Freak [Zianourry] - COMPLETE

Chapter 6

The following weeks passed by in a blur. Thursday afternoons became more and more painful, as Team 55 held to their promise, making my life hell for that hour and a half. I used the free when the rest of the boys were in lessons to patch myself up so they wouldn't notice.
I'd long since given up on fighting Team 55 back, as I just wasn't strong enough. Often, I had to transform into something that could hide, when my body was too beaten to continue attempting the lesson.
My overall mood had been suffering for it, and I could tell that Harry, Liam, Niall and Zayn worried more and more as the days passed.
A month dawned since I had arrived at the school. It was Sunday, and a very important day for us. "Come on! Up you get, all of you! Annual mission today!" Liam yelled, banging on each of our doors before we had chance to even wake up.
After I showered and dressed, I headed out to find Harry and Liam standing in the kitchen. "Morning!" I grinned, fixing myself a glass of water. Harry brushed against me as he moved out of the way, and my heart skipped a beat randomly.
"Okay, we'll have ten minutes to plan once we find out the general topic of our mission." Liam paced up and down the kitchen. "We're flown out to an area where the mission will take place. The plane ride is our time to plan."
"We'll be fine, Li!" Harry rolled his eyes.
"Apart from the fact the entire of the school will be watching as they are depending on us to beat Team 55." Niall strolled into the kitchen. "Zayn's doing his hair."
"What a surprise." Harry grumbled. A smile crept onto my face as I realised Zayn was the last out again. "He's too obsessed, considering it gets ruined during the mission anyway."
"I have to make a good starting impression, scruff." Zayn drawled as he walked into the kitchen. "Besides, what if another hot guy joins?"
'Another?'
"Yes, Louis." Harry murmured quietly, amused. "Another. And, no, I won't stop reading your mind until you build up some defences."
"I don't know how." I huffed miserably. "It's useless."
"Then, I'll teach you." Harry shrugged. "But we've got a mission to attend."
********************
The whole room fell silent as we stepped out of the lift. Suddenly, someone started clapping and everyone applauded, yet Zayn, Harry, Niall and Liam continued walking like it was nothing.
"Good luck!"
"You'll be amazing! Amazayn! Hahahaha!"
"We're counting on you!" Voices cheered us on as Harry lead the way towards the exit. I was looking out at the crowd, when my eyes caught Steve's for a moment filled with bitter hostility.
'I'm going to kill you, Tomlinson. Mark my words.' The hateful words replayed in my head, and I blocked them out, ignoring the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"Looking forward to your mission?" Mr. Banks greeted us. "You'll be flying off in fifteen minutes, so get dressed and say anything you need to."
"I'm nervous." I admitted quietly as we got dressed.
"Don't worry about it." Harry zipped up my suit. "You're going to help, with your shapeshifting and all."
"Yeah, but, still..." Frowning, I pulled some soft leather boots on and starting doing the ties up. "These still look ridiculous."
"They're really good and practical." Niall grinned. "Wait until you see the helmets."
"Now, they're bad." Zayn laughed.
"Awful." Liam agreed.
"Basically, they're indestructible. You don't have to wear them, and it costs one point for each helmet worn, but they look like big, plastic astronaut helmets." Harry chuckled. "I don't wear one."
"None of us do. We won't die, so what's the point in loosing points?" Liam pulled his tight, black gloves on. "You all good?"
"Yep." With a final smile at each other, we left the dressing room, and approached Mr. Banks.
"Your flight is ready, Sirs. Whenever you want." Mr. Banks gestured outside, so we left the training centre. A flying hovercraft was waiting for us.
"Team 101! Team 101!" The crowd was chanting.
"Thank you all! We'll try our best!" Harry raised his hand in farewell, before we all got in the hovercraft and it sped away.
"Your mission is to rescue three hostages and either kill or subdue their attackers." A man told us. "Points will be severly lost if one of you has to be rescued during or at the end of the mission. You have one hour to complete the given task, but only five minutes to rescue the hostages once you enter a certain zone. Ten minutes to discuss plans starting from now, when we will arrive at our destination. Good luck."
"Three hostages..." Liam murmured. "I'll presume between two and four attackers?"
"Sounds about right." Zayn chewed on his lip.
"This is a hovercraft." I pointed out.
"So..."
"So, don't people normally go in planes? There's going to be water, and a lot of it." I said calmly. "And, I'd presume we only have five minutes to rescue the hostages because they will otherwise drown."
"You're bloody smart." Niall stared at me, as they all did.
"A hovercraft can go up to 70mph, which we seem to be doing. Ten minutes - at 70mph, you can travel just short of 12 miles in that time. And, if you payed attention in geography, you'd also know that the only large expanse of water in the nearest 12 miles is the ancient Mayan ruins. That's where we're going."
"Jeez, we need you on our team." Harry leaned back against his seat. "What do you know about them?"
"It's a maze. You can find your way through by choosing the chronological order of events shown in the paintings on the walls. The hostages will be in the middle, I presume." I said. "The only problem is how dark it's going to be. And breathing."
"Is there another way in?" Liam asked. I shook my head.
"I'm going to have to go in alone."
"You can't do that!" They sounded appalled.
"I'm the only one who will be able to breathe for long enough." I sighed. "Unless any of you have a third mutation?"
"I could run fast enough." Liam narrowed his eyes. "If I knew the way."
"Unless... The attackers won't be in there." Thoughtfully, I gazed out over the landscape that was rushing past. "Because there is a risk of drowning. Niall, Harry, Zayn - you'll have to buy us enough time to get the hostages out, when we can help take them down."
"That's our plan, then." Harry decided. "Do you know anything else about the ruins?"
"Uh... They're actually in pretty good shape for ruins." I tried to recall the four pages I had read a couple of days previously. "And there was some old time traps. While they should have been set off years ago, you should still watch out."
"Right..." We all fell deep in thought for a while.
"We have arrived, lads. Out you get!" The man returned. I was right - as we jumped out and the hovercraft disappeared, I saw water stretching for miles and miles, and old stone structures some way off, where the water was much deeper.
"We have to stay out of sight." Harry murmured. "As part of the mission, any people here will not be aware of what our abilities are. Louis, could you go scout out the ruins then come back ASAP?"
"On it." I smirked, as turned into a peregrine falcon, before I spread my wings out and barrelled towards the ruins, my sharp, focused eyes keeping a lookout for anything interesting.
As I reached the ruins, I saw a figure crouched in a gap high up on a column, whereas two people stood fairly obviously in the middle of the circle of columns. Noting their position carefully, I turned right and flew over the entrance to the underwater maze.
Still, there was no gaps in the roof, just a pitch-black door. Quickly, I made my way back to my team, where I turned into a human. "So?"
"Three people. One of them is hidden high up on a column to the... If in front was north, north west. Two are being obvious. They're probably trying for an ambush." I panted. "Light's rubbish in the maze, we won't be able to see a thing."
"We have to hurry." Liam muttered, gazing at the ruins. "We obviously can't have fire..."
"I could turn into a bioluminescent blotched catshark. Otherwise known as a scyliorhinus meadi. Found out about them in lessons." I suggested. "Let's get going."
"No time like the present." Harry grinned. "Louis, you going to change before or when we get there?"
"Er... Now. I'll meet you at the entrance, Liam. That way, they won't know I'm a shapeshifter."
"Okay. See you in a bit." Liam nodded, before my body twisted and I momentarily choked before I hit the water with a splash. Sucking in a load of water, the breathlessness disappeared, and I made a vow to never, ever go fishing.
I swam swiftly towards the maze, making it to the entrance in hardly any time at all. Light shone from the yellow spots over my marine body, illuminating the water.
"Hey... Please tell me you're Louis." Liam breathed, before ducking under water. We both shot down the maze, twisting corners at an alarming pace. I hardly had time to glance at the pictures on the walls to guide our way.
About two minutes later, we shot out into the main cavern, which was filling with water at an alarming rate. Liam gasped for air, as I turned into a Pegasus. He gaped at me and I shook my mane, prancing over to the hostages. There was a women, a man and a girl, bound to pillars. Using my horn, I cut the ropes.
"Come on." Liam waved them over, but the girl didn't go.
"I don't trust you." She pouted.
"You don't trust Pegasus?" Liam asked, motioning to me. The girl hesitated, when I turned back into a catshark and swimming around in the waist deep water. "Pegasus will look after you." At his reassuring words, the girl clung tightly onto me, Liam using the mans belt to strap her in place. "Can't risk you falling. Take a huge, huge breath." They all did and I shot off again, Liam racing after me.
It was easier to navigate the way out, as I had a rough idea of the turnings. When we finally broke the surface, the girl was unconscious, the adults both drowsy and bright purple in the face.
"She needs to wake up." Liam huffed. "Here, turn into something larger and put them on the shore. I'll go help out." At his instruction, I turned into a large dolphin. When the woman and man were both holding onto my fin and the girl firmly, I swam off, Liam swimming in the opposite direction to the ruins.
"Thank you so much." The woman murmured, patting my head as I stopped about ten metres away from the shore. Once they were safely on the land, I turned into a peregrine falcon again for speed, flying hastily towards the ruins of the mini arena the rest of the team was in.
"Harry!" Someone screamed, and I saw a body go flying away. My vision easily picked up on the brown curls, familiar face, screwed up in pain.
I dived after him, turning into a large eagle as I did, gripping the back of his suit and flying back towards the fight.
"Here." Niall caught Harry and shielded them both as I turned into something I'd never achieved before.
They'd hurt Harry - they'd durst to hurt Harry! Anger boiled in my veins, and the dragon roared.
Fire swept across the floor, licking at their clothing and hair. Agonised screams filled the air, but I knew they wouldn't die, not on a mission. That's why we were allowed to 'kill' them.
"Congratulations! You have completed your mission in a highly impressive time of twenty minutes!" A loud voice boomed around the ruins.
"You can turn back now, Louis." Someone shouted, and my body shrank. "You okay?"
"Hmm...." My vision swam as I stumbled towards them. "You lot?"
"Yeah, we're - Louis, you look like you're about to pass out." Liam said worriedly.
"Me?"
"Louis..." Harry said, taking a step towards me. I sent him a lazy smile, before I collapsed.