Extraction Point

Zora suddenly woke up to a hard slap to the face. As his eyes burst wide open, he saw Rachael shaking him violently.

"Wake up, god damn it!" she yelled.

She then picked up his arm and swung it around her neck, carrying him over to a corner as lava spewed from above.

"I thought we died..." mumbled Zora, his injuries not doing so well.

"Yeah? Well those lava monsters don't know how to control theirselves. Their lava burned right through the floor, making it collapse and sending us down a floor under. I'm sure still going down, but there's still lava everywhere."

"Then that means we beat it?"

"Course not. The original is still up there, since he has rocks to keep him up instead of pure lava. We're going to have to take the stairs—"

Sidius jumped down to the floor under, and looked around, noticing the two and throwing a fit. It was as if he didn't like failure. He extended his arm and shot out a burst of lava, in which Rachael tried carrying Zora away.

Her shirt began to sizzle, being torn apart as small flames appeared on it. As she patted herself, she noticed that she had a little invincibility despite her Rad-A being dampened.

"What can you expect from a Class S, right?" asked Zora as he finally stood up and held his ground.

"That lady might be dampening my powers," mentioned Rachael, "But my invincibility is a static ability. It's not going to decrease until it's weakness is exploited."

"Then we've got to get you away from the lava monster," explained Zora as he pointed towards the top of it, "The lava grinds with the rock, causing a bit of steam to come out of it. If that steam ever reaches your lungs, you might get weakened."

Weaknesses in check, they still had to find a way to get out. Sidius was blocking the stairs, and Marie was watching them through the hole Sidius made from up above. She merely stared on the balcony as she tried her best to dampen Rachael's Rad-A.

"What a risky move," nodded Rachael, thinking up of a super genius plan that she was proud of thinking up of, "Yet it's probably our only way out!"

"Huh? What?" asked Zora in confusion.

"You're thinking what I'm thinking too, right?"

"Huh? No?"

"Then follow my lead!"

"What? Huh?"

Rachael headed straight for Sidius, full speed ahead. Zora merely watched, not wanting to take the risk. Sidius held up his hand, lava ready to burst out. However, Rachael pulled out her pistols, throwing them right at the lava spouts.

"Rachael, what are you doing?" yelled Zora in disbelief.

"Don't worry!" smiled Rachael, "I'm thinking independently!"

The lava began to sink and mold around the guns, absorbing it and crunching it. Due to this however, the arm began to overflow, weighing down because of how heavy the lava was, forcing Sidius to lay his hand on the ground. Rachael then proceeded to jump on the rocks that formed Sidius, and finally jumping right on top of the head, boosting her towards the hole's edge. With her flexibility, she pulled herself up over the platform and returned to the original floor.

"Mr. Zora!" yelled Rachael, cupping her hands, "You were supposed to follow!"

"S-Sidius!" yelled Marie in panic, "Hurry up and take him down! Doctor Blue will be angry with you if you fail!"

Sidius yelled a monstrous roar in anger, bellowing as he beat his chest like a gorilla. However, that's when Zora decided to rush through as well.

"With such a risky move," thought Zora as he charged in, "You've got bigger balls than I do, Rachael Kratek. I'm glad that you're taking my advice to heart."

Zora did his best to simulate Rachael's technique, but he ended up dodging the incoming attacks that Sidius gave. He even managed to suffer a minor burn after slightly evading a lava burst. However, with his quick maneuverability and training as an on-field agent, he wrapped around Sidius and hopped on top of his head.

Except, when he tried to reach for the platform, he was far from grabbing it.

Snap!

"I've got you!" yelled Rachael, holding out her hand to grab Zora's.

"I saw my life flashing before my eyes," mumbled Zora in a depressed tone.

"Now it's your turn for the spotlight!" announced Rachael as she pulled Zora, stomping her foot onto the platform and using the momentum to propel him up to the air.

As Zora yelled in terror from being flung through the air, he noticed that someone else was yelling alongside him. It was Marie Armaya as his body collided with hers, eventually knocking her out of commission.

Rachael cheered in joy as Zora thought about his medical bills.

"I have failed once again," mumbled Sidius in a low tone as he fell apart into separate rocks, the lava disappearing into the air, "Baretti Kiritojin... I am sorry..."

Sidius was once a fellow scientist to Baretti. After his life was taken in the fire, Baretti had revived him into the experiment known as Sidius. He served as energy fuel for Baretti's lab out of gratefulness for a second chance to live, despite looking like a monster.

Yet even then, in his time of death, he was disappointed that he could not fulfill his promise in trying to help the scientist that gave him life.

"The pressure's not that bad anymore..." mentioned Rachael as Zora headed downstairs with the unconscious Marie in his arm, "We really took out the dampener!"

"Yeah.... Woo..."

However, their victory was stopped short by a sudden burst of lightning striking the laboratory's side.

"...Yato?"