Immediately, a massive explosion occurred and threw all the soldiers around to the floor, quickly pushing them against the walls of the cell far behind.
A massive beam of light was shot from Ruan into the air, breaking through the roof of the laboratory with comical ease as if a moment before the huge steel plates could not withstand the tremendous pressure of the unusual experiment. Enormous shock waves of purple colored Energia erupted from him as the beam of light rose towards the stars. It was so strong and powerful that it could be seen from tens of kilometers away.
To the townspeople, it seemed for a moment, as if dawn had broken.
The stone tore through Ruan's shirt and entered his chest. His feet hovered above the floor. The injury he had on his left thigh healed in an instant and the piece of glass that was stuck in it came out completely and fell on the floor. His mouth was open as his eyes shone with purple intensity.
He floated several meters in the air. The soldiers watched him glued to the walls of the lab, unable to move a finger as he burned with purple Energia. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity to them, the beam of light faded.
Ruan's eyes closed. He floated down slowly, landing softly on the floor, and then falls to his knees.
The place was tremendous quiet as everybody watches in horror, when after a few seconds, a deep and powerful breath like the one of a drowning person was heard.
Suddenly, Ruan opened his eyes.
He looked at his palm. Clenching it, he saw that he was able to move. "What happened...? Am I dead...? Am I in a dream...?" he asked himself.
The commander saw the confusion on his face. "What is he doing?" he asked himself suspiciously, "Could it be that he doesn't understand what just happened?" he wondered. "It doesn't matter... this is our opportunity... take advantage of it!" he asserted immediately.
Ruan looked at his chest and saw the stone inside his body. "It wasn't a dream... the stone...".
"I... I… I don't feel anything." He thought disappointed with his hands were on the floor. His body was exhausted.
"Absolutely last time! Raise your hands and put them behind your back!" the commander called resolutely to Ruan, pretending to still believe he had the upper hand.
Ruan, frightened, followed the instructions and put his hands behind his back when he was down on his knees.
The commander came up behind him and kicked him into a prone position. On his stomach, Ruan mourned to himself. "I don't feel anything... the research... failed…" he stated as tears fell from his eyes with a bitter cry on his lips.
The soldiers surrounded him. "Handcuff him Benji." ordered the commander to one of his soldiers.
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Benji, one of the soldiers, came from behind to handcuff Ruan. he took off the handcuffs and approached Ruan's right hand. Ruan didn't resist and kept his hands clasped behind his back so that the he could handcuff them. He opened the handcuffs and closed one of them on Ruan's right hand.
To steady himself in order to put on the handcuff on Ruan's left hand, Benji grabbed his left hand, when a slight noise of a sudden gust of wind was heard.
Immediately after, a sound of a helmet hitting the floor.
The soldier's uniform and helmet fell to the floor and on Ruan's spread legs. A cloud of dust dispersed where the soldier once stood.
Silence prevailed for a moment and was replaced by panicked screams of the terrified soldiers.
The soldiers quickly moved away from Ruan, clinging to the walls of the broken structure. "What did you do to him?!" screamed Yod in rage, one of the remaining soldiers.
Ruan, who was still lying on the floor, did not understand what was happening. He looked ahead at Yod, the frightened soldier in front of him. He looked around at the other soldiers backed up to the walls of the building. "Why are they looking at me like that…? Why isn't he handcuffing my other hand? What's with them?!" he asked confused.
Turning his head, he saw that the soldier who stood over him had disappeared. His clothes were laid partly on the floor, and partly on him.
His eyes revealed his astonishment.
All other soldiers including their commander froze in place. Their bodies trembling with fear. Only Yod, who had just seen his best friend vanish, felt his bones shakes with vengeance.
He pointed his weapon at Ruan and yelled at him in panic, "Don't lift a finger! One movement and I'll shoot!" he shouted aggressively, confused and stressed.
Ruan felt the fear reflected in his gaze.
"What do they want from me...? I didn't do anything...!" Ruan thought to himself surprised.
"I said don't move!!!" screamed Yod and lifted the gun crosshair to his eye.
"I have to do something! Otherwise... they'll shoot me!" Ruan insisted panickily in his mind.
"I don't know what happened!!! I didn't do anything!" Ruan shouted at Yod. The frozen soldiers were startled by Ruan's cry. "I'm not dangerous! I just got into the situation by accident! This research wasn't mine! I'm in the same situation as you! You're making a mistake!" Ruan screamed.
All the soldiers around him remained in place like they were made of stone. They didn't know what to do. What to think. What to say. In those moments, like their bodies, their minds froze also.
"Your lies won't work on me!!! Explain to me now what did you do to him!!!" Yod shouted with tears in his eyes and broken voice. His body tense as his eyes focused through his weapon crosshair.
"I didn't do anything to him! I don't know what happened to him!" Ruan shouted back.
"Stop lying to me you scumbag!!! Tell the truth or I'll shoot you right here and now!!!" Yod screamed as he placed his finger on the trigger of his Energia rifle.
"That's the truth!!! I'm telling you everything I know! I didn't do anything! It's not my fault!!!" Ruan shouted with all his might, "You have to believe me! I'm not lying to you!!!" he added in an intensive shout.
"You... you liar piece of shit... you're a liar and a vile murderer!!!" Yod screamed as he pulled the trigger a little.
Ruan slowly saw the finger of his hand pull the trigger further and further back, each moment a bullet will be released.
"What did you do to Benji?! Huh?! What did you do to him?! Bring him back right away!!!" screamed Yod crying with rage as his tears fell to the ground.
"I don't know!!! I didn't do anything to him!!! You have to believe me! I'm just as confused as you!!!" insisted Ruan back at him. "If you shoot, you're going to spill innocent blood!!!" he yelled out loud. Yod flinched back nervously. "I followed my grandfather here! I'm not related to this! I don't understand it myself! You can arrest me! I'm not resisting! So please, I'm begging you with everything I've got, don't shoot!!!!!" Ruan begged with his head to the floor and his hands spread out in front in a submissive bowing position.
There was silence. Everyone stopped moving. Ruan and Yod too. As if time stopped for a moment.
Until suddenly, the sound of a whistling bullet cut it off.