Chapter 21: 21. Now Underwater, Soon Under Fire

Zeff paced the floor of the Stranger's bedroom as Sylvan was laying unconscious on the same bed where he had vomited up blood.

As soon as Zeff had gotten off the main street he had floored the gas, driving full speed to the Stranger's house where he had quickly unloaded Sylvan, carried him carefully upstairs to the bedroom and then rushed into the kitchen. There he took double the daily dose of the blood pressure medication and crushed it into a powder which he had then poured into a half-full bottle of coke. Subsequently, he had then poured the resulting concoction down Sylvan's throat using a funnel he had found in one of the drawers.

That had been nearly 5 hours ago now. It was almost 6 o'clock and still there had been no visible changes in Sylvan's condition.

"C'mon, Doc. You gotta pull through… I still need you." said Zeff presently. But it wasn't only about what he needed from Sylvan anymore. "You can't die on me. Not when I was just starting to like you." Zeff added with a pained smile.

In Zeff's hand was the book that he had bought at the pharmacy: 'Basic Human Anatomy 101'. It wasn't the thickest of books that Zeff had ever seen but it was, by no means, an easy read. However, in the last 5 hours or so Zeff had read 203 pages, only skimming over the topics he knew already. He already felt like his head was about to explode and he sincerely hoped that reading would not be a common condition for unlocking skills, especially when he considered that he couldn't be sure if the skill he was investing in would even be useful.

'I hope this is worth it…' He thought.

Zeff regarded the activity of reading much like he regarded sky diving; He could understand why others would do it, but he, himself, was resolved to do such a thing only in case of emergencies.

"dRas." He said aloud as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Can you show me the unlock conditions for Store Skills without me pulling up the Skill Tree."

*Boop* sounded a popup window as it popped into existence just in front of Zeff's face, displaying the unlock conditions for the very skill he was thinking of.

"Very nice." Zeff said with a cool head nod. "Thanks, D." He then turned his attention to the description which read:

"ISP: 6 (2/6); SP Cost: 3"

"Unlock Conditions- 1: Unlock Fire Breath Skill. [satisfied], 2: Gain a sufficient amount of knowledge about the human anatomy. [satisfied], 3: Devour at least 6 grams of human DNA. (0/6)"

"Great!" He said aloud as he realized that he no longer had to read. "I should have checked sooner…"

There were still two hurdles yet to overcome, however. 'I have no more SP to pay, and where am I going to get 6 grams of human DNA…' he thought to himself with a mounting since of dread. 'Not to mention, I haven't even had a chance to try out the Fire Breath or the Sea Eater—'

Zeff took in his breath as another thought suddenly occurred to him and then a mischievous smile crossed his lips. "Oh, that's good."

Immediately he went to the bathroom.

Zeff was fond of taking showers as opposed to baths, but, "A nice warm bath every once in a while never hurt nobody—" He stated as he began to run water into the shower-bath. "—especially when you can breath under water."

*****

Breathing under water was, at first, a strange sensation for Zeff. However, after more than 2 hours under the water, he had already gotten used to it. And he loved it.

The first few minutes were hell and a few times he had to fight the urge to jump out of the tub. But once he trusted himself and breathed in the water like he was on land, he at once fell in love with the sensation. The feeling of warm water going through his lungs was new and exciting. 'I can breath under water!' he had thought to himself in disbelief and wonder. The best part, though, was that he could see perfectly clearly under the water as if he was in open air. There was no blurriness at all!

But after 30 minutes or so, something strange had happened. That familiar feeling of lacking oxygen had suddenly returned without warning. Zeff had shot out of the water like his life depended on it, gasping for air.

As it turned out, as Zeff had been breathing underwater he had also been removing the oxygen from the water, much like a fish would from the water in his fishbowl. 'So, I could still suffocate underwater if I'm not careful.' He had realized with a shudder.

Presently, after running the bath water at a constant and slow rate, he was enjoying his time just chilling under the surface like a lazy, buff merman until—

*Prrsh* "Sea Eater I >>Sea Eater II. +4 SP"

"OHGGGYEAHS!" Zeff said without lifting his head above the water. All he needed now was 6 grams of human DNA…

He quickly got out of the tub and put his clothes on, a serious expression on his face the whole time as he looked into the bathroom mirror. "Where in the h*ll am I gonna get 6 grams of Human DNA…? I seriously doubt I'll find something in here—" He opened the nearest drawer in search of a blow-dryer to dry his long hair, but found instead a pair of scissors and a shaver.

"Oh, no…" He said to his reflection in the mirror who looked only half as disgusted as he was. "You're not gonna do what I think you're thinkin' your gonna do… Are you?"

*****

Sylvan's eyes suddenly shot open, and with a terrified gasp he sat up in the bed.

Two things were immediately evident to him.

Firstly, he felt immeasurably better than he had ever felt since he had first put on the dracoRex.

Secondly, "Zeff-boy! What happened to your hair?!"

Zeff was standing next to him with a relieved look on his face, his hair cut so that it was short and neat, and it looked quite good. Because of his height and the intensity of his eyes he still appeared to be a bit of a wild child, however he was many times more approachable now.

At once, Zeff's face contorted into a look of disgust, as he responded, "Please, Doc, don't ask…" and appeared as though he was about to gag for some reason, but he quickly composed himself and asked, "So how do you feel?"

Sylvan got up from the bed with a quick hop, "I feel wonderful, boy. But why? What happened? I—" Sylvan at once saw the blood on the sheets next to him on the bed. "Oh, dear…"

Zeff immediately explained what had happened. How Sylvan had fainted, how Zeff had taken the Stranger's car and driven to the pharmacy. Sylvan didn't like the idea of Zeff exposing himself one bit, especially for his sake, but he made a point to ask how Zeff was able to get medication without a prescription. Zeff then explained about Meilo helping him get the blood pressure meds and the book for unlocking the skill which Zeff had just used to revive Sylvan.

Sylvan had commented that it was likely the meds along with the mysterious skill together that was responsible for his much improved health.

"What's the skill called. by the way?" Sylvan had inquired.

"Dragon's Healing Sigh. I unlocked it and used it on you the first chance I got. You got up, quick as lightning as soon as it hit you. Wanna see?"

Zeff was already sucking in breath to perform the skill again when Sylvan said, "You can show me later boy." His face was suddenly stern and concerned. "Right now tell me more about this 'Meilo' character."

"What's to tell? I already told you he helped me out and—"

"But something about the way he talked didn't sit right with you, right?"

"Yeah…" Zeff recalled. "I felt like he spoke to the clerk in a— I don't know— 'unnatural' way."

"Unnatural?"

"Yeah. It was like he was threatening him or telling him what to do, or something like—"

Suddenly Sylvan's eyes grew wide with shock and fear. "Boy, his eyes?! What color were his eyes?!"

"What do his—"

"What color, Zeff?!" yelled Sylvan as he placed his hands on each of Zeff's shoulder and squeezed him lightly. There was a mad kind of fear in his eyes. The kind of fear you might see on a swimmer's face when he sees a shark fin cutting through the water, coming directly towards him.

"T-they were purple. Why—" Zeff stopped short. He had never seen a man as terrified as Sylvan appeared to be at this moment.

Sylvan, without warning, ran into the closet and grabbed two bags that appeared to be full to bursting with what Zeff assumed was clothes.

"Doc? What's wrong?" Zeff asked with a nervous laugh. "What's so crazy about his eyes. I mean, I know purple is an uncommon color for eyes but—"

"There is not a person in the Overworld, in this world, that has purple eyes, silly boy. I have seen purple eyes only one time before this while I was a prisoner to the Rings—" As he spoke he pulled Zeff out of the room and down the stairs towards the kitchen, "— And that person was Leo Leanders, the brother of Zayn."

Zeff was taken aback. "But Meilo was practically a kid! Maybe a bit younger than me!"

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At hearing that Sylvan stopped instantly and turned to face Zeff. "How can that be…? Leo is in his late-thirties to mid-forties."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you! There's no way Meilo is—" Zeff suddenly stopped as something from his encounter with Meilo played back in his mind. The memory of Leo wearing an obsidian-black ring on his hand. "Sylvan…?"

Sylvan was still deep in thought, but he managed to respond, "What, boy?"

"Before, you mention that, after you put on the ring, you got younger some how, right?"

Sylvan's eyes grew wide with concern yet again as he asked, "Was hthe boy, Meilo, wearing a—?"

"He had on a ring just like mine that he claimed to have gotten in—"

"—Montana." Sylvan finished his face blank, but a shadow of despair was under his eyes.

"How did you know?"

"The facility where I was held for years and where I met your father is located in Montana, boy."

Zeff could hardly believe what he was hearing and his brain struggled to decide which bit of information he should focus on. But Sylvan, pulling him along and grabbing the keys from the kitchen counter, didn't give him any time to think.

"We need to run, Zeff. And we need to run now!"

"What's going on, Doc?!" Zeff asked in a panic. "So are Meilo and Leo the same person, or not?!"

"You haven't figured it out yet, boy? It surely was Leo that you met. I mention before that the Rings had created something that was possibly worse than the dracoRex but I hadnever seen it in action. I think Leo might be wearing that creation…" Sylvan explained as he opened the front door, making his way to the garage. "And if you met Leo and were able to walk away, it's only because he wanted you to. And if he let you get away, and I still can't imagine why he would do such a thing, he must have a reason."

*****

"Thank you all for gathering here today." Said Senior Special Agent, Florian Petticoat. He was a tall and athletic man with olive colored skin and a stern face. His eyes were soft yet calculating and he was missing part of his left ear. As Yessica studied the ear, she noticed a scar that ran from the back of his head, through it, and down to the base of his jaw.

Yessica shuffled uncomfortably in her seat as the briefing was about to get underway. There was no doubt that Leo or Rendall had pulled some strings to get her here, but she felt uncomfortable. Not because she was scared of what was to come, or even because she was scared of the battle hardened Special Agent Petticoat standing before her. On the contrary, she was ecstatic that she had been given another chance to prove herself to Master Leanders.

The problem was the person sitting next to her…

"Glad to be here, mate!" announced Zayn with a smile, shattering the serious atmosphere in the room. He was fidgeting with the cast on his left arm like it was bothering him and his legs were splayed out like he was on vacation. On his face was a black mask to conceal his identity just in case the officers present had seen Rendall's fabricated news story from days prior.

Everyone, the room full of more than a dozen other people, froze as they turned to look at Zayn with a look of concern and annoyance.

"That reminds me…" said a man, Lieutenant Davion Storm, pointing a thumb at Zayn like he was hitchhiking. "Who the f*ck is this clown. What is a scrawny, crippled little man like you gonna do against Corad, who took out six trained officers—" Zayn laughed, but Yessica could see a flash of annoyance in his eyes. At that Storm turned his attention to Yessica herself and added, looking at S.A. Petticoat with a look of disbelief, "One of which is here, too?"

S.A. Petticoat turned to Lieutenant Storm with a look of mounting frustration and said, "Agent Poopenheimer is here for the same reason that Officer Juarez is: They—"

"Your last name is 'Poopenheimer'?!" Said another officer in the back with an incredulous laugh, his gaze focused on Zayn.

Lieutenant Storm didn't waste a single second and said aloud, "Yeah, because he ain't worth sh*t." The room laughed, including Yessica who, herself, wasn't so fond of Zayn.

The alias had been given to Zayn by Master Leanders as additional punishment for failing a mission and Yessica was glad to be apart of adding to his shame.

"No." Said Zayn presently, a devilish smile on his face and a murderous aura filling the air around him. "It's because, after the boys in blue get the sh*t kicked out of them, I'm the one they call to clean up the mess."

Yessica caught her breath. Even she had to admit it was a magnificent retort with a perfectly ominous delivery that silenced everyone all at once. There was not a smiling or condescending face to be seen from anyone.

Yessica could see why Zayn was in the Middle Ring. She already knew how capable he was as a fighter, but he also had a very commanding and cool—

Yessica stopped the thought in its tracks as she caught a glimpse of Zayn staring at her sideways with a slight smile just visible under his mask. She then purposely imagined punching him in the face so hard that his head exploded.

Zayn flinched ever so slightly and, much to Yessica's relief, his smile disappeared.

"That's enough from you all." interjected Petticoat with a grave expression. "Everything that happens in this room is, as of this moment, classified."

Silence filled the air like smoke.

"As I was saying, Agent Poopenheimer is here for the same reason that Officer Juarez is; They both have experience that should contribute to the success of our mission: To capture Corad and his accomplice alive or, if the situation calls for it, dead."

Suddenly another officer who Yessica didn't know spoke up with a patronizing tone, "And what could a man wearing a cast and a tiny little female officer from a small town possibly contribute?"

Yessica bit back her frustration at the comment. She had nothing to prove to these normies anyway. She had to keep her mind focused on the mission at hand.

"Officer Juarez, as you all know, has already encountered Corad before. She can give us invaluable insight that could possibly save our lives."

Yessica breathed a sigh of relief that Petticoat didn't mention how she had fainted—

"I heard she fain—" began Zayn suddenly. However, fast as a cobra strike, Yessica shot out a few of her puppet strings, attaching them to Zayn, and forcing him to shut his mouth.

S.A. Petticoat didn't seem to notice and went on undeterred, "Officer Poopenheimer, on the other hand, is a verified G.I."

Everyone in the room looked at Zayn with wide-eyed shock. And Davion especially, who was only just moments ago teasing Zayn, had a look that was more akin to horror than shock. "W-why in the h*ll is a G.I. on the strike team?" He said with concern, his voice low as though to seem more submissive. "Don't tell me—"

"We have reason to believe that our target, Zephaniah Corad, is also a G.I…"

Throughout the room there were suddenly murmurs and whispers as the hardened officers of the SWAT, FBI, and various police forces suddenly realized what they had gotten themselves into.

Yessica couldn't blame them.

Every once in a while, a Cast-Away, much like Yessica herself, would cause a stir or act up and wind up killing a few dozen people. It's what Yessica had done and how she ended up in the Rings in the first place. Afterwards, however, the Rings or even groups and representatives from one of the Underworld's four sovereign states would appear to clean up the mess, pay off the right people, and influence the media so as not to let the existence of G.I.s become public knowledge.

Among law enforcement, especially at the highest levels, G.I.s were effectively regarded as mythical beings. Like Unicorns, aliens, or dragons.

To these officers, going up against a G.I. was nearly a death sentence.

"Worry not." comforted Petticoat. "I have also gone toe to toe with a G.I. in the past. And I'm still here to tell the tale."

Every eye in the whole room was suddenly focused on his gruesome scar but nobody dared comment.

"Right, then." He said turning to Yessica, "We will officially start our briefing with Officer Juarez. Officer could you—"

Suddenly there was a commotion as a skinny man with glasses burst into the the room, beads of cold sweat on his brow. "Special Agent Petticoat! Zephaniah Corad and his accomplice are on the move! Heading South towards I-30 in a stolen car!"

"Alright men!" Roared Petticoat as the sudden raucous of rustling uniforms, loud cries, and boots hitting the floor filled the room. "We will have to brief ourselves on the go! Let's move, move, MOVE!"

He then turned to Yessica and Zayn and added, "Poopenheimer. Juarez, you two are with me in Alpha team. The helicopter his waiting for us outside. Let's go!"

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