Do the Laundry

Mission : Do the Laundry

-Return the civilians' clothes freshly clean.

Soren groaned as he manoeuvre through the broken platform, going over pieces of the building, jumping over holes and gently landing. Almost as if the building could collapse by just one more heavy weight.

He was careful and cautious, he can't say the same for his partner who was half hazardous moving forward with his eyes glued to the map. He almost didn't notice the ledge until Soren pulled him backward.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Soren hissed at Helios, who just smiled and shrugged.

"Not on my to do list, no." He continued walking, barely dodging the fallen debris that could have landed on his head.

Soren facepalmed, "Gods…why do we have to do this again? And for a bunch strangers no less." He grumbled.

Helios turned to him and answered, "Well they're aren't strangers, they're part of the Luxnious Labyrinth. It's our duty to help them, and plus," Helios leaned closer to Soren and sniff, "You need a bath, and a change of clothes man."

Soren's face turned red as he shoved him away, "Whatever, where we even going anyway? This better not a path to our death."

Helios looked at his map then glanced ahead, "We're close, it's to that building over there." He pointed, the building ahead was about 50 feet away and taller. The side of it were already torn off,

"Well?" Soren looked up to the building, "Do you want a lift?" He asked.

"No thanks," Helios brought his grappling hook, "go ahead I got this."

Soren nodded, he breathed deeply before his feet take off, his body soaring until he reached the building. His hands held onto the ledge, his body dangling but not for much longer as he lifted himself up with ease. He sat there and looked at Helios, waiting.

Helios gripped his grappled hook towards the building and released it. Flying across the sky until it landed on the edge, secured by Helios. We He stepped forward, his body swinging to the other side until he landed on the side of the building.

He held the rope tighter as he begins to climb up. He eventually drew near, when he did he was greeted by a hand reaching out towards him. The hand belong to Soren and he took it without hesitation. His feet finally grounded to the concrete floor.

"Okay," Helios' eyes bounce around his surroundings, "Ah! There it is." He excitedly walked towards the other side of the building. Soren, less enthusiastic, followed.

They stopped near the end and looked down below. There, they saw a large, and he mean it almost giant palm hand large, crack on the floor, with filled with a pool of water that continuous flows in a loop.

"On Score! Come on." Helios climbed down onto the platform.

"What the….why is there a pool on the side of a skyscraper?" Soren jumped down, the platform shakes slightly as he landed, "Woah, okay let's do this quick, alright? I don't plan on dying because of a mission that involves laundry of all things."

"Don't worry!" Helios waves it off as he dug into his pocket, he then took out a small bag. He threw it and the bag evolve into a digital screen with items symbol inside.

Helios walked towards the screen and reached to the ball of shirts. He arms phased inside the screen, with both hands he carried the clothes out of screen. He turned to Soren, "Well, get the rest of the clothes. Oh, and those detergent," he quickly added, "but not the Hypo Brand, those aren't good."

With Soren's help, they untangle the mix of clothes and put them all in the swirling pool. Then pour in the detergent, Soren wiped his hand and flopped down on the floor, Helios did the same. Their legs sore from the travel.

Helios looked down over to the edge, they're so high they could see everything. Once orderly streets are now overgrown with dense, sprawling vegetation, where trees have reclaimed the concrete, their roots breaking through the tarmac and buildings alike.

Scattered among this green wilderness are the remnants of human civilization: houses and buildings, now stand broken and hollow. Walls have crumbled, roofs have fallen in, and nature has invaded through every crack and crevice.

Creatures roam amidst the decay- some familiar, yet wildly altered; others completely alien to the world as it once was. Some of these beings move silently through the trees, while others are more brazen, prowling the open spaces with a predatory grace.

Their appearances vary wildly: some resemble animals known to pre-apocalyptic humanity, albeit with strange mutations and new, sometimes frightening features, while others are entirely new, born from the changed world, defying any previous natural order.

It wasn't always like this, wasn't so…chaotic. Once they were peace, people didn't have to worry about food, or shelter, or whether or not those monsters will be able to reach them. Eventually, a few years after the overgrowth, did people start losing hope.

But that was until…

Soren glanced over to Helios, who in turned look at him and smiled, "What are you thinking about?"

"You."

His smile turned smug, "Ooh…"

"Not like that dum dum." Soren sighed, "I just meant that I was thinking about…" He trailed off, his gaze shifted to the pool, "Helios?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it just me or are there less clothes than they were before?"

Helios followed my gaze, the pile of clothes swirling around the pool were at least a few dozens, but now it looked like a quarter of it gone missing. Helios and Soren stood up, almost inching towards the edge. Nothing seem out of the ordinary, could it just be his imagination?

"Sorry maybe I-"

The water in the pool shifted, churning in a way that was distinctly unnatural. Bubbles erupted to the surface, growing larger and more violent with each passing second. Soren and Helios instinctively tensed.

Suddenly, with a monstrous roar that echoed against the desolate skyscrapers, a gigantic aquatic creature emerged from the depths of the pool. Its eyes were large and luminous fixed on the duo. Its body was elongated, resembling a serpentine dragon of ancient myths, yet there was something utterly alien about it. That something was the pair of long, sinuous antenna protruding from its head. These antenna moved with a life of their own, writhing and twitching in the air as if sensing the environment around them.

The most unsettling feature, however, was the creature's gaping maw, filled with rows of sharp, jagged teeth. Between these teeth were remnants of the mission's objective: pieces of clothing, now torn and ragged, stuck haphazardly as if the creature had been feasting on them. It roared again, a sound that vibrated through the air and sent a shiver down their spines.

Soren and Helios exchanged a glance.

"Aw shit.."