V.I.R.A.L

"Hey, Alesha, what's going on out there? Are we under attack?!" Lilly whispered, leaning against the bars staring out. "Is this revenge for taking out the Montague?"

Alesha stood up from her bunk bed, looking around to find no guards in sight. "I have no idea… But they're idiots if they think they can just rush in here and take the prison."

A single guard rushed in, bleeding, holding his side with serval keys. "Zephyr squad, I've been given strict orders to release you to destroy the rebels breaking in."

Opening the cell, the guard fell over as Lily rushed to his side. "Are you alright? We should get you somewhere else immediately!"

"I'm not the mission… Direct orders from Vitae herself. Stop them breaking him out."

"Him? They aren't after Jinx?" Alesha questioned, looking around weary. "Who?"

"Jinx isn't their main priority. They know he's alive now; they won't stop until they break Cascade out."

"Shit, why him! We need to hurry. Where's Kenny?"

"Gogh is already engaged with the enemies. He's defending Jinx's cell. You must hurry."

Lily stood up, shaking at Alesha's arm. "I can't help at all unless I've got my toys. If we are to stop these criminals from taking our leader, we need them."

Advertisements

"Understood. We'll head there straight away, and then we'll meet up with Cascade and protect him." She replied, glancing back at the guard who had just passed away. Biting her lip, she turned back around. "Why now of all moments? What did we do to deserve this?"

The two Zephyr squad members began their charge onto the barracks where Lily's weapons were kept. The prison was pure chaos, with many inmates escaping causing a riot. Luckily for them, since Lily and Alesha were in the same boat, they were allowed to pass without much resistance. "Hurry, Alesha, I can see the barracks in sight!"

Turning the corner, the area exploded as both were sent flying back by the sheer force. Coughing up smoke, Alesha opened her eyes, flinching at sight. "Of course, you're here… Finally decided to show yourself after all this time, Alice Hawthorne."

Alice stood in the middle of the cellblock, her bow low by her side as she stared at the two Zephyr squad. "The Alice was bound to run into you two eventually. Alesha Marks and Lily Brooks members of the infamous Zephyr squad. I won't ask twice, where is Alton Brantley."

Alesha stood up looking nervous, holding a long strain of her hair. "Get up, Lily. We won't get another chance like this. The leader of their rebellion has shown herself take her down, and the whole group falls apart."

Alice stares blankly, pulling her bow back, ready for battle. "I will not let anything stand in my way in saving Alton; now get out of my way!"

****

"They're coming for me, you know. Do you honestly think you can handle the core group by yourself?" Jinx teased, holding her hands out of the cell, tilting her head. "Do you?"

Gogh grumbled, rubbing his face. "Why did I get put with the court jester? Shut up, traitor. I don't want to hear it."

"Fairs, fairs. But tell me, Zephyr squad dude, why fight the system. You must be more than aware of how evil and corrupt V.I.R.A.L is. Why side with someone like that?"

Before Gogh could respond, Goro and Blossom smashed through the ceiling with three guards knocked out. Goro glanced up, smirking. "You giving Kenny here a hard time, Hollie?"

"Huh?!" Jinx yelled out as Gogh sighed, opening the cell. "You were in on this the whole time?!"

"Never again am I playing babysitter for this girl again, Goro. Never!"

"Apologises, Kenny. We are forever grateful for what you've done." Blossom humbly said, bowing. "They didn't suspect anything, did they?"

"Nothing at all," Kenny replied, flipping his paintbrush around. "Anything for the right cause. One last thing, the rumours are true. Alton Brantley is alive."

"I knew it," Blossom said, snapping her fingers. "I'd knew he would never go down so easily."

"Are we forgetting the part where he killed Emi and left me to rot in this cell?" Jinx mumbled. "He wasn't holding back whatsoever. To make matters worse, I believe he has no knowledge of who he is."

"That may be a problem," Goro admitted. "If he's under the spell of the CEOs like Emil, we might be outmatched. Alice could be the only one to stand a chance against him."

"Alton Brantley is the last of your worries, traitors." A voice booms from the security cameras.

Everyone looked up as a screen appeared, showing Kurt staring on with a smug look. "And the man of the hour reveals himself. Too afraid to come down here and face us yourself, Kurt?" Jinx scoffed at.

"Trust me, while I'd love to be there in person bashing a few heads together, I have more important matters to attend to. Take the boy if you want. Alton Brantley has no real value to us any longer. We have something much more promising."

"What do you mean?" Blossom questioned.

Kurt leaned back, shaking his head. "Nah, ah, ah. I don't want to spoil the surprise. We've spent years building the ultimate weapon for our very disposal."

Blossom's head turned as her eyes widened before a crow flew by. Before she could react, Blossom was launched back, knocked out instantly. "Gemini!" Goro yelled.

Jinx stumbled back as more crows began flooding the room. "It can't be… That's not possible."

"Is it the truth you seek? Is it Jinx? I'm going to save everyone; at least that's something I use to say…"

The prison was still being thrown upside down as dozens of guards kept to a single locked-down cell deep within the area. Each of them looked nervous as hell holding their guns tightly. The nearest guard was the most paranoid, hearing humming coming from the cell. In a split moment, the power broke, leaving them all in pure darkness. Each guard kept looking around even more paranoid as the humming stopped, and a quiet chant began. "Victoria aut mors." The cell door shut down before exploding off its hinges, killing all the guards in the area. A broken Scarlett with short dirty hair appeared from the cell barefoot, only wearing a torn rag. She stared onwards, blood dripping from her hands hissing. "Alton Brantley, I'm going to kill you…"

****

Advertisements

 Alton jolted from his sleep, panting. He was so confused by his surroundings to find himself lying on a worn-down sofa. Wincing in pain, Alton lay back down, discovering a sticky note stuck to his head. Peeling it off, he stared at it in despair. "Doing the weekly shop H… So, this all wasn't a dream." Rolling over, Alton stood up, limping over to the window, staring out at the unknown world. He was already feeling uncertainty about his new home; looking around the small apartment, Alton sighed, sitting back down, feeling empty. "Back in another worn-down apartment alone again… Nothing has changed since then, has it?" 

Looking back to his time before Team Rhapsody, he couldn't help but feel he's done nothing but return back to his old self. In fact, it hit him more than ever. "Did I ever change? Everything I did, what was the point?" Slumping down, he whimpered, leaning over. "I'm truly pathetic… I never learned anything until it was too late… Now my worse fear has come once again. I'm truly alone again. I deserve this, right?" Feeling frustrated, Alton kicked the table over, hunching over, hiding away. "Acceptance was right; I craved so much attention. I can't do anything without someone by my side. I relied on so many others for my own self-gain. Sam, Zinnia, Scarlett, Alice. Anyone who would follow me I took and used until they left me. Ha, I really haven't changed…"

Wiping his eyes, sniffing Alton curled up, sitting on the sofa shaking his head. "It's taken me this long to realise that… I'm so stupid now it's too late. Zinnia is gone, Scarlett hates me and Alice was abandoned to my own self-pity. Is this what you wanted me to see Acceptance? Are you happy now?!" Nothing was said as Alton frowned, sighing. "Of course, not…"

"Breaking news, the infamous super-villain the Oncoming Storm has struck again robbing a bank. Holding serval people hostage, it has become impossible for law enforcers to strike… More news when it comes."

Alton stood up, clearing his mind rubbing his face. "No point dwelling on those thoughts anymore. There's nothing I can do about that. I just have to keep moving on until my ideals are found. Whatever you want me to discover Acceptance, I'll do it. You want me to be a hero, so be it." Pulling the window, open Alton leaned out, looking back at his apartment, nodding. "I can't change the past, but I can make up for my mistakes. When all is said and done, I tone for my past errors, Zinnia. Wait for me."