So how am I being outpowered by him?"
Gohan's grip only tightened, pushing Keylo down into the dirt. And as Keylo's chin touched the ground, he finally looked up into Gohan's eyes, and saw something that filled him with a sense of dread like he had never felt before.
The fear that Keylo felt as he gazed up into Gohan's eyes was like staring into the abyss - a bottomless chasm of darkness that threatened to consume him whole. It was like standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down into the abyss below, with nothing to stop him from falling but the thin thread of his own sanity. The fear was palpable, a living thing that writhed and twisted inside him, threatening to tear him apart from the inside out.
Keylo's demeanor changed instantly and the second Gohan released his grip, he backed away, crawling backwards. "G-G-Get away from me!" He stuttered, his voice was shaky and quivering every word as he tried to hold back the obvious fear. Keylo swallowed hard as Gohan got close. "N-No! L-Leave me al-alone you wi-.. wild beast!"
Keylo closed his eyes and cowered back, but Gohan had frozen unexpectedly. For a short moment Gohan stayed frozen, and Keylo breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed. Khang, Van, and Boulger sighed as well, assuming it was over but then something changed.
Gohan's poise changed again and this time it turned much more wild as he raged a powerful aura and unleashed tremendous amounts of energy, causing the place around them to shake. This gathered the attention of several others, including Priamus and Taurus.
When he saw Gohan going rampant again, Taurus rushed to Khang and co first. "What's going on?!"
Khang shrugged. "The hell if I know!" He answered. "The kid has been going on a rampage again is all I know and I don't know why. Chaotic out here!"
Taurus looked a bit angry. "And you three haven't tried to take control?"
Van shook his head. "No, haven't got the chance, Boss." He explained. "We were getting ready but Keylo ran in and tried to fight him."
Taurus whipped his head to the three. "Keylo? Did he cause this?"
Boulger shook his head. "Not as far as we're aware of!" He answered. "Supposedly, tha kid was already rampaging before he got here."
"We're unsure though." Khang added. He looked at the other two then moved his gaze back to Taurus. "He might have had something to do with it."
Taurus raised a brow. "Something to do with it?" He asked. They nodded in response. "How?"
Khang sighed. "Keylo had this crazy plot for revenge the other day. I told him I wanted nothing to do with it." He explained. "But for whatever reason, he went to get some dirt on the kid and started a rumor."
Taurus looked furious, steaming with rage. "So starting shit around and ruining order!" He turned his head to Gohan who was sending an onslaught of ferocious and vicious attacks at Keylo. Whenever Keylo would be sent far away, Gohan would run on all fours and leap to him, striking Keylo in dangerous points.
"Nevermind then, I'll take care of it myself." Taurus said. He tightened his fists as he powered up. He took a step forward and got ready to take a strike after Gohan before he saw Priamus enter the scene.
Priamus grabbed Gohan's arm. "What're you doing, kid! Snap out of it!" He shouted. Gohan was unresponsive as he shook Priamus with ease off of him. The swing of Gohan's arm caused a powerful kiai wave to knock Priamus away.
Right after, Khang, Van, and Boulger attempted to contain Gohan but Gohan's eyes moved to see them in the corner of his vision, and a powerful burst of energy knocked them all away, causing each of them to crash randomly into the walls.
A second later, as Khang tried to stand on his own two feet. "Can't even get close to him!"
Taurus growled angrily. "Damn we're so gonna get in trouble for this." He said. He looked at the other three. "Stay here, I'll try to contain him myself." Taurus moved his gaze back to Gohan as he rushed forward and folded his two hands together.
Taurus took a swing at Gohan but missed, Gohan vanished, reappearing a few feet above him before slamming his right foot into Taurus's back. Once Taurus made impact into the ground, Gohan flipped back, landing on all fours.
Taurus gave a hefty breath with some of the air exhaling through his nostrils as he stood back up. He darted forward to Gohan simultaneously as Gohan leaped at him. Taurus threw a fist but Gohan dodged and kneed Taurus in the face.
The split second after, Gohan launched himself over Taurus, using his head as a springboard to propel himself into the air. With a fierce battle cry, he delivered a swift and powerful kick to Taurus's upper back, sending him hurtling several feet away.
As Priamus rushed to intervene, Gohan's eyes blazed with an intensity that betrayed something primal within him. "Gohan stop it!" Priamus shouted. "You need to snap out of it, kid! What is wrong?!" He broke free from Priamus's grip and spun around, unleashing a devastating blow to Priamus's gut with a lightning-fast leg strike.
Priamus doubled over from the impact, struggling slightly for air as he watched Gohan jump and spin before aiming to slam his leg at the side of Priamus's head. Priamus narrowly ducked and grabbed Gohan's leg.
"I don't have a choice, I'm going to have to knock him out." His eyes darted to Taurus as he threw Gohan. "Taurus!" Taurus was just getting back up as he saw Gohan coming at him and instantly he knew what to do.
Taurus, quick on his feet, grabbed Gohan and delivered a brutal elbow strike to his face before throwing him halfway across the area towards Priamus. Priamus didn't hesitate, delivering a double-ax handle strike to Gohan's chest that sent him crashing to the ground.
For a moment, Priamus hoped that he had stopped Gohan's violent rampage. But as he knelt beside him, he could feel a strange energy emanating from Gohan - an unfamiliar, almost primal sensation that left him unsettled.
The second Gohan started to get up, Taurus charged after him and rammed his shoulder into Gohan. Gohan let loose a vicious scream as he crashed into the nearest wall. Priamus lowered himself to the ground near Gohan, hoping he had stopped but once he made contact, he could feel Gohan still raging.
It was weird and he couldn't explain it. Gohan's energy felt off, not just violent and savage but unfamiliar, like Gohan's own signature was missing. When Taurus caught up with Priamus, Gohan leaped from the rubble and exploded with power.
Taurus caught up to them just as Gohan exploded with power, unleashing a burst of energy that sent both Taurus and Priamus flying through the air. Even as they struggled to regain their bearings, Gohan remained on the ground, growling like a wild beast as his energy continued to shake the very foundation of the earth. As if on cue, Daiz, Illusi, and Kukmop appeared on the scene.
"W-What the?" Daiz noticed Priamus on the ground first, turning his head to the right, he noticed Gohan next. "The kid?! He's gone wild again?!" He cocked his head to Kukmop and Illusi. "Illusi, see if you can calm him down with your powers! Kukmop, with me!"
Both fighters besides Daiz nodded in response. Illusi enveloped his aura around his body then a strange purple glow of psychic energy as he tried to make a mental connection to Gohan. Meanwhile, Daiz flew after Gohan, but the powerful energy he was emitting, creating powerful winds that acted like some kind of forcefield.
Kukmop was next to him trying to fly as well. "What do we do?!" He asked.
"Not sure! Just keep trying to push through this barrier!" Daiz shouted.
Taurus' anger boiled over as he snarled and snapped, "I should've killed that kid when I had the chance but instead I let you keep him alive!" His voice was thick with malice and fury, fueled by regret for his earlier decision.
Priamus scoffed in disbelief, his heart heavy with frustration. "Kill him? He's lost and scared! You can't just kill someone like that!" He countered, his eyes flashing with indignation. "You can't kill everything that is a threat to you-"
Taurus' rage erupted like a volcano as he interrupted, "Don't you dare! I made the right choice then!" He bellowed, his voice echoing. "That thing was a threat to the mission!"
"A threat? That thing?! You know as well as I do that wasn't the case at all!" Priamus called out. He sighed angrily. "Whatever! Just! Let's stop him! I'll try to keep his attention and when you can, knock him out!"
Taurus rolled his eyes. "You don't have to tell me twice."
Priamus flew forward first, rushing as close as he could get to Gohan. "Gohan!" He shouted. No response. "Gohan!" He tried again and yet still no response. "Come on, Kid! I know you're still in there! You need to stop this! You're destroying everything around you and you're gonna kill someone!"
It took all of Priamus's strength to maintain his position, as he gathered a powerful energy sphere and fired it at Gohan. But to no avail. The blast dissipated before it could reach Gohan, and this caused Gohan to turn his attention to Priamus with the powerful barrier dropping at the same time.
Daiz and Kukmop were thrown off balance, crashing into the prison walls as Gohan came after Priamus. It was then that Priamus confirmed what he had felt earlier- this was not Gohan. With a fierce roar, Gohan lunged at Priamus and swung his hand, missing him by a hair's breadth. Gohan continued to throw a quick repetition of attacks at Priamus.
Priamus narrowly managed to strike his knee into Gohan's gut, for a spur of a second Gohan froze but he recovered instantly. The split-second after, Gohan appeared a foot above and behind Priamus as he struck the back of Priamus's neck. Right around the same time, Taurus leaped forward and tried to hold Gohan down with both of his arms.
Gohan struggled to break free and growled fiercely. He let a powerful roar escape him as another burst of energy sent Taurus flying away. Standing up the second after, Priamus panted slightly heavily.
"There's gotta be something I can do.." Priamus thought. "Gohan! Please! Calm yourself!" At the sound of his words Gohan froze then stopped, his power disappeared right before he blackout immediately and fell to the ground.
Priamus was at a loss for words. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Gohan had stopped, but was it due to exhaustion or something else? His mind was racing with questions, trying to make sense of the situation.
"It worked? Or..did he run out of energy?" Priamus was unsure, confused even, but at least there was now time to figure it out. "I don't get it, what happened…" He looked to the side and noticed Illusi coming out of a heavy meditative-like state.
Priamus walked up to Illusi. "Hey..Were you able to figure anything out?" He asked.
Illusi shook his head, a look of confusion on his face. "No, but I did get a glimpse of something before he stopped. It was like a strange, hypnotic force. I'm not entirely sure what it was."
Daiz interjected, his voice full of concern. "Hypnotic, you mean like brainwashing or something?"
Illusi nodded. "Something like that…not entirely sure."
Priamus raised his brow. "Are you saying he was brainwashed?" He asked.
Illusi shrugged. "Again, not entirely sure. I mean normally brainwashing is easy to figure out but this…this is something deeper." He answered.
Daiz looked at Priamus. "You don't think the entire time the kid was gone, they brainwashed him, do you?"
Priamus shrugged. "I have no idea." He said. "I mean…I've seen all their tricks and torture methods, but..brainwashing him? That doesn't sound like something this facility has ever done."'
"It wouldn't be too out there for them to have tried new things though." Illusi pointed out. Cutting off his thoughts he looked around to the area. "Looks like we got a mess to clean on our hands."
Priamus and Daiz moved their attention to the area. "Yeah…" Daiz sighed.
As Priamus moved towards Gohan to pick him up, Taurus stepped in his way. "You think I'm just going to let you take the kid after that?"
Priamus gave him a steely gaze. "Yes, I do."
Taurus sneered. "You're mistaken. This kid is a liability to the order of this place. His rage is out of control, and you're not doing a good enough job of containing it."
Priamus clenched his fist tightly and scowled at him. "This was not of his own fault nor his emotions." He answered.
Taurus looked confused. "What kind of stupid statement is that?" He said. "You expect me to believe this was caused by something else."
Priamus nodded. "Yeah I do, I have reason to believe he's been brainwashed."
Taurus scoffed. "Brainwashed? Seems convenient."
"Makes me think of something you once said that was pretty convenient." Priamus replied.
Taurus was taken aback, but quickly regained his composure. "Fine. You can take him. But he's going to be under strict surveillance from now on." He said, tossing Gohan to Priamus. "You and the cleaning patrol better fix this place before tonight."
"It'll be as if it never broke." Priamus growled as he turned away, returning to the others. "Illusi, I want you to see if you can find something in Gohan's mind while he's knocked out right now." He handed Gohan to Illusi and Illusi nodded. "Daiz, go find out if Kukmop's okay." Daiz nodded in response.
A few hours later…
"Y-You called for me, Boss?" Keylo asked. Him and Taurus were alone in Taurus's quarters, and something felt off.
The back of Taurus's seat was turned to face Keylo. "I was told you had a hand in the kid's recent rampage."
A fear sank in Keylo's face at the mention. "T-The kid? What?! I have nothin t-to do with tha..him!" He answered. "I swear!"
Taurus turned his seat around. "That's not what Khang and the others told me."
Keylo swallowed hard. "Taurus! I swear! I didn't make that kid rampage! He was already doin that when I got there!" He said. "I had nothing to do with it!"
"I'm not talking about specifically his rampage moreso by affiliation." Taurus replied. "I heard you dug some dirt up on him and started a rumor."
Keylo's eyes widened. "What? That's bullshit! I didn't-"
Taurus erupted from his seat. "Liar!" He yelled. Keylo gulped in response. "I did a little checking and noticed his file had been tampered with…after I got myself informed about the rumor. You know what that rumor was? His race and clearly YOU were the one who started this rumor!"
Keylo swallowed again. "So what?! That kid deserves it and you know it as I do! He-"
Taurus stomped his foot. "Silence!" He interrupted. "I told you to quit pursuing the matter and now you leave me no choice! I'm sending you to the pit!"
Keylo's face dropped, color quickly sunk out of it. "What?! You can't send me there! Only those who destroy the order around here go there!"
"I'm aware and you did exactly that!" Taurus sneered.
"I'm trying to prevent that kid from ruining everything!" Keylo argued.
Taurus snapped his fingers and two of the facility guards appeared from the shadows as they grabbed a panicked looking Keylo who tried to struggle but only got shocked intensely.
Panting heavily, Keylo growled. "Y-You…You can't do this to me! I'-" Again he was shocked at much more intense heights, causing him to blackout.
To be continued…
A/N: Chapter Thirteen & Fourteen, the midseason finale is coming a little early due to circumstances. DUO HALFBREED RETURNS WINTER 2023