Troubling Heaven

[TheCheat1]

((You just left an eleven year old in charge of a spaceship... big mistake. ))

Mel stared in confusion at the screens. "Um... assistance?" Nothing happened. "I said, 'ASSISTANCE!'" he yelled. The AI activated and said, "How may I be of service?" in a similar voice to Tek's handheld AI. "Um, what's this button here do?" Mel asked, pointing at a small yellow switch. "When initiated, that activates this ship's sub-thrusters." Mel blinked. "The what-now?"

"The sub-thrusters, in laymen's terms, cause the ship to rapidly increase in speed. If you'd like, I can begin evasive maneuvers and attempt to flank the enemy. My calculations show a fifteen perfect success rate." Mel scratched his head. "Uh, whatever. You can I guess. Doesn't matter to me." The AI made a beeping noise and replied, "Initiating sub-thrusters. Please brace yourself." Suddenly the ship shot forward and turned a sharp left, going around Ein's ship. Mel was sent soaring to the other side of the room, smacking his backside into the wall and hitting an array of buttons. "Missiles one through four, launched," the AI announced. Mel stared at the blinking screens and muttered, "Uh-oh."

***

Ethian sped up into the air a hundred feet, then did a nose-dive into the Bruthalians. Slicing them up as he went by, he laughed, "This'll be over in thirty seconds." The Bruthalians, not knowing what was hitting them, began a hasty retreat as the few soldiers of Alik left began to cheer in triumph.

***

Shimeran lifted the Bruthalian that Aden had been speaking to high into the air, then ripped his motionless body in half. "Let us end this!" he shouted, two shouts coming in response: one yelled out "Hurrah!" while the other shouted, "They've taken the castle!" Silence came over the crowd as they all turned to the source of the voice: a Snelg running towards them. Shimeran threw the two halves of Bruthalian aside and walked over to meet the Snelg. "What do you mean by that? Speak, now." The Snelg bowed in front of Shimeran and said quietly, "The invaders have taken the castle of Rulton. The king has been murdered!" Shimeran roared and dove upon the Snelg, ripping him into pieces. "We go to the king!" he bellowed, taking to the sky. Sierra became a bat-creature once again and followed her husband, the rest of the group immediately following after quickly killing the last Bruthalians.

Litra stared and thought-said to Aden, "What now?"

***

"You put the entire world at risk with your foolishness!" the captain shouted. "This world's evolution has been non-existent. It must be accelerated or these people will die from attacks such as these," Joshua said. The captain growled back, "This world's evolution is non-existent because your stupidity is a myth!" Joshua shook his head and frowned. "My beliefs are a myth? You're a fool, you still believe the religions of this world! They've been disproved a thousand times!" The captain stood silent for an entire minute before saying, "My faith in the Ancients will remain the same whether you die or whether I die. Your faith changes from day to day." Joshua looked down at the table in thought. "I will not do what you ask."

 

[Brilliand]

Jerrick stared at the Bruthalian spaceship. My machinery is just as good as theirs. Jerrick reached up to his helmet and began pulling things out. Test of Meekness - destroyed. Flying Surfboard - intact. I hate that thing. Teleporter - intact. That won't keep me airborne for very long. Eraserbeam - questionable. That's melted into a funny shape, but it might still work. Void Defense Shield - pretty good. The handle is twisted funny, but it's still running. Flight Tool - ruined. Storm Tool - missing. It probably activated by accident and used itself up. Standard Tool - destroyed. Type Three Death Trap - destroyed. Space Equalizer - intact. Good for blocking lasers, maybe?

As Jerrick looked over his pile of stuff, he could only think of one strategy: fly over there and wipe that ship out of existence by hand. Jerrick picked up his void defense shield, then hesitantly scooped up the long metal bar that served as the main part of the flying surfboard. It was perfect for this, he had to admit. He just didn't like it. As an afterthought, he picked up the eraserbeam, and the two smaller bars that worked as laser turrets while the flying surfboard was running. He then turned to Lance. "Can you get me outside the ship?"

***

"We follow them," Aden said aloud. "But first I'll kill all the Bruthalians." Aden rose into the air with a spray of wind, then ordered the living torches to incinerate the Bruthalians. They began firing in a continuous wave, taking perfect aim on each Bruthalian individually. After informing them that they should stop when all the Bruthalians were dead, Aden waited a few seconds for the heat to dry his clothing, then headed in the direction Shimeran and the others had gone. He was no longer protected from the enchantress, but he needed to be able to keep a tight grip on his staff.

***

Iban was beginning to realize he had no interest in this conversation. "Who wants to duel?"

 

[NavyGuy7]

Lance began to press buttons.
"Prepare for depressurization," he said.
"Is that a wise thing to do, Lance?" Navi chirped in.
"I think I know what Jerrick's gonna do. Don't worry, Jerrick. The seat you're attached to, the back half turns into a jetpack. You'll have about 10 minutes of fuel. Be back here by then."
Lance opened the cockpit, aimed at Ein's ship, and ejected the co-pilot seat.
Tek chimed in.
"What're you doing? OH!!!! He's going to use that eraser-type beamy thing!!!"
"You know about that?" Lance asked.
"Yah... He only tried to collect a bounty on me some time ago! He disappeared afterwards. Funny, how we're on the same side this time."
*****************
Ein's alarms went off, and doing a quick check, he cursed. He spun back into a somersault, and zoomed towards some trees, maneuvering between the treetops. Three of the missiles missed or hit the trees, but one hit him square in some of his targeting systems.
On top of that, now Jerrick was flying towards him.
"I'll blast you out of the sky!" he shouted, angry. He put Jerrick into his sights, and fired....
....but nothing happened. Weapons were offline.

((Just don't erase his engines. He still has to bail, lol.))

 

[TheCheat1]

[FONT=&quot]The captain looked at Iban and muttered, "Who is this man, Joshua?" Joshua shook his head and replied, "Hollowstar Android Iban. Not a man." The captain looked at Iban closely before responding, "I will duel the android." Joshua's eyes grew wide in shock. "He will destroy you!" The captain smiled. "I'm going to die either way," he said, "Either the android will kill me or this wretched disease will." The captain held up his hand and removed one of his gloves, showing the skin on his arms to be mangled and discolored. "We may still find a cure for that," Joshua said. "Make me a deal, Joshua," the guard said. "If I defeat the android, you will ask your people to wipe the memories of the people of this planet. And if I lose, you will not." Joshua sat, staring at the captain in disbelief. "If these are your wishes..."

"They are." The captain interrupted. Joshua nodded. "I accept your terms." The captain forced a tired smile and pointed at Iban. "Android, we will fight outside. Follow me." The captain walked out the door with a wave to Joshua and down a hallway, until he came to a door that led outside. Leading Iban out to the field in front of the castle, the captain shouted, "I want none of you to interfere with this battle! Whoever wins, wins! There is no treason involved here." The guards' attention was gained, and they began to draw around the field to watch. The captain turned to Iban. "Your move, android," he said, drawing his sword. "We fight to the death."

***

Litra sighed. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Aden[/FONT][FONT=&quot] seemed competent, but he didn't seem very perceptive. After all, he did have to find out who the bad guys were. It wasn't obvious? Maybe she was just being too critical. Not everyone had mind-reading powers, after all. But it just seemed tiring that she had to constantly help other people. No one had helped her on Poinesta. Yando didn't even destroy Dimiri, who is probably still terrorizing my village. In the hurried leave from Poinesta, they hadn't had the chance to help Litra's village. Now, she regretted leaving. "Yando."

***

Mel's ears perked up at Litra's voice in his head. Litra? What's up? "You didn't stop Dimiri." Dimi-what? "Dimiri. The monster that's attacking my village." Oh... I forgot about that. "Yeah. Yeah you did." Hey, it's not MY fault! We had to get going ASAP. "I'm not letting you slack this off. You owe me." What are you talking about? "I saved your life. You do this, and we call it even." Mel sat on the floor, still slightly dizzy from colliding with the wall. Fine. "Huh?" FINE. "That's what I thought you said."

***

Ethian skidded to a stop after slicing up the last of the enemy. "All done here," he said. The army behind him, the army of Alik, cheered as he turned to face them. "Okay guys," he yelled over the noise, instantly hushing them. "What's the deal with the princess?" A Forseer man emerged from the crowd and ran up to Ethian. "She's not at the castle," he said. "Where's she at?" The Forseer frowned and shrugged. "I'm her personal scribe, and even I don't know. She's safe, though. I know that much." Ethian shook his head. "Afraid that ain't good enough." The Forseer nodded in understanding. "Let us go to the castle, then. Where it is safe." Ethian began walking in the direction of the castle and muttered, "Let's get going then."[/FONT]

 

[Brilliand]

Iban followed the captain out, then walked a good distance away and turned to wait for the battle to start. He didn't need to give the formal challenge or acceptance of a challenge - he recognized that he had just made a challenge, and the captain had accepted it.

"We fight to the death."

That was what Iban had expected, but it saved him having to say it. Everything was ready, then. Iban rose into the air, a ring of fire forming around him. He spent one second rising eight feet above the ground, then raised his hand in a fluid motion and fired a blast at the captain - concentrated, so as not to harm bystanders, but powerful enough to create a three-foot lava pool.

***

As he hurtled thorugh the air, Jerrick hurried to activate the Flying Surfboard. First, he dropped the long bar in midair and spun it, turning it on. It began to hover, and Jerrick used the jetpack to lower himself onto it, spinning the two smaller bars out of his hands as he did so. The flying surfboard shot off, carrying him with it. Jerrick weaved wildly for several seconds, before achieving some semblance of control and heading for Ein's spaceship. At a gesture from Jerrick, the two smaller bars began firing, but they were meant to kill human foes, and had little effect on the ship's shields.

When Jerrick reached the ship, he swung the void shield forward, erasing a section of shielding. The flying surfboard tore aside the ship's hurl, and Jerrick flew through, losing control long enough to smash through the floor and come back up upside-down. Desperately, Jerrick held the shield over his head, and began randomly destroying things. He managed to progress toward the center of the ship, hoping to avoid flying out into the sky again.

***

Fifteen percent? "Is this ship trying to caste Haste and Magic Missile at the same time?" Querrot shouted, remaining firmly in his seat. "One at a time, you idiot! Support spells before attack spells! ...Hey, I still have my Thunderbolt spell. Just a minute, I'll tweak it."

 

[NavyGuy7]

"Ugh..... I should've known you'd pull a stunt like that, Lance. The next time I decide to challenge you, I'll make sure you are alone. Goodbye for now, and let's hope I decide to kill you quickly."
"Ahhh... I didn't even get to decimate you!" Tek exclaimed. "How am I supposed to test something out if I don't have a bad guy to test it ON?"
"There's always a next time, Tek," Lance said. "So stop pouting. Besides, I think that kid might be about to crash your ship."
Tek heard what Querot said over his feed to the cockpit of the ship.
"What? What's all this talk about "magic"?" Tek asked over the intercom. "Hold on, I'm coming in. You might as well hitch a ride too, Lance."
"In a moment, Tek," Lance said, as Tek landed in the open hangar bay of Stargazer.
Maneuvering his ship underneath Jerrick, Lance opened the cockpit again.
"We're done here!" Lance shouted. "We need to regroup on the ship to decide on what we're going to do next! And possibly repair some of your things!"

 

[NavyGuy7]

Ein sighed, heading towards the nearest outpost. He couldn't go into the one he'd been headed for; not only did it not have a proper repair station suitable to Ein's specifications, but it had been compromised. Tek could blow the entire thing to the sky if he wanted to. And he probably would, being Tek. He'd blown up the lab of an FBI agent back on Earth before, when he was only 12. Ein had heard the stories just like everyone else in the Bruthalian Empire. Tek was notorious for his hacking their systems a number of times.
Ein was out of danger now; those weak cowards wouldn't chase after him right then and there, not while they had a chance to regroup and 'decide' what to do.
He'd repair his dogfighter, and he would choose his next battle, one where he would be six moves ahead.

 

[TheCheat1]

((Gh, I'm late for a very important... er, post.))

The captain of the guard was surprised by how fast Iban moved, but when he saw his opponent move upward he immediately jumped backwards as fast as he could. The lava pool appeared where he had been standing only a moment ago (which wasn't more than five feet in front of him). "Much stronger... and faster... than I thought you'd be," the guard murmured. The guard raised his sword and pointed it at Iban, sending a jolt of lightning at the android. "I have some powers too!"

***

Mel stomped his foot. "You'd better not be calling me an idiot!" he yelled at Querrot. Just then, the action stopped, and the ship slowed down. "Um... did I break it?" "Wouldn't be the first time." Shut up.

***

Shimeran, Sierra and the rest of the group stopped in front of the castle of Rulton, which was now overtaken and surrounded by Bruthalian imperials. "The invaders have taken our homes!" shouted Shimeran as he landed, Sierra landing next to him. "We go to war, friends!" he roared. The crowd of assorted warriors behind him cried out in agreement and they all rushed towards the castle as fast as their feet would carry them.

 

[Brilliand]

Iban saw the lightning coming when it was halfway to him. He quickly expended 1% of his body to jump to thirty percent of lightspeed, rolling to the side and dropping into the ground. A blinding blast of light shot into the air in a wide arc, creating a sonic boom. As Iban touched the ground, he shot forward, causing a mushroom cloud to rise out of the place where he struck, followed by a volcanic eruption. He then headed directly for the captain, skimming along the ground. As he flew forward, Iban brought both arms forward, intending to touch the captain and make him into just one more explosion. The entire maneuver took less than a microsecond.

***

Jerrick swung past Lance, missing him by a hundred yards. He then came back up and flew straight up until it looked to him like he was directly above Lance, then reached down and grabbed the main bar of the "surfboard," squeezing it to make it stop spinning. The surfboard deactivated, and all three parts fell straight down. Jerrick snatched the two guns from the air, then put the three pieces and his shield in his helmet. He then used the jet pack to guide himself into Lance's ship.

***

"What kind of an idiot makes his flying machine breakable? And why is the enemy getting away? Did the haste spell backfire?" Querrot sighed and looked back at Mel. "Don't you know what fifteen percent means? It means it's not going to work."

***

From high in the air, Aden watched as the monsters attacked the castle. "Living Torch Summon... Living Torch Summon." Two living torches dropped from his staff, and began multiplying. He then flew directly over the castle and dumped a torrent of common ocean water on it, throwing the inhabitants into confusion as he landed in the center. "Earth's Fury."

 

[NavyGuy7]

"Actually, I've made maneuvers when there was just a 5% chance of it working," Tek said, as he entered the cockpit. "And don't insult my ship! Doing that is like insulting the captain of the ship, which.. I suppose is me...." He had docked; the ship had slowed down because he had controlled it remotely to do so.
"Lance and Jerrick aren't too far behind. You two go out into the main lobby and I'll be with you in a minute. The main lobby is just outside the cockpit here."
Tek sat in the pilot's chair, and set the autopilot. He'd fly up higher in the atmosphere, until he found their next destination. He then touched a button on his belt. A large fireball could be seen where the facility Jerrick had been in was. He really DID blow it up.
*****
Lance finished docking as the hangar doors closed. There was only room enough for two dogfighters on Tek's ship, Stargazer. "Fastest freighter ship in the galaxy" had been his motto. Lance just thought it was a piece of junk.
His window-door opened and slid back, and Lance hopped out of his ship.
"Here we are. Tek's ship. He'll be expecting us in the main lobby."
Lance took something out of his ship. It was a black spear.
"I didn't realize I'd taken this with me..." Lance said. "But maybe it'll come in handy sometime. Oh, you recognize it?"
He was speaking to Jerrick, of course, who had reconnected the jetpack/seat by landing in the ship earlier.

 

[TheCheat1]

The captain of the guard had no time to react once he saw Iban disappear. Thinking that there was nothing else to do, he let out a large sum of electricity from his sword as a defense mechanism right as Iban hit him.

((I'm going to prolong this battle just slightly. In reality Ethian would interrupt before Iban slaughters him mercilessly. So I'm going to have that happen, the captain blah blah blah about the fight, and Ethian back off.))

***

Mel shrugged. "I'm not very good at math," he said. "Or anything else," Litra mumbled. "Look, just come find us. I'll show you where we're at.

***

Litra focused as more Aragithians rushed past her to join the fight, projecting her thoughts and sights of the castle to Mel's mind. "See it?" You're at the castle in Rulton? "If that's what its called, yeah. Just get that guy and his hunk a' junk spaceship over here." Right-o.

***

Mel walked over to Tek and whispered, "Do you know where the Rulton castle is? We need to go there. Litra and that other man are there."

***

Ethian and the remnant of the army made their way to the castle in time to see the fight between the captain of the guard and Iban fight. "Iban!" Ethian hissed. Instantly he accelerated forward at the speed of light, slamming into Iban and throwing him two hundred feet, easy. "I don't think so!" Ethian yelled. "You're not taking out Uuran!" Ethian, not having time to get out of the way of the lightning (it hit him as he hit Iban), struggled to keep his legs from buckling. The electricity had left burns on his face and left arm.

The captain looked surprised at Ethian's sudden appearance and said, "You're interrupting an approved duel!" Ethian's eyes widened as he shouted, "He's going to kill you!" The captain, who's name turned out to be Uuran, smiled. "Ethian, this is something I have to do. There's no hope left if I don't..." Ethian stared at the captain, then at Iban. "O-okay." Ethian said as he stepped backwards, into the crowd of soldiers.

The captain nodded to Iban. "Let us finish this, then." Electricity visibly swirled around his sword as he spoke.

 

[Brilliand]

((Well, my first thought would accidentally melt a million acres of land... I guess Iban won't be going underground. Also, in a situation like that, what Iban really should do is destroy Ethian without even paying attention to what he's destroying. Please don't have Ethian touch Iban during a duel. Man, this is awkward... the character has no qualms about destroying things the author would like to save.

Cheat, I'm assuming Castle Rulton is an open-air castle with a village inside and a keep (with its own roof) on one corner. I think that's the only kind, but I'm not sure.))

When Ethian hit him, Iban abruptly changed tactics, dropping to the ground and swooping under Ethian to come up in a standing position a few yards away. After listening to the exchange between Ethian and Uuran, Iban turned back to the captain. The entire castle was starting to heat up - he had to finish this quickly, or the bystanders would be killed. Without warning, a powerful laser beam shot out of Iban's chest, aimed directly for Uuran's chest.

***

Jerrick looked at Lance, then stared at the black spear. "What? The demon spear? That thing's really nasty. I would never use anything created by Silverman. Where did you find it, anyway?"

***

Querrot clomped into the main lobby and sat down to wait.

***

Once inside the castle, Aden took his time in conquering it. He didn't need to kill everyone - maybe he could even take it over bloodlessly. Enemies were coming at him, but every ranged attack was blocked by a newly generated cobblestone golem, while melee attackers were kept at bay with powerful blasts of wind. Keeping an eye on the enemy, Aden started for the keep, where he would most likely find the person in charge - and the only person worth killing.

 

[TheCheat1]

((I assumed Ethian would've done it faster than Iban could've reacted, even if only slightly. ))

 

[NavyGuy7]

"Demon Spear, eh? Silverman? All I know about this weapon is that it instantly kills whoever I throw it at. It helped kill Gresholm, I think his name was... or maybe it was that other guy.... I dunno. If we found Ethian he'd be able to tell you for certain. Iban.. kinda was my first victim with this thing. By accident. So I regenerated him just before Hollowstar was destroyed."
Lance shrugged, then walked out of the hangar.
"It's this way..." Lance called back behind him.
****
"I guess we're going to a castle..." Tek said, as everyone entered the
main lobby. Lance had a black spear of some sort, which he guessed was a Hollowstar artifact; otherwise, Lance wouldn't be using it.
"What was the name again, Mel? I'm guessing if it's a castle, there's bound to be some Bruthalians trying to take it out. Now I don't know what type of people is on this planet, nor their abilities, so I'm gonna have to trust you on this one, Mel. And Querrot... what do you mean by "magic"? Do you mean some sort of nano-technology you use? Because, you know, I don't think magic really exists."
Tek shook his head.
"SO is everyone agreed to going to this Castle Rutoni?"

(Yes, I got the name wrong on purpose.)

 

[CharlesSmites]

((Posting for The Cheat.))

Uuran fell to the ground, dead. Iban's laser had killed him instantly, not leaving him a moment to react. The guards gasped, not knowing whether to cheer, sob, or attack. Ethian stood silently, staring at the captain's motionless body. Why? he thought. Why would you fight a battle you knew you couldn't win? Why would you risk everything? The next-in-command stepped out of the crowd of guards and announced, "Everyone back to their post! Now!"

Ethian walked over to Uuran's body and kneeled next to it, rolling it over and closing the man's eyes. Why?

***

Mel stood, not understanding anything that the adults were talking about. He began to play with a tiny ball of fire, bouncing it between his hands playfully. Boring grown-ups.

***

Litra busted down the wall of the castle with a ton of slate, killing an entire squad of soldiers in one swift blow. Hopping in through the hole she had created, she began using bricks from the walls to kill Bruthalians.

((The Cheat would like to know if you, B, want to take control of one or both of AirForceDude8's characters and/or Ein. If you want one or more of these, please tell me, and then The Cheat will take whichever is left.))

 

[NavyGuy7]

((That's NavyGuy7, charles. NavyGuy7!!!! Don't make me smite you with yourself!))

 

[Brilliand]

As Tek's ship approached Castle Rulton, a dragon appeared on the horizon. Its pale complexion made it nearly invisible agaisnt the glare of the sun, and there was barely time for Jerrick to sight it before a bright light flashed out of its mouth, looking like a reflection off polished steel. Tek's ship immediately began to disintegrate, causing Tek and Lance to leap into the pilot and copilot's seats respectively. The dragon fired two more blasts into the ship, and it began to break up, causing Mel, Querrot and Jerrick to fall through cracks in the floor. By some fluke, the front part of the cabin of the ship was unaffected by the blast, and it hurtled off into the distance, ignored by the dragon.

As Jerrick tumbled through the air, he rooted around in his helmet and pulled out the Test of Meekness - an amazingly reliable defensive artifact. A split second before hitting the ground, he activated it, reducing a collision that would have crushed ever bone in his body... to a light tap.

Querrot fell faster than Jerrick, but his diamond armor held as he slammed into the ground, forcing the dirt into a pile. After a few seconds he stood up, dazed but unhurt.

 

[TheCheat1]

Mel stopped short of the ground, levitating above it. After a few seconds of being in midair, he dropped quietly to the dirt and tried to hide the shock from falling. He failed.

"HOLY MOLEY! Did you SEE that?! That dragon thingy disintillated the ship! HOLY MOLEY!"

Just then, Mel's ears twitched. "Whoa," he gasped, "There's people fighting up ahead!" Mel ran ahead yelling, "Come on you guys, let's go!"

 

[Brilliand]

Jerrick paused to deactivate the Test of Meekness and return it to his helmet, then jogged after Mel. Querrot followed, stumping along painfully slowly.

***

Iban turned and looked up into the sky. Lord Viper? Maybe he will agree to a duel. Iban launched himself into the air at a speed that only Ethian could follow, and hurtled off toward a destination that would have gone unnoticed if not for him - a white dragon.

***

Aden stopped abruptly and looked up in the sky, intrigued by the sound of a crashing spaceship. At a glance he took in the Viper Dragon and its master, Lord Viper, working together as seamlessly as any dragon and dragon rider. He seemed to be circleing a target in the hills below, and Aden shot into the sky to investigate.

"Atmosphere Thickening. Lord Viper, what are you here for?"

Lord Viper ignored Aden, and fired a disintegrating blast at Jerrick.

***

Jerrick looked up suddenly as he saw the Viper Dragon turn its mouth toward him. He felt a twinge of fear, but he also knew what to do. Reaching up to his helmet, he drew out the Test of Meekness, and immediately after it his favorite sword - blade-first. Before the first drops of blood hit the ground, the dragon's breath washed over him harmlessly, too powerful to have any effect.

The ruined sword slipped to the ground, the Test of Meekness rose into the air, and the Viper Dragon slammed into the ground, blown out of the sky by Aden's wind.

 

[TheCheat1]

Mel rushed into the chaos, blasting fire at the Bruthalians and making a few of them quite crispy. "Guys, guys! Look!" Mel pointed to Castle Rulton and jumped up and down. "Litra and that other guy are there! Hurry, hurry!" Mel ran off to the castle as fast as his short legs would carry him.

***

"We must go to Castle Rulton!" A man came riding a steed, stopping in front of the many guards. "It is under siege! We must go now!" Ethian nodded to a guard, and that guard ran and told the ones inside the castle. In a matter of minutes, the guards rushed off in the direction of the castle of Rulton, which was only a dozen or so miles away. "Iban!" Ethian said to the android, "Go help them! There will be plenty of people to fight there!" Ethian, however, turned to the opposite direction, his ears twitching violently. "Something's wrong..." he whispered to himself. Suddenly, the entire ground around him vibrated, once, twice, three times, and then, out of nowhere, a shockwave ran through the air, sending Ethian and everyone around flying to the dirt. "Something big just exploded!" Ethian screamed over the constant booms of the shockwaves.

Beside him, Ethian saw Joshua, holding his hands on top of his head for protection as things flew about.

***

Around her, Litra saw people being thrown to the ground and trees snapping in half. Without notice she too, found herself on the floor of the castle, walls around her shaking and cracking. It sounds like there’s a million bombs going off at once! She thought, trying to get up but discovering that the shockwaves kept on coming. This is no normal explosion…

***

Mel flew backwards, slamming into Shimeran as they both sprawled face-first to the ground—as did everyone around them. “What is that?” Shimeran roared. “I dunno’!” Mel shouted back.

***

Then, the chaos halted, and all was quiet.


Joshua stood and demanded, "What was that?!" Ethian frowned. "A bomb." Joshua's eyes lit up with questions. "From where?" Ethian sighed. "Somebody just blew off the surface of Pelnome."

((Remember, Ethian is staying, so don't worry about him. Let's get the others together, and then Mel and Ethian will meet up. Then we can wrap up the act.))