One second they were running down the steps and the next second, Keng had disappeared without a trace. Evan, Jiro, Liz, Olivia, and Ritsuka descended deeper, only to feel an immense heat break out. The metal began hiss as the heat energy immediately felt familiar to the group.
"Shit, what's happening?" Evan asked, coming to a full stop. The entire underground began to blare.
"Code 1! Code! All units are to leave! All units are to leave the premises! Head to the nearest telepad marked by following the white lights on the walls!" White lights flashed for a moment, cracking under the immense heat. As fast as it began, it had started to end.
"We need to get out now!" Jiro told the others. He turned and pushed his brother's group back the way they came.
"But we're almost there!" Ritsuka shouted. "Keng disappeared! That must mean Lee Seng is in danger!"
"This heat will kill us before we even get to the end! The metal is going to liquify at any second! Go!" Jiro pushed Ritsuka's back. Olivia and Liz grabbed Ritsuka and with Jiro's help, followed the melting white lights to the nearest telepad.
"Inside now!" Evan pushed the door open, wincing at the heat on the door! The glass began to melt as the temperature rose. Everyone filtered in with Jiro being last. A large piece of the underground fell, narrowly missing Jiro.
"Bodies detected. Teleporting now!" The System spoke. Ritsuka and the group flashed and appeared somewhere far away from the city. "Please follow protocol and head to the nearest safety spot." The door hissed, unlocking and opening as a gust of wind flew inside, cooling the hot group.
"What the hell's happening?" Liz asked. "Do you think Lee Seng and Keng did it?"
"Who knows?" Evan shrugged. "Let's go!"
"Go where?" Ritsuka asked. "WE should've got Lee Seng and Keng out!"
"Those two can easily break their way up all the way to the— ahh! Hot, hot!" Evan pulled his necklace off, burning his hand in the process. The jewelry given by the Fox Spirits had completely melted itself from the heat. The others grunted in pain as they tore off their communication devices and tossed them.
"No communication now!" Ritsuka slammed his foot on the ground. "Let's go back!"
"We're not going anywhere near there." Jiro grabbed Ritsuka.
"But—" Rituska began to protest but Jiro squeezed Ritsuka harder.
"My priority is to keep you and your friends safe. If Lee Seng was taken and Keng went to save him, they must have a way out, no?"
"They could make portals." Olivia pointed out.
"Yeah! They can get out. Surely!" Liz quickly agreed.
"Let's go and find shelter. We don't want to be here if any enemies show up." Jiro motioned.
—
Manny followed Numbers Two, Nine, and Ten further down into the underground. They had swept every floor since Floor -10. Evidence of fighting and "Failed Experiments" were about. Nikolai, Akali and Akio killed any Failed Experiment without hesitation while Manny supported them.
"Still nothing." Akio came back from Floor -25.
"Ah!" Manny hissed. He pulled his comm device off him and took a step back. He watched the com device bubble and hiss.
"What's wrong?" Nikolai asked.
"My communication device burned up." Manny lifted his hand and started to heal the burn.
"It doesn't do that normally?" Akali asked.
"No. It's never done that. Even in the hottest places."
"Code 1! Code 1! All units are to leave the premises! Head to the nearest telepad marked by following the white lights on the walls!" White lights flashed, leading into the Floor Akio had just swept through.
"That doesn't sound like a good omen." Nikolai looked at Akali and Akio. A blast of hot air flew upwards. The metal groaned as their communication devices began to fritz.
"Ah!" The Numbers pulled their communication earpieces out and tossed them.
"What was that hot air?" Akali asked, turning. The metal stair rails were starting to turn red.
"That… doesn't look good." Akio commented. "Do you think they started the explosion?"
"They were supposed to inform us." Nikolai replied. "And our only way of communication has been destroyed."
"Check your phone." Akali tapped Akio. Akio nodded and pulled his phone out. He began to try to open it when another blast of hot air flew up, heating the phone in an instant. Akio yelped, dropping the phone. The phone began to fritz, losing power in an instant.
"Let's go." Akali motioned.
"What about Lee and my friends?" Manny asked, staring forward. Nikolai grabbed Manny and pulled him back.
"We have to go!"
"Liz! Lee Seng! Keng! Ritsuka! Olivia! Evan!" Manny shouted as the Numbers dragged Manny through the door and towards the nearest telepad. "Let me go! They're going to die here!"
"You're going to die before you even get to the next floor!" Akio grunted as another wave of heat swept throughout the entire underground. A rune shimmered on the telepad door, throwing it open as the three Numbers dragged Manny through it.
"Hold him down!" Akali told the men. Akio and Nikolai forced Manny onto the telepad, binding him with Akio's darkness. Akali moved in and the room began to buzz.
"It's going off already?" Nikolai asked.
"I guess they aren't joking." Akali commented. The Numbers and Manny vanished, reappearing in a strange hut. It smelled of dust and the windows looked weathered. There wasn't much in this place.
"Please follow protocol and head to the nearest safety spot." The door hissed, unlocking and opening as a gust of wind flew inside, cooling the group.
"My friends! They're dead because of you!" Manny shook in the binds of Akio's spell.
"C'mon, let's find shelter." Akali motioned. The other two Numbers nodded and Akio dragged Manny out of the hut.
—
The amount of heat produced was nothing Lee Seng was prepared for. He pushed the beam of energy backwards as Son lifted his hand and protected Mother and himself. The other Failed Ones began to fall one by one.
"We need to leave!" Son shouted. He turned and looked at his Mother, who had passed out. Son cursed and moved to his Mother, producing a large portal. "Get out now!" Eyes, the glob, wolf, and a bunch of other hardier Failed Ones moved towards the portal in a panic.
"Just fuckin' die, dammit!" Lee Seng swung his sword at the portal, watching Son appear, blocking it. Son smiled at Lee Seng and clicked his tongue. The heat didn't have the same effect on Son like it did with Mother and the other Failed Experiments.
"You don't fully understand what's going on, do you?" Son asked. The Failed Experiments moved through the portal, disappearing from the heat as Son pulled Mother over to it. "You thought I was just your inner-child but I wasn't hahaha! You fell for it! You're the stupidest person I've ever met! You bought all of the sob stories I spat out at you! You trust everyone so easily and that's why you're in the position! I can't believe Mother swayed that delusional man into doing her bidding!"
"Her bidding…? What do you mean?!?" Lee Seng shouted. Heat shook off Lee Seng, melting the space around them as his temperature rose.
"You were only made so I could thrive." Son chuckled. He turned to face Mother and began to enlarge the portal. "I don't know how you're alive. I should've stolen all of your powers, but it seems I didn't steal everything. No matter, you won't be able to find us anyways! I'll let your own powers trap you"
Mother moved through the portal with Son behind her. The portal shut, leaving Lee Seng with ashes and melted liquids all over. The metal spilled onto him, hissing as it evaporated. Lee Seng was left completely alone now. He screamed in fury as his body temperature continued to rise.
"Breaking news! Temperatures have risen in the Midwest in recent months, causing the humid continental climate to destroy life at least four hundred miles in every direction. Bodies of water have disappeared, leaving millions of people without water!" The news anchor said. "People are unsure what the cause of the sudden rise of heat is, but it seems like cities like Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit and Capitol City, itself, are suffering from this! Aid is being sent out to provide these people with water."
SKKKRT! PSSH!
"I believe God's wrath has finally started!" A new voice spoke. "God is angry that we have diverged so far from that path! It's the only reason why the Midwest is turning into a desert! He doesn't like the fact the Creator has done all these things to his precious world!"
SKKKRT! PSSH!
"… it is unsure what entirely happened, but millions of casualties were had all over the Midwest A lot of small villages, cities, towns have vanished because of the heat! We don't truly understand it!"
SKKKRT! PSSH!
"If anyone is out there, please help us! We're going to die from thirst! We just need water! Please hel-- Oh god! What's that!?! What the hell is that--"
SKKKRT! PSSH!
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