Control

The fire spell lit up the surroundings of the cave for a second before sputtering out of existence, drawing a frustrated sigh from Zephyr.

Smiling Devil's eyes glinted in the dark as the spell dispersed. "Just know my offer still stands... Whenever you're ready."

Zephyr snorted at the remark before pulling off his gloves and wet clothes. His mind drifted back to how they'd gotten here. It had been three months since then, and the hope of ever returning to their world had already dwindled. Not that he actually wanted to go now that he knew the severity of their situation, but some part of him yearned for more options.

Zephyr had woken up to find himself stark naked and dazed in a forest that looked normal but was still weird enough to tug on the back of his foggy mind.

He jumped to a start when the memories came flooding back in, blood pumping with adrenaline in a fight or flight reaction. Where was he? He had actually somehow survived? Where were the others?

He carefully looked around as he came to, noticing the state of his body and taking in his surroundings fully. His stomach pang in extreme hunger. His body had worked overdrive to heal him of what seemed like grave injuries he had sustained yet again. He wondered whether it was the gateway link or their arrival here that caused his injuries but he got his answer relatively quickly when he noticed a few broken tree branches and a trail leading to where he was, like a small meteor had landed there.

His observation led his eyes toward another trail— less prominent but still there, some ways away from him. He tried standing up to examine the small crater but his body protested, reminding him he was not in the shape to stand. He gritted his teeth, pushing forward in a slow crawl instead. He had felt something slam into him just before he was sucked out of the hole they tore open in the construct. Was it that criminal? Or maybe Zeke? Jet? Any of his acquaintances?

His curiosity pushed him forward, though at a slow pace. Eventually he was able to reach the crater, if it could even be called a crater. It seemed Zephyr's body had taken most of the damage as they fell, paving the path for this other person.

It was the criminal, just as Zephyr thought. The man was somehow alive. Naked and free of his restraints, staring at Zephyr through his barely open single eye. The man looked grotesque.

Dried, caked blood painted his already half-burnt face as he wheezed for each breath he took through his mouth. One could see parts of his charred gums on one side of his face, and if observant, even the bones that made up his lower jaw.

His single eye flashed with vigor as he saw Zephyr before reverting back to its normal dimness. He tried talking but it came out as a slur of gibberish nonsense.

Zephyr stared at the man for a while, panting as he tried to recover the little strength he had exerted to get there.

Suddenly, the cry of a beast tore through the forest, startling Zephyr into vigilance. He tried crawling behind the small mound from the criminal's crash. It was small, but it could provide some covering from whatever beast was headed their way, and hopefully they could be lucky enough for it to pass without spotting them.

His hope was dashed when he looked back and spotted the beast staring right at him. It looked like a blend between a bird and a reptile. It looked like an extremely oversized freshly plucked turkey. Instead of full feathers, its body was covered in dark green scales that crawled from its claws up its thick legs, body and neck. Only its wings had the feathers that made it somewhat familiar, but it was still clearly alien.

It watched Zephyr and the man warily as it stood on one foot while Zephyr watched with bated breath, knowing he couldn't put up the slightest fight if the beast ever chose to attack. Eventually, his fear turned to confusion as the beast just stayed there watching for minutes at first, which then turned to hours. Zephyr tried staying alert, but his body went against his wishes. As night fell, he gave in to slumber, only to be woken abruptly by Aegis' incessant alerts and the pain of his skin being ripped apart. He jerked up weakly but was slammed down by a claw that pressed his chest to the ground as the creature repeatedly pierced at his stomach with its razor sharp beak.

Zephyr's skin, toughened by nano-symbiosis, held for a long time but was torn open at the end of the day. The beast dug into his stomach gleefully, leaning its head up as it scooped up some slimy innards.

He tried to muster any last minute strength he could but there was absolutely nothing. He and the criminal could only watch as he was eaten alive. His only saving grace being his ability to shut off his pain receptors.

He lost consciousness after a while, succumbing to his weakened body. Underneath it all, a sense of freedom washed over him. At least everything was over now... No more struggles... Or so he thought.

With a sharp cry of pain, the beast froze abruptly and slumped directly onto Zephyr's body, twitching like it was being electrocuted, its cries reducing to whispers as its throat constricted. Zephyr's eyes slowly opened, surprised at the strength pouring into his body from nowhere.

Priority Response Initiated... Regenerative Burst Activated... He heard from Aegis as strength poured into his body like a stream, and after almost an hour, he could move and flex his hands. He pushed away the creature that pressed down on him, leaning up slightly. As his stomach came into view, he saw a chain of tissues extending between himself and the creature he just pushed off. He calmly took in the sight, processing what he was looking at with a frown.

After a mental back and forth with Aegis for clarification, despite being disgusted and mentally disturbed, he slowly dragged the creature back closer for the process to continue. His nanites were devouring the creature as a source of energy to aid his body in healing, his only other option being to eat the creature raw. And that was something he was not willing to go through.

When Zephyr fully healed, he stood up and stared directly at the criminal with a cold look in his eyes. The man had seen too much.

He was gearing himself up to take a decisive action when the man spoke, struggling to maintain a coherent statement.

"Information... I... Have... Information..." he croaked word for word.

"I... Know... Things..."

Zephyr hesitated. "What things?"

The man wheezed for a bit before answering, "Why... How... We're here... And how... To Survive!"

Zephyr frowned, biting his lips as he considered his options. He owed his survival to the man. Without his prompting, Zephyr might have disregarded his gut feeling and fallen victim to the Grand Commander's last spell.

With a loud curse, he leaned back, deciding against taking the man's life. He was weak and feeble anyway. Zephyr could take his life at any time if he tried anything sketchy. Besides, he really needed information. Who knew what kind of world they had landed in? From the little he'd seen so far, it would be great to have someone that knew what was happening and how to stay alive.

.

.

Back in the present, the man's voice snapped Zephyr out of his thoughts. "Have you decided? I know it's not hard for you. You just have to give me your blood and be purposeful about it."

Zephyr frowned in response, "And I've told you that's not happening any time soon. You've seen what my blood does to other living things."

"That's because you're not being deliberate about the effect. Will for it and there'll be no side effects."

"We don't know that," Zephyr replied.

"How would we? You've refused to try it even once. Not even on fucking animals."

Zephyr kept mute, simply stripping himself of the wet clothes he wore.

"Just man up and say you want to keep me under control. Not these petty reasons you're giving," Smiling Devil snapped before breaking into a coughing fit.

Zephyr paused, sighing, "Yes! Is that what you want to hear? Yes! I want to keep you under control. Am I wrong to want to? You were a criminal. Who knows what you were chained up for! I'm not willing to take such a risk. Besides, we have an agreement. You give me information... Everything you know that can help me survive in this world, and at the end I help you heal... And we go our separate ways."

"And that's exactly what I've done! I've given you all the information you need!"

"All?" Zephyr scoffed. "I almost slipped up on the third day of our agreement because you held out information from me!"

"That was basic knowledge! Who goes around a foreign world casting spells without figuring out how the locals cast theirs!" Smiling Devil shouted in response before his body wracked with heavy coughs. He quietened afterwards, gasping for breath.

"I'm just being safe. I'm of no use to you once I tell you everything you need to know. You could kill me off anytime then," he whispered.

"..."

"Then stick to the agreement. What's the haste for?!" Zephyr snapped.

"I'm more useful out there than in here! We've been here for three months and we're still on the run. Living like cockroaches. Always hiding from sight. Startled at the slightest sound!"

"I know how to thrive in lower worlds like these... This isn't my first rodeo..." he pleaded, watching Zephyr's face that seemed conflicted.

"..."

"Haa..." Zephyr sighed. "I still say we should stick to the agreement."

Smiling Devil's expression hardened as he leaned back, resigned, into the recess where he lay.

Zephyr let the silence hang, unsure if he was making the right choice before he resolved to himself; there was no use wondering what if... He was simply going to follow through with his earlier decision and hope for the best.