Cornered

--Boo's Perspective--

After running away with my ability, I jumped near Orion, Asoh, Chi-Chi, and Alex once more and looked at them.

"I have an idea... but it'll probably backfire if Genesis ends up winning..." I said to the group, looking back at Shike and Charlie starting to group together near Genesis.

"We have him cornered up here... which means he can't go anywhere. I'm going to look for a body of water, and fly toward it. After that, I should be able to get to ground level and run back home to get Sky to help us out. Orion, you should know that he probably is going to hate you once he finds you," I told him, smiling in anticipation.

"Can you take me with you?" Orion asked me.

"What? Who's going to defend them if you're down with me?" I asked Orion, but he shook his head.

"I'm going, to be honest with you Boo... this is being dragged out and is barely my problem anymore. I took Charlie under my wing, but he was strong enough to bounce back, pull ahead, and beat somebody like Genesis so far... my goal since I was revived has been one thing and I haven't forgotten about it. Ultima will fall to my blade or even my bare hands. Take me down to ground level and I'll walk up to her doorstep, just get me out of this trivial conflict," Orion told me.

I have to admit, a normal person would've hated that response... but I almost respected him for being so upfront.

"You're absolutely right, this has nothing to do with you. Our conflict here will only have effects on our futures, not yours," I told him, running to the edge of the balcony.

"There, I see a body of water... you can swim, right old man?" I asked him. Orion nodded and jumped up on the ledge of the balcony.

"How does this work? Do you tackle me into it? Do you jump with me in your arms like I'm your bride?" Orion asked, looking down at me from the balcony.

"Will I break you if I tackle you? I don't want to shatter you before the fun begins," I told him, wiping the blood off of my face.

"I went head to head with your leader. Sure, I may have died, but from the way I perceive who he's become, it's starting to seem like it's an achievement to even fight him, I'll be good," Orion said one more time.

"Alex, you better keep your new friends safe, otherwise Sky will throw a fit. Come on, Orion, let's deliver you to where you belong," I said, running into him while tackling him off of the edge.

Initiating my ability was easy as ever, but holding onto a grown man was even more difficult than I imagined. He was heavy!

Using my ability, I was able to visualize the blur of water on the ground floor and shot into it with Orion gripping my body. He must not have ever traveled at this speed before, because he started screaming in fear before we hit the water.

Once we hit the water, we quickly traveled to the bottom of the lake, pond, or whatever this was due to the speed.

I hadn't even considered if Orion could swim, but I assumed if he was eager to try this that he could swim.

I swam up to the surface, looking around for Orion to join me. The area was very clear... nobody was around for a really long distance... I could probably run back home from here to alert everybody.

Wait a minute... nobody's around.

It's not like the area itself was barren of civilization. There were homes everywhere, dirt paths still with footprints in them.

But nobody was around.

"Orion! Something is wrong!" I yelled out.

Right as I yelled out to him, he finally breached to the surface and gasped for air.

"You could've warned me what kind of travel that was! I was sure I was going to die on the way here. Why did we have to land in the water of all places?! You can move the speed of light, but you can't fall from super high up?!" Orion asked me.

"Gravity is a thing, you know? My body can handle the speed of light, sure, but if I were to jump off and zoom downwards, then I would have the force of gravity added on as well, and end up as a smudge on the ground. It's not hard to understand. But, do you understand what I'm saying? This city is completely barren!" I yelled at him again.

We both swam out from the body of water and landed on the street, looking all around.

"Woah... You're right... the doors are still left open. Where did everybody go?" He silently asked.

"BELLE! LILY!" I yelled out as loudly as possible.

Nothing.

I could barely even hear the wind blow.

"There's really no noise... nothing... come on, let's try to get out of here at least," I said, looking around for the exit to the city.

"Don't forget, this is where we break off. I have my goals, and you have yours. I will find Ultima here, and you will get back to your people. I wish you luck, Boo. It was a pleasure knowing somebody that has my same mindset," Orion told me, bowing down to me.

"You used to be the King of the Isle, and you're bowing down to me? Oh, don't tell me you're into little girls or anything. I'm only fourteen," I told him with a disgusted look.

"Please, I had a loving wife and no reason to cheat, even in death or while I was alive. Also, little girls aren't my thing. Do your best, and tell Sky that I deeply appreciate him keeping my daughter safe while I was losing myself. I'll do my best to keep Ultima out of his hair," He said, waving, and walking the opposite direction.

"She has a staff, and she's keen to stay close to it. Shike broke her arm, so she should be weak if she can't heal. She's quick, and we were told that nobody could damager her until Shike ended up doing so. If that helps you at all, then hopefully you'll do something useful," I said, continuing to walk toward the southern part of the city.

And with that, Orion and I departed from each other.