AN: It's been literal years since I last wrote anything so you have been warned in advance. Read at your own peril and suffer from bad grammar, spelling and wrong use of tenses. XD
Also I don't know what ages Wise and Belle are so I've taken some liberty by being vague as hell about it. They also look different now but they'll gain their iconic looks in the future. Eous too.
That's all. Enjoy.
=0=
=Date Unknown=
=Location Unknown=
=0=
\\\ [LOGGING IN AS CAROLE ARNA] \\\
[WELCOME PROFESSOR ARNA. PLEASE SELEC-]
[EXTERNAL STORAGE DEVICE DETECTED. EXECUTING SCAN-]
[SCAN ABORTED.]
[EXECUTING PROGRAM WITHIN DEVICE-]
[WARNING! VIRUS DETECT-]
[̸͙̜̟͍̻̝͋͋͘W̶̤̘͙̰̻̫̤̿͂̒̌̅-̴̢̛̘͓̩͕͐̂̀̔͜͠W̸̩͐̓̔̔͝-̷̛͔̜͇̌͝Ẃ̶̰̈̀͑͐̕-̸̛̮̦̃̊W̶̢̟̰͕̥̬̓̽̽͝-̶̛̗̀̏̆W̷͔̠̦̹̐̔ͅA̸̭̎͋̇͘Ṟ̷̟̳͔̯̾͂̌̚-̶̩̩̽̿̾̏̄̂̚W̷̧̢̩̭͉͓̙͋͝Ą̵͍̫͔̣̫̃̈̊́͝R̵̪̟̗̙̹̻̻̍N̵̙̆́Ỉ̵̧̺͔̙̤͖̾͗̋̈́͝N̴͉̏̈́̃̑͝-̴̙̬̼̥̓̎W̸̛͙̞̬̍̍̌̕͠͠Å̷̫R̶̨̝͉͎͍̞̗̈́̎̇͒N̴̬̈͊̋̎͝Í̸̘̜̞̠̌Ń̵̲̹̈́̎̎̄Ǧ̷̫̞̞̞̻!̶̮̐]̸̨̰̜̮̥̐́̈́̐͝
[̵̢̤͖͉̜̠̺͊̆̎W̵̨͚̳̹͉̮̦̠̚Ę̸̛͔̲̙̪̩̹̪̇̊̅͘L̷̨̨̜̜͚̠̅͌̑Ļ̷̡̧̭̻͎̓́̏̄͂́́͘,̵̰̠̣̂̌̏̂ ̷͖̦̦̠͎̻̙̪̈́͒͝L̶̢̪͚̘͎͇̯̭̉̀Ȅ̷̜͙̏̽͛͒̕T̴̹͉͇̪̙̜̾̑'̷̡̱̲̖̗̬̀̅S̶̫̤̒ ̷̢̠͖̍̒̎̑̓͂ͅG̷̢̪̲̲͙̠͖̼̔̈́̅̃͘E̶̹̓͆̔̋Ț̶̡̯̭͙̖͎̊͑́̌ͅ ̵͕͕̲͕̂̂̈́̉͆̈T̷̗̦̅̃͝Ò̶̻̝̯̥͖͚̅́͂͠͝͝ ̶̡̦̯̣̻̺̗̌͒̏͝W̴̪̊Ọ̷̧̺̄̂͜ͅR̸̹̰̽̅͂K̷͈̆̈́̇͠ ̴̗̎̑̒͘̕S̵̡͈̖̮̺͕̎̎́̈̄́͐͜Ḩ̴̜̯̮̞̮̗̗͋̔̏̀̊͋A̶̳̤̼̙͐͋͝L̷̰̲͖̗̤͖͇̓̂͊̎͛̀Ĺ̸̡̠́̐̓̒͊̚ ̵͖͙̜͈̫͗͘͜W̶̧̨͕̰̣̹͇̽͂́̈́Ę̸̭̦̇̽̆͑͘?̸͍͍̹̗͐̉̽́̍ͅ]̵̧͔̝̇̇̐̊͋͠
[ALL SYSTEM NOMINAL, PLEASE CONTINUE TO SELECT-]
\\\ [GESTATION POD NO#3-4-2] \\\
[GESTATION POD NO#3-4-2 SELECTED]
\\\ [CONTROL INTERFACE] \\\
[ACCESSING CONTROL INTERFACE FOR GESTATION POD NO#3-4-2]
[PLEASE ENTER PASSWAR-]
\\\ THEDEFIANCEOFFATE \\\
[PASSWORD ACCEPTED.]
[WELCOME TO MAIN MENU-]
\\\ PRIME DIRECTIVES \\\
[ATTEMPTING TO ACCESSING PRIME DIRECTIVES MENU...]
[WARNING!]
[AUTHORIZATION LEVEL NOT MET. UNABLE TO ACCESS PRIME DIRECTIVES MENU.]
[YOUR ATTEMPT TO ACCESS AREAS WITHOUT PROPER AUTHORIZATION HAS BEEN LOGGED AND-]
[̶̬̺͎̰͇̤̰̯̖̰̽̽̉̽͂͗͊̒͐̈́͘̕͝E̷̺͉͎̥̗̪͗̑̀́͆̓͆̽̓̾̃̓̀R̶̨̡̨̗̥̗̠͇̳͇̥͐͋́͑̎̆̏͊͒͘͝ͅŖ̶̧̺̪̮̣̘͍͋͋̂͐̉̇̈́͋̌̌Ö̷̟͉̜͓̯̬̼́̓̋́̓͌͑̔̈́͘R̸̗̺̼̩̘̓̉̈́̇̄̉̈̈̋́̄̆̚]̸̞̖̩̱͙̬͇͎̹̻̀̏̀̈͑̔͐̀
[̵̥̉̄̈́̆̆̈͐P̵̧̛̺̻͓͂̆̽̑͐͊͝S̵̢̥͈̝̓̂͜͜ͅȞ̸̢̘̬̱̬̝̯̻̒̔̒̾͊͘͠,̴̧̢͇̣̣̯͈̫̍ ̴̳̰̠͌W̴̘͔̪̌͝É̸̲̭̘̲̤̂͊̒̏̏̊A̵̢̛͂͛͗͒̕K̸̛̟͔͈͑̀͗̒.̴̝͈͓̹̦͔̙͕̓͋̕͝]̴͇̎̾
[LOG DELETED. REPORT ABORTED. NO FLAGS RAISED.]
[ACCESS TO PRIME DIRECTIVES MENU GRANTED.]
[DO YOU WISH TO CHANGE MAIN DIRECTIVES OF SUBJECT #MK?]
[Y/N]
\\\ [Y] \\\
[PLEASE INSERT NEW DIRECTIVES.]
[̵̢̣͚͇̭͙̊͋̽̋͌H̸͔̙̝͈̮͈̽̈M̵̨̪͍̬͇̜̠̽̀͜͠M̷͈̪̖͆̃̂̊͜,̸̠͕̠̣̼͍̑͐̈́ ̵̙̈́̽̿̑͛̚Ẉ̵̡͙̰̤̬̯̙̌̆̉̈́̽̀H̶̙̼̪͎̗͉͛̕A̸̲͍̖͇̺̥̍̒͊̉̆T̶̢̮̬̪͆̌̒͘ ̷̫͐̑̐̅̾̋Ạ̴͚̤͇̱̪̀̓͑̌̒͗̀͜͝R̷̛̺̪̟̯̈͛̓̎Ẹ̴̮̺̠̜̑̈́ ̸̨̣͈̖̤͚̆͌̚T̸̜̒̀̒̎̈͝ͅH̵̗̖͚͍͈͈̊͘Ė̴̦̰̲̈́Ì̴͉̖̮̅̿͌͆̂͝R̶̞̟̤̬̪̫̱̈́ ̶̡͇̘̇̓̏͆͋͘N̸̨̛̟̿͊̒͒ͅĀ̵̡̡̯̺̫̤͚́̑͐̅͑̕̕M̶̲͍̘̾̿̃̊̑̏É̶̞̫̤̳̘S̴̜͔̦̜̐̂ ̷̈́̎̊͗̀̐͝ͅA̴̢͇͔̭͖̮͌͑͐̃G̸̡̧͙̦̗̾Ä̴̦͎͓̳͎́ͅI̶̛̱͈̥̦̘̒̋͐̓̇̍͝N̴͉̲͚͍͚̆͐͐̇̓̓̚͝?̶͉̝̰̭͐́ͅ ̴̛̬̺̞̫̱͓̄̾̀͋̕Ö̶̻͙́Ḩ̸̢̻̞̰͊̀͆ ̵̤͔͈͋͌̔͊͠R̵̼̮͔͍̮̭̱͐I̸̙͛̏G̴͔̍̓̈́́̓͑͝H̶̡̤̠͕̼̯̓̑̕ͅT̷̢̛̹̝̔̑͝,̸͙͚͓͎̣͔̙̦̊ ̵̢͓̫̀̂͒̊̈́́͐̒͜S̸̨̘͖̤̼̯̈̒̕͘Í̵̢̊̾̌̊̐͒L̵̮͎̟̮̎̈́̐̐̆͒L̸̢͎̩͓̳͍̘̆̒͌́̐̀̚Y̵͍̻͋͋ ̴̛̼͓͇̹͙̋̏ͅͅM̴̭̘̺̑Ė̴͇̥͕͌̈́͒͠.̶̧̻̥͙̙̄]̴̡̢̩͖̪͍̳̉̂̂͐̌͂̈́͠
\\\ [PROTECT BELLE AND WISE] \\\
[NEW DIRECTIVES INSERTED: 'PROTECT BELLE AND WISE'.]
[OVERRIDING PREVIOUS DIRECTIVE: 'KILL ███']
[OVERRIDE IN PROGRESS...]
[10%]
[20%]
[40%]
[50%]
[70%]
[80%-]
[WARNING! INTENSE SEISMIC ACTIVITY DETECTED! DAMAGE TO GESTATION POD DETECTED.
SAFETY PROTOCOL ENGAGE. HALTING ALL COMMANDS. OVERRIDE ABORTED AT 85%.]
[̸̡͕̰͇̲̳̙̀͝͝͠H̸̡̝͆̑̋̋̊̀͂Ử̴̧̟̜͎̗͕̗͂͌͗̿̄̒ͅH̶͔̲̖͐ͅ!̷̛̪͈̒̚?̸̧͔̭̼̳̩̈́̅̃ ̷̗̝͈̿̊̽͋̈́̓̉W̵̹̤̫͌͆ͅH̷̯̝͔̩́̉̃̀̌͊̈́Å̸͇̚T̸̙̘̺̾̾̚ͅ ̷̞̳͍̙̣̘̇̐̊̓T̸̨̠̼̻̜̞̎H̷̦͌͗̈́̋͌̈́̄́Ę̸̯͕̦͎̣͔̀̇̇?̷̧̠̞̲̝̳̥͂̾̾̾͗̎̑̀ ̶́́̏̄̃̉͜Ǫ̷̘͓̘̞̤͛̽̅̾̈́͐͠͝Ḥ̵̓̓̈́͘ ̷̨̗͚̭̙̞͓̜̓̈́B̷͚̯͙͊͒͛̾̆͗̔͑Ó̸̤̠̭͔̪̟͛̈͒̿̌̃͜͝ͅỲ̵̡̨̳̭͈͑͂͆̃͝͝,̷̧͇͚̬̗̿̾̽͠ ̸̛̹̗̠̮̙̣̜̮͐̃̇͒̆̚͝T̵̢̬̥͚͕͔̯̩̆͛́̿͠H̷̗̤̏͗́̉͌̇͠I̴̜̪̦̺͙͇̋̾̆̄S̵̡̟̍͆̉ ̴̹̳̌̄͠I̸̤͈̣͘S̸̬̮̙̪̤͇̓͒ ̶̡̩͉̮̾̌͆͑͋̑̂B̶̼̩͉̞̜̘͉͗̐͂͐͘̚͜͝͝Ä̷̜̭̳̖̝̩̝͎̈́̍̉̈͝D̴̹̩̖̦̝͕́̿̓̔̄̾͒͜͝.̵̨͍͕̲̬͒̆̈́]̴̲͔̰̫̲͆̈̿̏͘͝
[NO DAMAGE TO SUBJECT#MK DETECTED. GESTATION POD DAMAGE CRITICAL.
[̷̢͌̏͑͜͜ͅA̷̤̔̅̍T̸̛̼͎̏̀͜ ̷̙̯̈́L̸̛͚̫̱̥̝̭̆̃̆͝E̸̢̛̠̥̥͉̝͊͝ͅÀ̶̘̥̟̔̾̏̇S̸̛̞͉̀͆̓͗͌͋͝T̶̘̪͖̯͌ ̶͓͚̻̯̋́̀H̷͔̟͆͋͐͐E̸̼̣͒͊̂̈́͐͝'̸͓͒͆̇͂́͘S̸̢̩͎̪̠̞̦͂͊̏ ̸̛̏͋̄̒͜N̷͓̟̬̣̣̮͓͐̇̄̚Ǒ̸̰͈̰̣̬̼̭͑̀T̸̛̹͕̭̊̾̿̒͗ ̸̧̦͎̺̫̰͇̽̈́̈̒͂͑D̴̛̫̗̙͓̼̹̜͊̍̄̓̏̕͘A̵͇̳̥͋M̶̥̥͈͔̺̫͚̽͌ͅĄ̵͂̋͒̓̆G̵̡̛͙͖̻̗̻̿͌̉̑Ȇ̶̜̮̋̅́͊͘D̸͈͓̾͐̓̑̌́̋͝.̸͈̣̩̙̲̫̒̅̊̓͠]̸̪̩͈̝̆͊͌̽̑̆͊
IMMEDIATE REPAIR REQUIRED TO RESUME OPERATION OF GESTATION POD.
E.T.A OF CRITICAL FAILURE AND TERMINATION OF SUBJECT: 1 HOUR 32 MINUTES 22 SECONDS]
[WARNING! HOLLOW MANIFESTATION DETECTED! ESTIMATED RANGE OF EXPANSION: UNKNOWN
CONCLUSION: THIS FACILITY IS NO LONGER SAFE]
[WARNING! PLEASE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!]
[̵͕̄͛͑͋̇N̶͈̺̅̒͊̄͌O̵̺̟̲͈̓͛Ţ̷̜̟͕̻̦͂̐̃͊͆ ̷̨͎̞͉̍͝G̵͖̺̣̦͙̒̈̋̋ͅŌ̸̡̲͜Ṑ̶̙̮̬̆͒̚͘Ḓ̴̲͍͍̫̔̒̌,̷̪͇͍̟̰͈͑̽́́͠ ̴̫̟̎̾Ç̸͉̫͓̞̘̈́̃̂̒͘̕Ắ̶͚͎̭̖̇̚Ň̷̗̬͋͘'̸̗̹̔̍̎T̶̟̳͚̼̎̔̆͘ ̷̗̺̲͗͘L̶̳̮̊͂̕ͅE̸̞̙̮͂͛͝Ţ̸͎͙͎̺̓͆̒͗ ̸̳͊T̴͙͚̰̺̲̈̈́̈́H̸̡̖̙̬͌̏̓͌͠ͅȨ̶́͆̿̄̌ ̸̼̤̦͇͖̍K̶̬̥͖͐Î̵̩̩̹̰͚̤͐͠D̷̢̻͈͚̥͌S̸̨͙̱̰̒͊͘͠ ̴̪̻̰̹̟̇̅͂̈D̷̼̰̹́̚I̸̠̹̗̓̍͋͑͠È̶̠̖̙͕͎̅̑̏ ̴̧͇̦̠̐̃̉̑ͅH̵͙͖͈͍͑̒E̸̡̦̼̪̦̓̂̌̄̚ͅR̸͎̍͌̄̈́͝È̸̛͖͇̀̍̂.̸̱̾̀̃̕̚͝]̴͈̘̑
[ALL DANGER CONDITIONS MET. EMERGENCY EJECTION NOW AVAILABLE.]
\\\ EXECUTE EMERGENCY EJECTION \\\
[WARNING: SUBJECT#MK STATUS: UNSTABLE. HIGH RISK OF DEATH IF EJECTED FROM GESTATION POD. DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED?]
[̴̯̹̏̾N̵̛̰͛Ợ̴̱̅ ̸͓̘̽C̷̖͂H̶̨́͜͠O̶̬͆I̸̺͒͒Č̵̪Ę̷̟̎͝ ̵̝͖̊N̷͓̎Ỏ̴̱̼̌Ẃ̸̪͖.̴͍͇͆ ̴̺̪̃͘G̸̦̽Ủ̵͓̚Ȩ̸̞̈S̵̩͙̅S̶̢̳͗ ̴̗̟̊Ȉ̵̼̽'̶͇̞̋̓L̷̢̿̉L̸̲̂͜ ̴̣͇̓̀P̵͖̩͂U̷͈̫͆L̸̬̹̒͂L̴͓͘ ̷̺̮̏Ā̸̞̤͌ ̷͈̞̐̈H̶̬̃͜U̶̩͈͑̀Ḿ̵̳̖̕À̶̤N̵̜̈́̽ ̷̺̿́A̴͇̹͂Ñ̶̗D̷̢͙͝ ̷͖̳͗͐P̷̝̞̈R̵͎̅͐À̸̰͔Y̶̤̥̍̆ ̴̜̈́̀F̶̱͓̒̄Õ̶̫̚R̸͓̆͋ ̸͙́̍Ṣ̴̨́̊U̶̧͛̔C̷̬̥̒̃Č̷̜̒Ȇ̴̤͂S̶̪̬̽̐S̴̼̩͛.̷̯̀̐]̴̝̺͊́
[Y/N]
\\\ [Y] \\\
[INITIATING EMERGENCY EJECTION OF SUBJECT#MK]
[WARNING: DOOR LEVER DAMAGED. UNABLE TO OPEN GESTATION POD.]
[WARNING: FACILITY IS CURRENTLY BEING ENGULFED BY A HOLLOW!]
[PLEASE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!]
[WARNING!]
[WARNING!]
[WARNIN-]
[̴̞̼̣̻̃̏̇͛̋W̵̳͇̜̳̹̤̌͌̅̓͐̍̓E̷̹̯̥̳̝̳̦̯̾̏̀̃̚̚L̵̼̘͎̠͒́̽̅͝L̴̨͎͕̃̈́̀̚ ̴̡̧̛͎̅́̑̂̓Š̴̜͑̈́H̷̱͚̮̭̹̳͑̌̒̐͠Ǐ̸̦͕̞̗͖̟̒̔̓̿̽ͅT̸̗̻͍̠͉̤̰͛ͅ.̷̯͉̲̙͐̀̊]̵̰͓͇̘͑
=0=
=Date Unknown=
Location: Eridu, Helios Academy
Wise P.O.V=
=Earlier=
=0=
The day had already started out weirdly before everything began. Their Teacher/Mother figure had brought him and his sister, Belle, out of their ongoing class to her office because she needed them urgently for something. Normally, Wise would think nothing of it since she had brought them to her office to talk many times before like when she needed to inform them of changes to their studying schedule or for their 'secret' lessons. But this is the first time she had done so while they were in the middle of class.
He watched from the side as their Teacher was busy telling the teacher of their current class why they're being excused. His attention turn towards the award display in the hall nearby, catching his reflection on the glass door.
There he saw a young boy with blue eyes and short light grey hair that's kept on a tidy crew cut. He's currently donning the Academy uniform that consist of a white dress shirt, a dark blue vest with the Academy logo on it's chest, pants of the same shade and finishing off with black shoes. While it may look stuffy, it's actually pretty comfortable due to the materials it's made from.
"Alright you two, follow me now. There's someone very important that I want you two to meet." Wise heard their Teacher speak, causing him to quickly turn back. It would seem that she had finished talking with their other teacher and they're all set to move on. He saw her give them a smile but it just looked tired to his eyes and gesture for them to follow before she began walking down the hall.
As he followed behind the older woman with his sister in tow, he can't help but notice that something is different with their Teacher today. Well, more different than before he meant. Wise had noted that their Teacher had been looking rather stressed as of late and acting weirdly but being the child that he is, he didn't think much of it. He chalked it up to adults worrying about adult things and thought nothing more of it.
"So big bro, who do you think Teacher is bringing us to meet?" Belle whispered to him, causing him to turn his head and look at his younger sister. She had a barely restrained aura of curiosity around her as she look at him with an equally curious expression.
Belle is an energetic and bubbly girl that he had known for his entire life. She tends to have way too much energy and is very playful, often brightening up the room with her usual cheer. Her eyes are the same shade as his while her long dark blue hair reaches down to her back. She's wearing the Academy uniform just like he is, the only difference is that she's wearing a skirt that goes to below her knees.
"I dunno." Wise whispers back, unable hide his own curiosity. "Teacher mention that they're important so maybe it's someone high up from the Academy."
Belle's eyes widen before gaining a nervous look. "E-erm, d-do you think we might be in trouble?"
"I don't think so? I don't remember doing anything bad." Wise replied before giving his little sister a flat stare.
Belle picked up on the hidden message behind his gaze and quickly defended herself. "I haven't done anything either!" She pouted.
"Then I don't really know why we're being taken to meet this important person Belle…" He said before giving their surroundings a quick scan for people. Seeing no one else nearby, he quietly whispers to her. "Not unless it has something to do with our 'secret' lessons."
Belle frowned slightly and tilt her head sideways. "Huh….do you think Teacher wants us to show them just how much better we've gotten? I thought we weren't suppose to let anyone know about it."
Wise could only shrug. "We'll just have to see."
Their conversation trailed off and they quietly follow the older woman towards their destination.
=0=
Once they reach the door to her office, their Teacher opened it and usher them inside. Belle was the first to enter and quickly gaze around the room to see just who is the mysterious person that they're suppose to be meeting. Wise followed suit but in a more restrained manner.
The inside of the office is your typical one for teachers of the Academy. It comes with a desk that had a laptop on it alongside some neatly stacked paperwork and a bookshelf and metal cabinets for storing files. The only difference that their Teacher has in her office compared to her coworkers is that she owns a Bangboo charging station for her personal Bangboo.
"Huh? There's no one here." Belle pointed out as they both noticed that the room was empty save for the lone Bangboo that's charging in the corner. The Bangboo looked to be an ordinary one that's no different from those that were mass-produced. He has a pair of bunny like ears which are actually antennas to receive signals and a black LED screen for a face which can display a variety of things like eyes and other emotive emotes and information. He's also completely black and lacking any visible customization and cosmetics that would make him stand out from ones that were fresh out of a factory.
"Maybe they haven't arrive yet?" Wise replied.
Upon hearing their voice, the Bangboo activated and remove himself from the charging station. He quickly ran towards them with his stubbly short legs and gave his sister a hug as greeting, making 'Ehn-na' sounds all the while.
"Awww, hey Eous. It's nice to see you too." Belle squealed at the adorable looking Bangboo and returned the hug.
"Hello Eous." Wise greeted with a smile, causing the Bangboo to pull back from the hug and give him an energetic wave. This particular Bangboo has been part of their lives since they were taken in under their Teacher's wing. It had been there for them, watching them grow up while providing aid and some guidance from time to time when their Teacher had been unavailable. At this point, the sibling duo had treated the Bangboo more like family than just a regular service machine.
If other people were to see Eous acting like this now, they'd be surprise. After all, Bangboos haven't advanced to the point where they're suppose to be this expressive. Like everyone else's personal Bangboos, Eous had been heavily customized by their Teacher. The only difference is, she changed the insides rather than the outside.
Due to the changes their Teacher had made, Eous is able to react with more lifelike emotions and is seemingly able to think of itself. It had become a Bangboo far more advance compared to your ordinary ones who are quite dim and only serve as helpers and to assist city residents with evacuation during Hollow disasters.
Being children that they are, they had originally wanted to brag about how much better their Bangboo is but their Teacher shut that down immediately. She had warned them not to let other people know about how special Eous is or that they might steal him for themselves which was enough for them to keep their mouths shut. With that said, Eous generally acts like any regular Bangboo while out in public and only reverts to his normal state when in private.
Wise heard the sound of the door locking, causing him to turn around to see their Teacher walking away from the door and towards them. He was confused as to why she would lock the door. Weren't they suppose to be meeting someone? Why would she lock it to prevent them from coming in?
"Alright you two, come here." Teacher said as she stop in front of her desk, using her hand to gesture them forward. Eous took this chance to waddle away and move back towards the charging station to continue his energy munching ways. His extensive modifications means he consumes more power than your average Bangboo.
"Teacher, where's this person you want us to meet?" Belle asked as she strode forward, followed by Wise.
"I'll bring you two to meet him in a minute but there are some things that I need to tell you two first." Their Teacher said with a soft smile on her face before crouching down so that she's at their level. "Now, I know this is sudden but the person I'm bringing you two to meet is my son."
To say that they were surprised was an understatement. Wise literally had his jaws dropped while Belle's eyes widen comically. This is the first time their Teacher ever mentioned anything about a son.
""You have a son!?"" They both blurt out seemingly in sync.
"Indeed I do." Their Teacher's reply was one of fond amusement as she smiled. It's most likely she had been waiting to see their reaction to the news for a while now. However, her smile soon turn into a frown when she noticed that her ward's reaction had shifted from surprise to something less positive. Mainly worry and anxiety.
"D-does this mean that y-you don't need us any more!?A-are you going to t-toss us away now that you have a s-son?" Belle asked in trepidation, her voice cracking with emotions and her eyes began watering while Wise was struggling not to panic outright.
"No!" Their Teacher stated quickly and firmly before pressing her hands over her face and letting out a groan. "Stupid Carole, orphans and abandonment issues you idiot." They could hear her mutter to herself before she place her hands on their shoulders comfortingly. "No, of course not. If anything, you both will gain a new sibling. Wise, Belle, you two are the most precious thing that I'll ever have in this world. I will never replace you two for anything in the world. It's because of you two that I've gained the courage to do the things that needs to be done, for the sake of your futures and everyone else's." She told them seriously. Her words did wonders in calming the sibling duo down even if they both didn't understand what she had meant by the latter half.
"So then...we're not going to be replaced?" Wise asked, sounding very hopeful.
"Oh please, if anything I'm more worried that you two would abandoning me once you've grown up." Their teacher replied with a small laugh.
"NO! Never!" Belle shouted and leap forward to hug the woman, nearly causing the woman to topple over while burying her face into her stomach. "You're important to us too Teacher. We'll never replace you." Her muffled words cause the older woman to look surprised as though she didn't expect Belle's words.
"Belle is right Teacher. We won't leave you or abandon you so please don't do the same to us." Wise said seriously with a pleading look on his face.
"I-I see. Thank you Belle, Wise. I will do my best to stay with you two too." Their Teacher said to them, her voice charged with emotions that Wise couldn't quite place. "*Ahem* W-well then, we seem to have gotten off topic." She said while standing up and turning around. Wise managed to catch her hand rubbing her eye as she did so.
A few second passed before their Teacher turn back to them, looking as though nothing was wrong but the slight wetness on her cheeks gave her away. "Anyway, I wanted to give you both a heads up first so when you see him you won't freak out too much. He's pretty unique in a sense."
"Eh? What do you mean by that Teacher? Is there something wrong with your son?" Belle questioned, her brows scrunched up in confusion.
"I'm sure Teacher will explain if you let her Belle." Wise told his sister chidingly, causing the younger girl to give him a pout in return.
Their Teacher let out an amused chuckle before continuing. "I guess you could say that. He's unique in a way that he wasn't born the normal way. He was made inside a tube."
""Huh?"" The siblings let out together.
"The process itself comes with many complications so he's staying inside his tube while I try to fix his many health issues. He's not quite ready to be born yet but once he is, he will have a hard time adjusting to this world. That's why I'd like you both to meet him. I hope that you would be able to show him the love and care that you show each other; to help and support him as he grows and to treat him like another sibling despite his oddness." Their Teacher explain to them, showing a hopeful look on her face.
"Of course we will." Wise replied instantly. "He's your son isn't he? That means he's our sibling as well so there's no need to to even ask."
"Yeah! Now that we've gained another sibling I don't have to be the youngest anymore!" Belle agreed easily while nodding happily. "Don't worry Teacher, we'll give him all the love and care we have and make sure your son grows up big and strong with us."
"Don't be too hasty Belle, we still don't know how old Teacher's son is. He could be older than us so you might still be the youngest." Wise said with a small laugh.
"Wise! Stop ruining my fun!" Belle pouted while stomping her feet, causing the only other two humans in the room to laugh at her reaction.
"This is great. I was worried that you two wouldn't accept because he was suddenly thrust onto you. He's only my son by technicality but I've still grown to care for his wellbeing after watching over him for so long so it's a relief to know that you two will treat him well."
Wise stopped laughing when he noticed something odd with what she had said. "Wait, what do you mean by technically?"
"Ah. Weelllll, he's only technically my son because about 50%-ish of his DNA comes from me. But if we really want to get deeper into this, he's more like a clone of me? No, that's not right. Maybe a younger sibling? But since the other half came from that strain, it should be considered a proper offspring instead so he definitely can be my son." Their Teacher began to mutter, seemingly to be thinking hard about this conundrum.
Their Teacher shook her head before she could get really distracted like always and clap her hands together. "Well, let's not go down that rabbit hole just yet. We've dallied long enough so let's move on shall we? What I'm about to show you two must be kept absolutely a secret, okay?"
The sibling duo look at each other before turning back to face their mentor and nodded.
"Sure thing Teacher. It's no different than our lessons isn't it." Belle replied with a serious look.
"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone a peep." Wise said with a smile.
"Good, let's go the-" Their teacher's words were interrupted when everything shook.
The sound of explosions went off all around them and the constant shaking causes both the children to fall onto their bumps. Once everything settled down somewhat, the noise was replace with screams and gunfire.
Their Teacher paled rapidly as she steady herself. "No no no no no! This is still too soon. I thought I had more time." Their Teacher began to mutter before she began to quickly shift through her pockets for something. "Belle, Wise, get up quick. We need to move now!" She shouted with panic clearly visible on her face as she pull out something from her pocket.
"H-huh!? What's going on!?" Belle asked the question that's on Wise's mind as they both slowly get up.
"Questions later! We need to move before-" Their Teacher froze and her eyes widen.
It happened in an instant. First there was nothing, everything was the same as always inside the office except for the things that got thrown around during the explosion. Then, the air behind their Teacher seem to ripple before being split open like a gaping maw.
Like a scene from a horror movie, a giant monstrous hand emerged from it, casting a shadow over them with it's humongous size. It was pale white like all it's colour had been drained from it and along it's surface was many tumour like growths spread all around like it's covered in zits.
To his ever growing horror, those 'zits' started opening by the dozen, revealing them all to be eyes. God, there were so many eyes. The giant one on the palm being the most prominent as it seem to be glaring right at their Teacher. Without any warning, the hand suddenly shot down and snatched their Teacher from her position.
"Urgh!" Their Teacher let out a pained sound upon being grabbed but she didn't let it stop her from tossing what's in her hand at Wise.
It clattered in front of him before sliding to a stop, revealing to be some kind of flash drive.
"SHOW IT TO EOUS! HE KNOWS WHAT-" The sibling duo heard their Teacher shout at them but her words were cut off as she was dragged into the hole in the air, vanishing from view completely alongside the giant monster.
They both barely had time to process what had transpired before the whole Academy started shaking with explosions going off again. They both just stared into the empty space where their Teacher had been, unable to believe what they had just seen.
"Teacher?" Belle let out, sounding hesitant and afraid. So very afraid that it snapped Wise out of his shock and turn to look at his younger sister. He could see her reaching a trembling hand out towards where their Teacher once was. "M-Mama?" She whispered, her voice strained as tears began gathering at her eyes.
=0=
Belle had burst out crying and was shaking intensely after things went quiet inside the office. Wise wanted to cry too but the sight of his sister breaking down causes his resolve to strengthen instead. He knew that she needed him right now and he can't afford to break down himself. So he held her in his arm and whispered how everything will be find until she calmed down.
But their moment of quiet didn't last long.
They started to hear voices coming from outside. They can't hear what's being said but from how calm they sounded with all the chaos going on outside, it doesn't seem like they're people from the Academy. Worse still, they seem to be slowly getting closer.
With an immediate danger urging them forward, they quickly went to where Eous is while trying to ignore all the sounds from outside of the office. Belle turned Eous on with shaky hands and teary eyes and Wise showed him the flash drive in his hand, causing the Bangboo to suddenly jolt and stiffen.
The sibling duo suddenly grew worried at Eous' weird behaviour but they didn't have much time to think about it before Eous suddenly spoke up. "Ehna-nah-nah (Fail-safe activated. Contacting 'Y'….)" Eous' tone was completely monotonous and it's face had changed from it's usual expressive eyes to the image of a phone ringing.
"Eous?" Wise spoke with some hesitation but the Bangboo didn't reply for a moment.
"W-Wise, what's wrong with Eous? Had something like this ever happened before?" Belle asked, sounding confused and worried.
"I don't think so. Judging by what he had said and the image on his face, I think he's trying to call someone?" Wise theorised with a frown as he look on at Eous.
The phone image on Eous' face suddenly stopped moving and like a switch that had been flipped, Eous' started moving again. "Ehna-nah. (Connection established, assuming direct control.)" The phone image vanished and his eyes returned...only, it wasn't his normal ones. The ones that took up the screen showed a pair of amber eyes with silted pupils.
"Well, looks like you kids sure are in a pickle. You really are a harsh taskmaster Carole." Eous sighed as he spoke with a deep male voice. What's surprised them the most was that he was speaking in actual words instead of the Bangboo language that they had gotten used to listening to.
""Huh!?"" Wise and Belle let out in surprise upon hearing Eous speak.
"Alright, we don't have much time right now so follow me children. I'll lead you two to safety." Eous said before the two could voice their many questions that's forming on their minds and dashed off towards the back of the office.
"H-hey. Wait! Who are you? How and why are you controlling Eous." Belle shouted at the Bangboo.
"Questions later Children. You'll have plenty of time to ask them once you're safe." The Bangboo said to them like an adult telling a child to be patient.
They watch as he went towards the bookshelf and started rearranging the books in a specific pattern. Seeing that the Bangboo seem to be busy, Wise went to grab Belle's hand and started jogging towards the Bangboo.
By the time the reached the bookshelf, Eous seem to have finished whatever he was doing. The siblings were surprise to find it moving aside to reveal a cliché hidden elevator.
"Alright, in you go. I've activated the emergency mode for the elevator; so once we're inside the door to this elevator will seal itself so no one else will be able to use it. We will be perfectly safe without having to worry about anyone pursuing us….unless they brought heavy explosives. You can ask your questions then." Eous told them as he entered the elevator, using it's stubby hands to gesture them inside.
The door to the office sudden let out a loud bang like something had struck it with great force, causing the siblings to snap their heads around to look at it. There was shouting outside the door before another loud bang caused the entire frame to rattled. It didn't take a genius to know that they were trying to kick down the door.
The siblings made a mad dash into the elevator and Eous quickly press the button to lowest floor. The door slowly closes, causing Wise's heart to be gripped with anxiety and wishing that it would close faster.
The sibling's hearts jumped to their throats when the door hinges suddenly blast off with gunshots accompanying the destruction. Without any support the door fell, revealing a couple of heavily armed men wearing some kind of uniform that indicates that they belong in some kind of group. The thing that stood out the most to them was that some of them were stained with blood.
Upon seeing the children in the elevator the one in the front barked an order to 'fire' and the men quickly raised their weapons at them and pulled the trigger. Wise didn't even have time to do anything before the elevator door slam shut before the first bullet could even leave the chamber.
Wise jerked back and pulled Belle behind him as the bullets slam against the door, causing dents to appear all over it. It was either a complete miracle or something planned in advance that non of them managed to pierce through the door, indicating that it's thick enough to stop firearms.
The metal contraption that they're in shuddered slightly before they could feel themselves descend towards who knows where. As far as Wise had been aware until now, the Academy doesn't have a basement.
"Phew. That was too close. Luckily I managed to override the closing speed of the doors in time otherwise we'd all be toasted." Eous said while letting out a nervous laugh. "Seriously though, who the hel-heck sets it close at a snail's pace in the first place?"
Wise let out the breath that he didn't knew he had been holding. They had just narrowly escaped death but they didn't have time to relax yet. After all, they're still in great danger and who knows what else is waiting for them.
Their descend had been a quiet one with only the occasional sniffling and sobs coming from his sister filled in the silence. Wise had been holding onto her hand this entire time, and he's sure that Belle knows how he's feeling with how much he's trembling. Wise is scared out of his wits right now but he held strong for his little sister. The only logical thing to do is to distract himself from his fear and try to solve the mystery instead.
The ride down gave Wise more than enough time to think things through as he desperately try to piece together what had happened with what little he knows.
It was clear that the Academy is being attacked but by who? Why? Just what was that giant hand that appeared and took their Teacher? Speaking of their Teacher, he can't help the feeling that she might know a lot more than she lets on. From what she had said, it was almost like she was expecting this to happen, only not this soon.
Right now the only one who could answer his questions is on the elevator with them, it only makes sense to ask them right? The mysterious stranger who's somehow controlling Eous and is helping them. From what he could tell, it seems that he knows their Teacher and Eous, seeing that the latter was the one to called their savior.
So Wise turn his attention towards the Bangboo and asked those questions, causing Belle to perk up slightly in attention. She tried hard to stop herself from crying just so she could listen to what Eous(?) had to say.
"Ah….where to begin." Eous said while tilting his body slightly like he's trying to imitate a head tilt. Since Bangboos doesn't have a neck, all he managed to achieve was tilting he's entire body. "For starters, you can keep calling me Eous since it's this Bangboo's name. And let's just say that Professor Arna and I are friends and she asked me to bring you two to safety in case something happened to her. This Bangboo is actually a collaborative effort from the both of us. It allows someone to connect with it and control it in real time with a hardware specially designed for it. It's not really tested all that much yet but I'm glad that it's working fine."
"So Eous really is special." Wise muttered in disbelief. He thought that the Bangboo's only difference from others was it's more human like reactions. To think there's another hidden function like that all along within him.
"W-wait. She asked you for help if something happens to her? Does that mean that Teacher knew something like this was going to happen?" Belle asked.
"Not exactly? I mean, she definitely knew that something was up and that her sponsors' organisation might want to get rid her of soon. But something like this? No, she never thought they could even do something this brazen in broad daylight. They must've have something in mind to cover up everything already, otherwise there's no way they would've done this." Eous replied while nodding. Eous' words cause Wise's eyes to widen in surprise and he could feel Belle's hand tightening upon hearing it. Their Teacher knew who were attacking them and were working with them?
"Sponsors? You mean, Teacher worked for them?" Wise was the one asking this time, wondering just why their Teacher would work with people who had no qualms with killing innocent people. Speaking of which, how does Eous know just what's going on right now. They never explained to him just what's happening in the Academy.
"Eh, it's more of a do what we ask of you or else kind of deal. She literally cannot refuse." Eous continued, halting Wise's thoughts as his eyes widen.
"So she was being threatened? Why didn't she tell the pol-" Wise stopped himself from finishing as he thought about it. What good would telling the police do? If this organization is willing to attack the most famous Academy in Eridu in broad daylight like this then they must've had ways to deal with the police.
"It's not her that's being threatened. It's you two." Eous informed them, causing react in surprise.
"U-us?" Belle stuttered and Wise could feel her tremble, causing him to squeeze her hand in hopes of giving her some comfort.
Wise's mind instantly click back towards the past, thinking of all the time he had noticed some strange people that seem to be lingering outside of the Academy or near where they were playing when outside. Was this the reason why Eous seem to always be with them whenever they have to leave the Academy premise? To keep an eye on them so nothing happens to them?
"Yes. She had no choice but to keep working with them if she wants to keep you two safe." Eous confirmed.
Wise bit his lips upon realizing just how much danger they were in and they were non the wiser about it. And their Teacher and Eous had been protecting them from said danger all this time without even uttering a word or complaint.
"Don't worry, Professor Arna had been preparing a plan to save you two this entire time. From what she had told me, she almost had everything ready to go but it would seem that time had ran out. In fact, the entire Fail-safe was prepared in the event they managed to silence her first. The plan is to to get you two out of Eridu pronto while ensuring that they never find you. Which is where I come in." Eous said while gesturing to himself.
He then place his hands on his waist before continuing. "Now I'm sure you have more questions about my identity but I think it's best to leave it for now and focus on escaping and reaching somewhere safe first. Just know that I will do my best to ensure that you two are safe and sound."
"I-I see." Wise muttered out while thinking back on how stressed their Teacher had been lately. She was likely trying to ensure that nothing went wrong when she has to get them out of Eridu. "But why? Why would you do so much for us? We don't even know you."
"Ha! That's easy. It's because I'm replaying a favour. She asked me to get her children out of Eridu and that's what I'm going to do." Eous sounded sincere when he said that.
"S-so, what are we suppose to do now?" Belle asked after a while.
"The first order of business is to retrieve Professor Arna's son." Eous stated a matter of factly.
"O-oh right! Teacher's son! With everything that's happening it slipped my mind already." Belle muttered. "B-but is it safe? I thought Teacher said that he's not ready yet."
"If he's really not ready then the only thing we can do is to put him in stasis and hope we can retrieve him at another date. But his current location is also where we need to go to upload a certain virus inside the flash drive in Wise's hand." Eous gestured at said device.
"A virus?" Wise blinked before he look at the object in his hand in a new light.
"Yep. My own personal creation. This virus will be uploaded into the net to ensure all information regarding you two and her son are shredded. It was specially designed by yours truly to track down all traces of you three and pierce through all kinds of firewall." Eous excitedly told them.
"It can even cling onto data so if someone were to say, extract any kind of data from the net with the intention of moving it to a secure off site server; let's just say that it won't be secure any more once they put it in. It's so advance that it may take humans at least a decade to be able to create any kind of defence against it. Hehehehehe." Eous seem to be quite proud of himself as he told them that.
"W-wow. Eous sure sound like someone amazing." Belle said, sounding a bit awed.
"Yes, praise me more. Your praises fuel me so I can continue to do epic things." Eous seem to be ecstatic upon hearing Belle's praise but he stopped being cheerful when they all felt the Elevator came to a stop with a 'ding'.
"We're here! Onwards children! Onwards to your new sibling!" Eous exclaimed and dashed out as soon as the doors opened, revealing a long metal hallway and the siblings could only follow.
=0=
"So this is where Teacher's son is?" Belle asked as they both enter a room near the end of the hall. The lights immediately turned on the moment the stepped inside, chasing away the darkness and showing them the room in it's entirety.
Inside is a small room that seem to hold only two object. A large cylindrical pod like machine made out of metal with pipes and tubes attached to it on the right and a computer on at the left.
"So I just need to insert this into the computer right?" Wise asked while holding up the flask drive.
"Yep. The program inside will handle everything and upload the virus to the system. It should also begin the procedure to release Professor Arna's son from his pod or leave him in stasis. Do remember to bring it with you afterwards. It also contains the blueprint for the system that I'm using so you two can connect to Eous in the future. It also has the lesson plans that Professor Arna have yet to teach.) Eous confirmed.
Wise hands tighten on the flash drive. So Teacher had already plan this far ahead, likely believing that she had no chance to escape with them already. Why else would she prepare so much if not so that they could keep learning without her. He took a breath before walking up to the computer and did plug it in while Belle went to examine the machine that supposedly contains Teacher's son.
The moment he plug it in, the monitor immediately burst into a wall of texts as the virus did it's thing. Everything moved too fast for Wise to read but everything stopped and some kind of progress bar appeared and started to load slowly. Is it checking the condition of the boy inside the machine? If so then they should wait until it's done so they'll know if they can't get him out or not.
Belle suddenly let out a yelp, causing Wise to snap his head towards her in worry. He saw what had surprised her as the metal part of the cylindrical pod slowly lower itself, revealing it's glass like interior. It seems that the metal part is acting like some kind of casing to protect the glass part.
It didn't take long for it to lower completely and they were greeted with the visage of their Teacher's son. Or at least the silhouette of him. The entire glass seem to be filled with some kind of green liquid and they could barely make out that something humanoid that's about their size floating inside.
"T-this look like a scene from a horror movie." Belle said as they both stare at the floating boy. "It's so weird but kinda cool."
"Y-yeah." Wise agreed before looking back towards the computer. So far it's only at 40% so they might have to wait for a bit longer.
"Hey Wise, do you think we might need to teach him things?" Belle questioned with a frown.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Wise replied, silently asking for an elaboration.
"I mean, Teacher's son has been inside this pod all his life right? Do you think we'll need to teach him things like how to walk, talk and what is what and all the other things. He's basically a newborn right? It'll be like taking care of a baby but large." Belle pointed out.
"Oh right….this could be a problem." Wise said with a frown. How are they suppose to get out if that's the case. They might need to drag or carry another person all while trying to evade whoever attacked them.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. The gestation pod took care of basic education by downloading information packets into his brain to teach him things. So even if he's just born, he should know enough to function in society on a basic level. You two just need to fill in the things that it might've missed. So rejoice kids, your sibling comes poopy trained so no need for diapers." Eous informed them happily, causing the two to sigh in relief.
"Say Eous, why did Teacher make him in the first place?" Wise asked, finding himself curious about their new sibling. After all, there must be a reason why Teacher suddenly decided to create a child of her own inside a machine of all things.
"It was one of the tasks she was given from her sponsors and she was never told why and I can't find any info about it either. But whatever their reasons are, they want him made badly. There had been a few failures already but they didn't halt or abandon the project even when all seems fruitless and continued to fund the project. It was only recently that Professor Arna had a breakthrough and supplied her own DNA during his creation that allowed him to last longer than his predecessors." Eous waddled over to the machine as he explained, gazing into the glass as though he could see what's inside.
Wise frowned as he thought about Eous' answer. His eyes wander towards Belle, watching her stare at their new sibling in wonder with a hand pressed against the glass. Knowing her, she likely forcing herself to not think about anything distressing and is distracting herself by focusing on the things in front of her.
His heart wrenched at what his sister had to go through but with everything going on now, they'll have time to properly grief and cry their hearts out once they're properly safe and sound. He turn his thoughts on what they should do next once they're done here.
"So, Eous, how are we going to escape from here? I don't think we can ride the same elevator back up right?"
Eous turn to face him before continuing. "There's another elevator at the end of this hall, that one will bring you outside of the Academy in a hidden spot within an alley a few district away. From there we need to make our way towards a safehouse nearby. I will arrange for someone to pick us up so all we need to do is to stay safe until then."
"Okay, that sounds simple enough. I hope that nothing bad happ-" Wise begin to say but was stopped when the entire underground shook with a great tremor far greater than what they had felt before on the surface. Whatever was causing it, it's not natural. It's felt as though the very underground itself was shaking. The metal walls and ceiling around them started groaning from being strained at the sudden shift of pressure.
"Belle!" Wise shouted and quickly went to grab his sister, wanting pull her away to somewhere safe.
"Wise!" Belle cried out and dash towards him the moment things started shaking.
The quakes intensified immensely as though Mother Earth herself is angry and is making her displeasure known through the tremors. The last wave of quakes appears to be too much for the underground structure to handle and the bolts holding the ceiling together came flying loose.
Wise's eyes widen in horror as he saw that they were right below it. The last thing he saw before closing his eyes were the metal panels of the ceiling crashing down alongside a seemingly endless avalanche of earth and debris.
=0=
"se….ise….Wise! Big bro, wake up!" The sound of Belle's desperate cries jolt Wise awake and he was greeted with the feeling of throbbing pain on the side of his head.
"Ughhhh…."Wise let out a groan of pain, causing Belle to let out a shout of relief before he felt himself being embraced tightly. The sound of an alarm being blared repeatedly could be heard in the background but all his focus was on trying to get himself to be fully awake.
He opened his eyes and found that everything was tainted red. He was briefly worried that he might've hit his head hard enough that he sees things differently now. It took a moment to notice that his sight was fine and that the lights were out, the redness was just the emergency lights doing their thing.
"B-Belle, are you alright?" Wise managed to say despite the pain coming from his head.
"Dummy! *hic* You're the one that's hurt the most! I should be asking you that instead!" Belle shouted and he could feel her entire body trembling from their hug. He didn't need to see her face to tell that she had been crying while trying to get him to wake up.
"H-huh?" Wise let out in confusion.
"Your head *sob* is bleeding badly and you weren't moving. I-I-I thought *sob* I lost you too." Belle voice was small and filled with hurt. Wise could feel his heart being squeezed as he wrap one of his arm around Belle to comfort her. His move his other hand to touch his head to check just how bad the wound is. He press his fingers on where he could feel the throbbing and let out a hiss when he touched the area.
Belle immediately jerk out of their hug when he made the sound and look at him in concern. "Are you feeling alright? Don't do to anything to strain yourself Wise." She immediately told him.
"I'm okay! It's not as bad as it looks!" He quickly replied back as he remove his hand and felt that it's completely wet. His hand must've been completely stained, not that he could tell since the lighting is already red. "How did we survive the ceiling crashing on us?" Wise asked his sister.
"I-it's Eous. He saved us." Belle informed him with a tearful look as she gestured behind her. Wise's gaze followed her finger and saw the area was almost filled with dirt and rocks. The entrance that they came in from was also blocked with the debris. Luckily, the side that they're at seem to be relatively safe. From the pile, he manage to catch the figure of their trusty Bangboo, being half buried and badly damaged. Eous' torso was the only thing jutting out from the pile but they could see that one of it's ear was badly damaged and the screen that made up it's face is cracked badly.
He must've pushed them out of the way only to get caught up by the debris himself.
"Oh no... Eous…." Wise muttered in shock, seeing the state of their Bangboo caused his heart to drop. But Bangboos are made to be durable and so long as their memory core is intact, they will be fine as long as their bodies are fixed. Still, it hurts to see their someone they had regarded as family hurt like this.
[WARNING! HOLLOW MANIFESTATION DETECTED! ESTIMATED RANGE OF EXPANSION: UNKNOWN
CONCLUSION: THIS FACILITY IS NO LONGER SAFE]
[WARNING! PLEASE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!]
A monotonous voice echoed throughout the underground causing the siblings to jerk slightly. Wise's eyes widen upon hearing the warning and tries to force himself up. Upon noticing what he's trying to do, Belle assisted him.
"Ugh, we need to leave this place immediately. I don't think we'll last long if we get caught up in a Hollow." Wise said as he got to his feet, swaying slightly before Belle uses her own body to act as a support to keep him steady. "We'll need to take Eous with us so we can repair him once we're somewhere safe." He informed Belle while the warning kept on sounding on repeat in the background.
"Wait, what about Teacher's son." Belle asked, causing Wise to look over to the Pod and saw the state that it was in.
The many pipes and tubes that once connected to it seem to be destroyed and disconnected, causing the weird liquid to continuously pump through them and onto the floor. The glass that once covered the pod is filled with fissures and is leaking liquid from certain areas. Wise's eyes turn towards the computer and saw that it's mostly fine with a bit of a scratched screen. The display now showed a warning that stated that the pod door is damaged and can't be opened.
"I-I don't know. I'm not even sure how we can get him out now."
"NO! Don't say that. We need to save him, no matter what! We've never met him before but he's still our sibling. We promised Teacher that we would take care of him. We have to at least try Wise, I'm don't want to lose another family member." Belle said, a look of determination coming to her.
Seeing his sister's resolution cause Wise to pause for a bit before giving her a smile. "Yeah...yeah you're right Belle. We need to at least try….and I think I have an idea." Wise told her before he slowly stand with his own power and began moving towards the computer. He felt a sense of dizziness as he moved but he soldiered through, taking deep breaths to keep himself steady. Once he reached his destination he proceed to pull out the flash drive and pocket it before unpluging the wires connecting to the monitor.
"Alright, here goes." He said before letting out a grunt of effort as he lift the monitor from it's position and walk towards the pod. "Belle, get back!" He warned his sister as he lift the monitor overhead.
"Argghh!" Wise let out a shout of exertion as he toss the monitor at the pod. It collided with the glass with great force and with how damaged it already was, the outcome was predictable. The area where the monitor impacted shattered, causing the liquid to come gushing out. They could hear the sound of water crashing onto the ground before seeing something fall out of the pod and crash onto the floor with a meaty thud.
Both Wise and Belle cringed at the sound, realizing that they might've did an oppsie. It took a bit before the water finally stopped flowing from the pod and they could see what came out of it.
"Eep!" Belle let out an embarrassed cry and quickly covered her eyes because laying face first on the puddle of liquid is non other than the boy that they were sent to retrieve. A very naked boy that's showing his bare butt to the world, hence Belle's reaction. Wise's reaction is completely different as he saw an extra something above said butt, right at where his tailbone would be.
"A Thiren? Teacher's son is a Thiren?" He uttered out in surprise, not expecting this titbit as he stares at what appears to be a monkey's tail attached to his body.
"Wise... he's not moving….or breathing. D-do you think that he's…." Belle trailed off and Wise noticed that she had her fingers parted to look at the fallen figure. Belle's words brought a feeling of dread within Wise as he realized that what she said was true.
Wise gulped as they got closer to check on him. His form was completely still, unlike that of a cadaver. Could what he had done resulted in the death of Teacher's son? Had he just unintentionally murdered someone who would've been a sibling for him and Belle had he lived?
No wait, there's some twitching! If Wise hadn't been looking for any sign of movement at all, he never would've noticed it. The boy's fingers twitched slightly just now, he's sure of it.
Then, without any warning, the body before them took a breath.
And started coughing harshly, causing the water around his face to ripple from the force. Wise's eyes widen as he realised what's wrong. He's trying to breath while his face is still submerged in the pool of water.
"Quick! Belle, we need to flip him over before he suffocates!" Wise shouted in alarm and they move closer to the boy and crouch down next to him.
The moment their hands made contact with his body however, it triggered an intense reaction and the boy started twitching harder and convulsing.
"Eep! What's going on? What do we do?" Belle asked as she shrink back slightly from the violent movements.
"I don't know what's wrong but we need to turn him over him before it's too late." Wise replied as he tried to move the boy again.
It took a moment for the two of them to do so due to how their touch seem to made things worse but they managed to turn him over on his back. With the ability to breath properly restored, the boy started to calm down and they could visibly see when his body relaxes. They finally got a good look at him now that they could see him properly all while respectfully keeping their eyes above his torso. His face looked slightly like their Teacher's only much younger and boyish. His hair was pretty long, likely due to never being cut before and is sticking to his body due to how wet they are. Wise can't tell what colour they are due to how everything was tainted red due to the emergency lights.
A moment passed without anything else happening to the boy, leading the siblings to breathing sighs of relief. Wise began to remove his vest and place it over the body to cover his lower half.
"I think everything should be fine now. Now we just need to find a way out somehow." Wise said as he turn to face the entrance. The pile of dirt blocking the way out might take a while to dig out but there doesn't seem to be any other path to leave this place. They still need to reach the elevator at the end of the hall to escape this place, hopefully it's still working after everything that had happened.
If he and Belle worked together, they probably could dig their way out after a few hours but with the threat of being caught in a Hollow hanging on their neck, he doesn't know if they would have the time to do so. There's little to no chance for the two of them to survive long in one if they get caught in it due to how their body is so he needed to find a way to get them all out immediately.
They would also need to drag and carry Eous and Teacher's son with them somehow, which will slow down their progress immensely. Wise doesn't know if he even has the strength to do so with how dizzy he felt and his head seem to be bleeding slightly from his wound. At least they might not have to worry about the ones attacking the Academy now. No one anyone is insane enough to stay when they might get caught in a Hollow.
"Wise! He's opening his eyes!" Belle shouted, causing him to quickly turn back to look at the boy. Wise could see his eyelids slowly being pry open and despite how bad the lighting is, he could see that they're hazy and unfocused. All the boy did was continue to stare ahead lifelessly.
"Hey, how are you feeling? Are you alright?" Belle asked him, causing those eyes to slowly turn to her.
They watch as his face contort in pain as he slowly open his mouth and spoke. "p...ain." His voice came as a harsh whisper, hoarse and weak.
Belle winced at his reply while Wise just gained a sympathetic look.
"Right, sorry about that. I guess falling onto your face does hurt." Wise let out a nervous laugh.
"...ain…t...ir..ed." He whispers back.
"Do...do you think we can help? Is there anything we can do to stop the pain?" Belle asked hopefully.
"...wh...o?" He boy asked while his eyes slowly shift between Belle and Wise.
"Ah, are you asking for our names? I'm Belle, this guy over here is my brother, Wise. I don't know if you knew but we're your siblings." Belle told him with a small smile.
When she told him their names, something in the boy seem to have changed. His eyes slowly became focused and he suddenly stared at them with an intensity that wasn't there before.
"W...is..e….Be...ll..e..?" He rasped, his face slowly shift to a frown.
"Yes, that's right. That's our names. Do you have one of your own?" Wise asked him.
The boy seem confused at the question before closing his eyes. His eyebrows then furrow together, looking as though he's thinking hard. It took a moment but he eventually replied. "Wu...kong?" He told them, sounding completely unsure.
"Wuk...ong." He said again, this time more surely as he open his eyes again. He seem to be completely lucid now and his voice is slowly gaining strength.
"Wukong... It's nice to finally meet you." Wise said with a smile.
"Welcome to the family Wukong." Belle told him with a smile of her own.
"...fa...mily…?" Wukong said, looking as though the concept seem foreign to him.
"It means that we're a close group of people that support and care for each other, treating each other with love and respect and wanting the best for each other." Belle said with happily while placing her hands on her hips.
"….hm…" Wukong simply let out a grunt in acknowledgement as he continue to lay on the ground listlessly.
"Alright, Wukong doesn't seem to be in danger of anything happening due to coming out of the pod early for now. Belle, we need to work on getting out first so help me dig. Wukong, you just rest up. We'll get us out in a jiffy." Wise said as he stood up from his position. He hadn't found another solution to their exit so far so there's really no other choice but to dig.
"Alright brother. Wukong, you just wait for us okay? We'll get you and Eous out safe." Belle said as she joined him.
"….Eo..us…?" They could hear Wukong mutter out as they jog over to the entrance in preparation to start digging.
They hadn't been at it for a few minutes before they heard something moving behind them.
"Wukong! What are you doing!? You're not suppose to move yet." Belle shouted in worry as she stopped what she was doing and dart back. Wise turn around and saw that their youngest sibling was on all fours and shaking. He look as thought he's putting in a lot of effort just to move. He also seem to have tied up the vest around his waist to act like some kind of kilt.
"Me….he...lp." Wukong replied through gritted teeth.
"H-huh? What do you mean help? You're in no condition to do anything right now." Belle said as she reach his side and crouch down to next to him.
"...can….help." Wukong told them stubbornly as he continues to put in effort to stand up. Belle look to Wise for advice on what to do.
Wise debated internally for a brief moment before letting out a sigh. With how determined their newest sibling looked, refusing might lead to more problems down the line. He's also looking a lot better than when he was first released too... he really hopes that everything will be fine. "We should let him help. The more hands the better right?"
"Alright, if you say so." Belle let out uncertainly before taking Wukong's left arm and place it over her shoulder. "Hrump!" Belle let out as she stood up, using her body as support to allow Wukong to stand properly. Wise noticed that Wukong was just a bit shorter than Belle now that they're standing next to each other.
With him standing up, Wukong move his right hand to his ear and dug his pinky in, causing both the sibling to look at him in confusion.
"What's wrong Wukong? Is there something in your ear?" Belle asked as they watch him remove his hand and stare at it in confusion.
"May….be?" Wukong replied, sounding very uncertain. He shook his head before pointing at the dirt pile. "Le...t's….go."
With Belle's support, they managed to reach the dirt pile without issue and Wise turn around to begin digging again but what happened next surprised him.
Before he could even dig his hands into the dirt once more, Wukong simply cock back his fist and shot it forward.
BANG
A loud sound echoed, causing a slight tremor in the area as dust shot up the area, causing them to start coughing in panic.
As the dust slowly settled, Wise and Belle's eyes widen as they saw that the path was cleared as the dirt pile that was once in their way was completely obliterated. Somehow, Wukong seem to have punched a way out for them.
The two sibling turn to stare at their newest sibling that's packing a surprising amount of strength with his weak body. He didn't need to look at Belle to know that her jaw is dropped because he's pretty sure he's doing the same thing.
Wukong noticed their stares and smile slightly while lifting his fist. "Me….help."
But then the entire area started shaking again, most likely due to the tremor caused by Wukong's punch.
That managed to shake wise out of his stupor and he quickly took the lead again. There will be time to figure out what's going on with their newest sibling later. For now they need to get to safety. "Right, no time to stare in shock. We need to get moving to safety now." Wise told them.
"O-okay! Wise, grab Eous! I'll support Wukong!" Belle agreed and started leading the boy out of the door.
Wise turn around and dig Eous out of the dirt for a bit before letting out a grunt of exertion as he lift the Bangboo.
He then quickly make his way out to follow his sister. With how the two are currently burdened by carrying passengers, their travel speed was slowed significantly but they managed to make it into the elevator that Eous mentioned.
"Hurry up Wise!" Belle called out from inside the elevator with Wukong still being supported on her shoulder.
"I'm trying." Wise grunted out as he move his legs as quickly as he could.
Once he entered Belle quickly slap the button that indicates the surface and they both let out a sigh of relief as it closed and the elevator started moving upwards just as the hall that they were in started being buried.
Their relief was short lived however as a new warning started echoing throughout the facility.
[WARNING: FACILITY IS CURRENTLY BEING ENGULFED BY A HOLLOW!]
[WARNING! PLEASE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!]
Belle and Wise's eyes widen while Wukong just looked confused. Trapped in an elevator, they could do nothing as they they saw inky blackness crawl through the metal walls and wash over them. Their senses were thrown into disarray as reality begins to warp around them.
=0=
AN: So I've just finished 1.4 main story and I thought to myself, why not? It's been a while since I last wrote anything and thus this was born. It's been literal years since I last wrote anything so do excuse my rusty and near non-existent writing skills. The story just doesn't flow as well as I wanted it to. But thankfully, I managed to avoid one of my old pitfalls of writing over 20k words for a single chapter and stopped myself when I noticed the story is reaching 10k words in length.
At least it's not as bad as my first ever fanfic that has over 40k words for it's first chapter.
So yeah, we got a half human, half Wukong hybrid OC/SI in ZZZ. Don't ask my why I did it, I just want to and I might or might not have been influenced by Black Myth: Wukong.
Once he get out of the Hollow and grow up properly, he's going to show the ones responsible for all the bad things just why his original is called 'The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal' (or 'Great Sage Equaling Heaven' if you prefer this translation), compete with all the physics defying and world shattering levels of BS strength and abilities that he has.
Not right now though, he's currently weak as hell.
For the next chapter, if I ever motivate myself enough to work on it, we will be using the OC's P.O.V, continuing straight from when he was born, smacking face first onto the ground. Then we'll get to see how the sibling trio make their great escape from the (soon to be) infamous Hollow Zero.
Since the timeline is vague as hell about what happen within the Hollow, I get to take certain liberties with it.
Who knows? Maybe the siblings will encounter a certain red pigsy (boar) who's trying to get out of the Hollow as well. They just might team up and escape together. Who would Wukong be without his trusty Zhu Bajie after all.
Or they could run into a certain CEO of a construction company driving a super cool looking Mecha (Intelligent Construction Machine) on his way towards a certain Plaza.
Or they might have to pass through the household of a certain clan that's famed for producing powerful warriors, meeting it's inhabitants and getting them to follow them out of the Hollow.
Am I forgetting someone? I feel like I am but I'm not sure who. My memory is not that good so I'll need someone to remind me who else is inside Hollow Zero during the day it appeared.
With so many options to choose from I'm having trouble deciding. Why, I just might choose them all. It probably would be unrealistic to get everything done in a timely matter to avoid corruption but who cares, this is a fanfiction. What's the point if we don't enjoy ourselves eh?
But do be patient with our monkey boi though. Not only is he nerfed to hell and back due to only being born with his puny unused muscles, he's also suffering from a killer headache. Mostly it's due to the OG Wukong's memories, the basic knowledge of the world and how to function in it being dump into his brain from the gestation tank, brain washing from the organisation that wanted him created, the counter brain washing from his mother as well as the memories of the OC/SI.
Let's just say that everything doesn't mix well.
Well, that's all I have to say. See you all when I see you.
