"Blub...blub," Cole kept struggling inside the tank, fighting like hell to break free. His eyes were locked on Charlotte across from him. "duk...duk," because he heard a sound, Cole checked his right and left. Celes and Cyrus were awake, thrashing wildly, and, naturally, they were also staring at Charlotte in front of them.
"I gotta bust out of here... think Cole... think... what did you feel that time," Cole muttered.
Cole desperately searched for a way out, his mind racing until he zeroed in on that dream—the one that felt so damn real, where he tried to escape in the mech and heard that song that almost took him down. Without wasting another second, Cole stopped moving, floating in the tank. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to reproduce the powerful feeling he'd had when he fought off the song's influence.
Celes and Cyrus saw Cole go completely motionless, just like Charlotte. They started to panic, thinking Cole wasn't breathing anymore. They tried to reach the glass but couldn't because their hands were chained. "Grrrrh...aaaaaaaaah," Cole suddenly screamed inside the tank, though the sound was muffled by the fluid. Celes and Cyrus instantly froze, watching Cole open his mouth wide in a silent roar, making the tank fluid foam like crazy.
"Pling," a crack appeared on his choker. Cole kept screaming louder and louder, and suddenly, a blinding white aura shot out of his body, filling the whole tank. Celes and Cyrus shielded their eyes because the light was too intense.
"Krak," Cole's tank began to fissure widely. "brssss," the green fluid inside started forcing its way out until, "praaaaang," the entire tank exploded. "Tap," Cole, wearing only his boxer briefs, dropped to the floor, kneeling on one knee with his head bowed.
When the light vanished, Celes and Cyrus's eyes went wide. "pling," Cole's choker snapped off and hit the floor. Cole's form had changed: both his arms had fully transformed into huge, yeti-like limbs. The white "yeti fur" was actually fine snow clinging to his arms all the way up to his shoulders.
Ice spikes jutted from his upper back, his skin remained blackish-gray, and his ankles down to his calves were covered in yeti-like fur. Cole slowly stood up; his body was now visibly more jacked than before.
"Haaaaaah," he opened his mouth, and white smoke billowed out. He immediately spun around, his red eyes zeroing in on Celes and Cyrus's tanks. "Praaaang," with blazing speed, Cole punched Celes and Cyrus's tanks, shattering both at once.
He then stepped in front of Celes, who was still dangling, and ripped off her choker, which was her only piece of clothing. "Aaaaaaaaaaah," Celes screamed and transformed. "klang...klang," she broke her chains and leaped down.
"Celes, take care of Cyrus, I'll get Charlotte," Cole ordered, his voice chilling.
"O...ok, but you are telling me later what happened to you... that form of yours... it's different," Celes said.
"Later. Now's not the time," Cole replied with that terrifying voice.
Cole immediately marched forward. He stood right in front of Charlotte's tank. "praaaang," he punched Charlotte's tank, which contained her wearing only her underwear, and stepped inside to snap her chains. "blugh," Cole caught Charlotte's falling body.
After that, he tore off the choker Charlotte was wearing. "Graaaaaah," Cole turned to see Cyrus screaming and transforming. His arms became plant-like, and vines immediately wrapped around Charlotte's body.
"I'll carry Big Sister Char," Cyrus said.
"Ok, please watch out for her, everyone follow me," Cole replied with his dreadful voice.
Cole walked to the door, followed by Celes and Cyrus, who was carrying Charlotte and shielding her with a wrapping of vines. "Braaaak," Cole ripped the door right off its hinges, taking part of the wall with it.
"Huh... e-escaped prisoner..."
Before the guard standing outside the door could even finish his shout, Cole's hand was buried in his chest, instantly killing the guard. "Blugh," Cole yanked his hand out of the guard's body, and the body dropped to the floor.
The second guard quickly raised his rifle, his hands shaking as he stared at Cole's monstrous figure, who was now turning to look at him with red eyes.
"Y-you bastard, die!" the second guard screamed.
"Brataat...brataat," the guard fired his weapon, but "tap...tap...tap," "pling...pling," with blistering speed, Cole caught every single bullet and dropped them to the floor.
"W-what... how... c—"
Before the guard could finish his sentence or snap out of his shock, Cole snatched his cheek, lifting his body into the air. "klotak" his gun clattered to the floor.
"Hey... how do we get the hell out of here?" Cole asked with his dreadful voice.
"Guh...uguh...guh," the guard couldn't answer, his cheek squeezed by Cole's grip. He wildly beat Cole's arm, his face pale.
"Hey... prison break! Sound the alarm!" shouted another guard who had just arrived.
"Tch (Cole threw the guard against the wall, knocking him unconscious, then turned to his friends) let's go, we'll find our own way out," Cole said with his terrifying voice.
"Yeah," Celes and Cyrus replied, with Cyrus carrying the still-unconscious Charlotte.
"Don't move!" a guard yelled.
"Duk," Cole was suddenly behind him and punched the guard's neck. He then sprinted out, followed by Celes and Cyrus, who was carrying Charlotte. "teeet...teeet...teeet," the alarm blared. Cole glanced up and saw several CCTV cameras monitoring them.
"Tch... what a pain," Cole thought to himself as he ran.
Cole raised both his arms, and suddenly, all the fur on his wrists turned into sharp ice spikes. "Tratat...trat," Cole shot the cameras along the corridor with sharp ice projectiles from his wrists, spinning like a machine gun. They kept running and running until they finally made it through the corridor and burst into a room so massive the ceiling was invisible.
Their eyes went wide and they gasped because the room was a prison with cells stacked high on multiple levels, and every single cell was filled with Draugr in their true, pungent forms.
"Oh my god... s-so this is where the smell in the city came from. This means we're under the city," Celes said, looking around the enormous prison.
"T-this is seriously crazy. Why would they capture all those Draugr?" Cyrus mumbled.
"Let's keep running, we have to get out of this city," Cole said with his terrifying voice.
"Well, well, where do you think you're going?" a man in a doctor's coat said, appearing in front of them.
"Tap...tap...tap," a line of soldiers entered from behind the man and immediately surrounded them from every direction. "ckrek," the soldiers aimed their weapons at the four of them.
"Who are you?" Cole asked with his dreadful voice, taking a ready stance.
"My name is Michael. I'm one of the researchers in this city. Our goal in capturing these Draugr is to find a way to cure them and turn them back into humans," Michael answered.
"Huh... ridiculous. How could a Draugr be cured? What kind of virus do you think they have?" Celes scoffed.
"We scientists are hungry for knowledge. If they can't be cured, we're looking for a way to defeat them. We humans are desperate and want to see the sun again," Michael replied.
"Ugh,"
Cole, Celes, and Cyrus immediately looked at Charlotte, who was just waking up. She slowly opened her eyes and looked confused. Then she saw Cole, Celes, and Cyrus carrying her.
"Wait... is that Cyrus? You're so big... and Celes... and... huh... is that you, Cole?" Charlotte asked, confused.
"Yes, it's me, and now is not the time for questions," Cole answered.
"Huh," Charlotte immediately looked around and saw they were in a tight spot.
"Put me down, Cyrus," Charlotte requested.
"Alright, Big Sister," Cyrus replied.
The plant roots that were wrapped around Charlotte immediately unwound. Charlotte then stood up and walked to stand next to Cole at the front.
"Leave this to me, Cole (She turned to look at Michael). I don't know who you are, but you're dead wrong if you think you can catch us," Charlotte stated.
She immediately transformed. Both her arms turned to cracked, stone-like structures, her skin changed to blackish-gray, and her eyes turned red.
"Cole, Celes, Cyrus, close your eyes," Charlotte ordered.
The three immediately shut their eyes. Charlotte raised her two stone arms. The soldiers immediately raised their weapons, ready to fire, but Michael signaled them not to shoot. "Blak," Charlotte opened both her palms. The cracks visible on her stone arms weren't just cracks; the lines were closed eyes, and now they all snapped open, blasting a bright yellow light that instantly turned everyone who looked at it into stone.
A few moments later, Cole, Celes, and Cyrus opened their eyes. They were shocked because all the soldiers around them and Michael had been instantly turned into stone statues without them noticing, and they were still in the exact positions they were in before. "blugh," Charlotte dropped to the floor, sitting hard. "gruyuuuuuk," her stomach made a loud noise, and she rubbed her belly. Her body was also back to human.
"Ugh... I'm starving," Charlotte groaned.