"...."
"Are you feeling uncomfortable, Bones?"
"...."
"Bones?"
"...."
'Ugh, seriously, I've had enough of that stupid name. And I feel like I'm about to puke.'
072 sat in front of Fossil in a smaller, more versatile vehicle that Team Norville (apparently, that was their unit's name, which 072 thought sounded stupid) called 'a motorbike,' his head spinning. To sum up what happened after Norville suggested they thrust him-- a child--- into danger and almost certain death, 072 had been thoroughly washed, cared for, and given new clothes; the exact same uniform the rest of Team Norville wore, which Aurelia had sent to them. A tiny bronze badge with a '1' on it was put on his chest. He was then strapped onto Fossil's front in a sort of baby seat and forced to sit on a fast vehicle.
Owing to the curious stares of many people driving on the highway, he was sure what they were doing wasn't even legal.
"Wahh.." he sniffled, trying to make himself feel better. He had completely underestimated the motorbike's speed because of it's size, and now he was paying the price for not listening to Rem and Elisha's advice to prepare himself.
"..It's okay. We're almost to the exit." Fossil wasn't much help. His monotonous voice sounded like he was about to murder someone in his sleep.
"Negh.."
'They're all stupid crazy! There's a higher chance of me dying than learning something new out here! And their reasoning for it is so weak.'
He remembered Norville's last jab when he was strapped onto Fossil;
"Fossil, make sure the itty bitty kid comes back in one piece, yeah?"
'I am NOT itty bitty!'
The motorbike crossed a large drawing bridge over a waterfall. It wasn't the same one when they came through the Western gate, but another one located in their base near the South. The motorbike reached another intersection, where they slowed to a stop. A guy in a dirty white uniform was blowing on his whistle, directing traffic. 072 took his chance to breathe and massage his throbbing head.
"We're nearing the exit now. It's somewhere over there, look." Fossil directed 072's eyes towards a large gate, similar to the one they had entered through from up above. There were guards with weapons stationed there, too.
"Onh." He replied, gulping.
"Southern Gate, Route 2! Keep an eye on the big glowing signs, people! Armoured vehicles!! Where do you lot think you're going?! F/ck!"
A commotion ensued at the very front of the line. 072 tugged at Fossil's sleeves.
"You motherf/cker! What are you, blind?!"
"It isn't my fault that f/cksh/t told us to drive here!"
"Please stop! You're causing more traffic!"
'Wow.. f/cksh/t.. what's that?'
Fossil drove out of the lane and carefully maneuvered the motorbike towards the front to get a clearer view of what's happening. 072 watched, excited, as he saw a man and a woman yelling at each other in the middle of the road. The man's motorbike had been crashed into by a small truck. The woman's teammates stood behind her, eyeing the man like they were about to rip him apart.
The poor traffic officer was desperately trying to stop them from fighting.
"Please, miss, sir, you're causing a commotion on the road----"
"I don't want to hear any of it, you Rank 1 peice of sh/t. Shouldn't you be picking garbage in the streets or something?"
"Speak another word and I'll dislocate your jaw, little man."
Shocked by the harsh words, 072 cowered.
'R-rank 1 peice of sh/t?' Was he referring to the man's badge on his uniform? He touched at his own badge and gulped.
"It's a road fight." Fossil said calmly, patting his head to comfort him. "This'll be a little inconvenient for other Drifters to pass through. Let's go and break them apart, Bones."
072 bit his lower lip, trembling. 'It's no business of ours, though?'
"Hallo--"
Sreek.
Fossil forwarded the motorbike.
"What seems to be the matter here?"
The traffic officer approached them hopefully. "Please sir, they were--"
"This stupid retard crashed into my bike," the man replied at once. The woman's teammates seethed. The woman bristled in anger and unsheathed her dagger.
"And I said we were directed to that lane, you
f/cker!"
072 felt an odd sensation emerging from his stomach. The woman's arm turned a bright red as something seemed to be gathering towards it---
Slash!
The dagger, infused with a bright red aura, slashed at the man with surprising range and power.
But it never reached him.
"That's enough."
SWOOSH!
072 clutched at Fossil's clothes as something big and dark appeared in front of them. It was a mass of pure and utter black; like a void. It swallowed the impact of the slash in an instant.
'What is that?'
"Eeek!"
Trembling, the traffic officer fell on his bottoms. The woman started to sweat as she looked at Fossil, then at his Rank Badge.
"A Rank.. a Rank 7.."
"Damn. That's what you get for being a b/tch."
The man childlishly flashed an obscene hand gesture towards them, which riled up the woman's teammates even more. 072 held up his hand to try and copy it, only for Fossil to gently pat his hand down in disapproval.
"Could you please attend to these two?" he asked the Traffic officer, who sat on the ground, too stunned to speak. "Report this incident. If they refuse to comply, call me." Fossil wrote down his phone number on a notepad and handed it to the man.
The traffic officer snapped back to his senses. "R-right away, sir!"
"F/ck, f/ck.. I'm ruined..! This is all your fault!"
"What the hell? How is it my fault?!"
"You didn't even try to stop me!"
072 watched the people bicker as Fossil turned the motorbike and drove through the road towards their designated lane. The guards let them pass through the gate without any further issue.
"...."
072 felt shaken. This was quite different from the time when he had been able to save Isiah by knocking a man unconscious, or the time when he choked a man to steal a shirt; he actually had a reason for all of it, and he didn't even get that violent. He was only taking what he needed and saving a person at the time; but who knew issues like these-- where someone was mad enough to attempt to kill a person-- could happen in such a haven?
"Unn.. uhn.." He bit at his fingernails.
"Huh? Huh? Did that scare you?" Fossil asked, his usual monotone voice in a slightly higher pitch. "I'm not a bad person, I promise. I will not use my ability ever.."
'Ability.. That void-thing?'
"Unnah?"
"Oh.. that was my unique ability, Bones. I call it 'void manipulation.' The black holes are created through gathering energy. Don't worry-- you'll soon create your own unique ability too, I'm sure."
'Unique ability.. so it's different for every Deviant? Wow!'
072 shook his head vigorously. He should get rid of any lingering thoughts about the incident earlier. He was here to survive and prove to Norville he wasn't an 'itty-bitty' little kid!
He was going to go up to Metropolis and show all of them that he wasn't..
The motorbike sped through the road going upwards, passing one other vehicle. It reached the ramp that led to the surface.
Creeaaaak.
072 could hear the large gates creaking open.
Swaaaa..
072's mouth hung open as Fossil made the motorbike go faster.
The gate they had come out of led straight outside of Metropolis. 072 looked back to see the large, protective walls, and then back at front, where they were riding through a barely-developed dirt road made by the trampling of heavy vehicles. The rain had stopped, but the towering, three-story trees and humid fog made everything colder than the night he had travelled in the rain.