There. Reina did have another skill, for who knows how long. It was one thing to suspect it, another entirely to see it in plain sight. [Perfect Body]? Aside from sounding a little creepy, it seemed like the cause of her supernatural speed, strength, and endurance. And it was two whole ranks higher than [Fortitude]! Was it because she'd been using it for so long?

“We’re here. Take down your stats and concentrate." Angel reprimanded.

Reina shook her head at the sudden change of pace. A little reluctantly, she waved a hand through the blue screen until it vanished. “We’re where again?” The only thing in front of them was a rock mound, completely blocking what lay behind it.

“Our exit. Destroy this boulder. There’s sort of a tunnel behind it.” Angel stepped to the side and allowed Reina to approach.

Reina knocked on the stone and pressed her ear to the coarse surface. “I can’t feel or hear any wind,” she noted. “Are you sure it’s there?” Reina looked to the side to try and see behind the stone.

“Who would know, the Air Artist or the Fire Artist?” Angel remarked.

“Geez, so prickly. No need to be so mean, I’m on it. Take a step back.” Reina advised before punching the rock with her left hand. The entire cavern rumbled, dust clouds falling out of the ceiling.

The rock crumbled to pieces, revealing a makeshift doorway behind it. A small tunnel, the opening barely reaching her chest, was present. The sides were rough and gnarled, and small stones jabbed from the ground. The tunnel stretched on beyond what Reina could see.

“Oh, shut up,” Reina mumbled when Angel smirked at her.

Angel peeked into the tunnel. “This is going to be a tough thing. If we were any bigger, we wouldn’t fit. I suppose it’s lucky we’re so short.”

“I’m not short!” Reina growled. She definitely wasn’t!

Angel didn’t pay her any heed. “Remember, be careful and mindful of the ground. You might run into something because it’s so dark. Basically, watch my every move and crawl where I crawl.”

“Can’t I use my fire to light up the way?” Reina asked, igniting her palm to prove her point.

“Yeah, no. I’m going to be a foot in front of you. I don’t want your fire burning my ass off,” Angel said.

“You doubt my abilities so much,” Reina sighed but stifled the flames she’d sparked to life. “Let’s begin, shall we? After you, my good lady.”

Angel entered the tunnel. After waiting a second or two to give her room, Reina did the same.

It was very cramped, reminiscent of the crack she had to travel through before. Her back kept on scratching the low ceiling of the tunnel, sending shivers of pain every time. This was better though because there was more space; after a while, the tunnel leveled enough to allow them to crouch instead of crawl.

“You seem happy,” Angel noted when Reina began humming.

“You crawl on your hand and knees and feel like your body is going to pop. I can assure you, it’s not a good feeling. At all.” Reina said. Her back was aching from the roof crushing her, she didn't need any more pressure on it.

“I don’t want to know,” Angel said.

“Well, I didn’t offer to tell you!” Reina snapped.

“Fine.”

“Fine!”

There was silence before Reina asked, “What do you think we’ll find up there?”

“Destruction. A lot of it, that’s inevitable in these kinds of situations.” Angel said.

Reina rose an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”

“An explosion. A terrorist attack. That’s what I’m talking about.” Angel clarified.

“You think this is a terrorist attack? I mean, I guess it makes sense. Whoever did this got inside the auditorium to plant that explosive. Inside one of the most secure places on the planet. And they specifically chose a place where there were students. They had a target.” Reina warned. She didn’t want her new ally to be completely out of the left gate. Angel needed to understand there was a huge possibility there was a bigger motive behind this than just needless violence.

A small stumble was the only way Angel reacted physically to this. “What do you think is going to happen?” Angel’s usual unflappable voice shook a little.

“We need to be smart and expect the worst. Everybody but us is dead, no teachers, a madman on the loose, with possible backup. First thing we do is get out of the Academy. It’s no longer safe.” Reina recited. She’d been going over this little speech in her mind a lot for anybody she happened to cross paths with.

Angel was silent again and Reina wondered what was going on inside her mind at the moment. It could be anything. Reina didn’t know Angel all that well and unlike her other classmates who wore their emotions on their sleeve, Angel rarely did so. Reina was still shocked Angel allowed herself to cry in front of her.

“Are we there yet?” Reina asked.

“No, and it’s going to get worse if we keep on asking. Watch that spike.” Angel advised.

Reina went around the stake that protruded from the ground and continued. After a few more meters of traveling, her feet and hands started getting tangled in a multitude of red and blue cords. “Damn these wires!”

The tunnel they were in must have been one of the natural "tubes" from the control room. The control room was where the mechanics of the Academy generated and manipulated the amount of energy transferred to the rest of the school. The energy is used to power lights, technology, sliding doors, and so much more.

The mechanics then employed the "tubes" to send that energy, carving out already existing holes like this tunnel. The explosion must have hit the control room as well and one of the huge tubes had fallen, giving them this.

It did pose the frightening question: was the control room not functional? If so, the Academy and everybody here were in big danger. That meant the defense systems were inactive, and there wasn’t a safe place in the school.

Reina forced the thought out. She and Angel needed to focus on getting out of the wreckage before anything else. The wire had snapped in the accident, but that made them dangle from overhead like vines in a forest. Reina had to swat them out of her face multiple times, always worried it would explode.

In front of her, Angel was whimpering. Quietly, like she was trying to prevent Reina from hearing. The stress of the ordeal must be getting to her. A pang of sympathy blossomed in Reina's heart. What would help Angel feel better?

“I don’t feel good about this,” Reina complained. The quiet whimpers immediately stopped.

“Stop moaning and hurry up!” Angel snapped. Reina nodded. Looks like she managed to get Angel to forget about her worry.

Before long, Angel had stopped, Reina following suit. Somewhere along the way, the tube had begun to tilt upward instead of straight. This meant Reina and Angel had to grab onto the wires and use them as a way to prop themselves up.

Reina supposed they had a use beyond annoying the hell out of her after all.

Unfortunately, she needed both hands for this. Pulling herself up with one hand was impossible to do, especially with a wire that could snap at any second. Using her broken arm sent waves of pain rolling throughout her body, to the point where Reina gritted her teeth to prevent herself from yelling.

“Get up,” Angel ordered when she noticed Reina stopped moving, hanging off the wire haphazardly.

“I am up,” Reina said.

“I meant stop dangling like that. It looks unbecoming of you.” Angel said.

“I thought you don’t care what others think about you. Why should it be any different for me?" Reina snarked.

“I don’t. That doesn't mean I want to be seen with you looking like this.” Angel said.

“Oooh, that hurts. But seriously, my right arm feels like it’s on fire right now and I’m contemplating cutting it off. What do you think, will I look good with a robot arm?” Reina tried to inject humor into her voice, and create some levity.

“You’ll look horrible. You should get a blaster arm instead.” Angel recommended. With her deadpan expression, Reina wasn't sure if she really meant it.

“Sure, I’ll hop to that,” Reina said. "Right after I saw my arm off with this stone."

“You’ll hop to it after we get out of here,” Angel instructed.

Reina moaned. “Can I have a minute's worth of rest? Please?” Reina asked.

“I don’t need rest,” Angel said.

“You don’t have a broken arm and you’re using your Art to push yourself up. Meanwhile, I could blow this whole place up if I used mine. One spark hits these wires, boom!" Reina made an explosion noise with her mouth before flushing. In hindsight, that may have been tactless given their circumstance.

Angel flushed. “I am not using my-“

“I can feel the wind.” Reina deadpanned. That shut her up. “Anyway, you should feel good about yourself. Using your Art in situations like this is great.”

“Too much will burn your Circuits out though,” Angel said.

“Then you need to know your limitations and how to not go past that too often,” Reina said. "Besides, if you're using your Circuits 24/7 to see, then lifting yourself will hardly exert it that much."

Angel snorted. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but you actually sound pretty. . .wise. Of course, if you tell anybody this, I will kill you.”

“I know you will. I told you, my lips are sealed” Reina promised. There was a comfortable silence between the two before Reina’s body stirred back to life. “Okay, I’m ready!”

“Good. I'm not sure how much longer this wire will last.” Angel said before continuing climbing. Reina waited until her peer was a couple of meters atop her before making her move.

Planting her feet against the tunnel wall and pressing her back against the other side (carefully!), Reina used her body to inch her way up. Angel paused at the top, taking hold of something above her. Reina watched as she turned something, Angel's muscles tensing. The harsh sound of rusted metal turning filled the tunnel. It must have been the exhaust port. It was the only way the workers could get manual access to the tube.

For a brief moment, Reina wondered if her services were required to open the trapdoor. But Angel succeeded in turning the wheel counterclockwise and the trapdoor let out a hiss, popping up a little.

“You sure about this?” Reina checked. “We may not like what we see up there." I don't want you getting hurt, went unsaid.

“You mean me. You’ll send me down the tunnel and go on your own.” Angel said. "Thanks, but no thanks. I can handle whatever's waiting for us."

Reina scanned Angel's face, trying to find any sign of deceit. There was none spotted. Reina believed her; Felicie, Dawn, May, or any of her other friends, not so sure. But Angel was cold and firm, a steady rock in the tumultuous sea. She'd gone through hell before, and come out on top.

“Okay then. Let’s go.” Reina said. “But be careful not to have a rock or something hit us!”

Angel pushed open the trapdoor the rest of the way and dodged a rock heading their way. Reina repeated the action, the rock skimming the side of her face before clanging on its path down.

“Angel!” Reina shrieked. "What did I just say?!"

Angel didn’t tease or insult her. Instead, she only continued gazing out of the tube. Becoming tired of Angel ignoring her, Reina clambered the rest of the way and poked her head out alongside Angel's.

What she saw tore her breath away.