Awakening (Beginnings Pt. I)

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[edit] Summary

The first part of the Legend of the Gilded Dragon arc in the Chaotic Reign Series.

Three unlikely friends journey the lands of Chaosia, in a quest to stop the return of an ancient evil.

[edit] Story

[edit] Prologue: Betrayal

Betrayal is a wound so deep… it can transcend generations… Long ago, the heroes of the world were betrayed by one of their own…

…‘I’m sick of the anguish! Find a new source for you appetite for misery!’ … ‘Then I will simply be rid of you…’…

Torn apart by deceit…

…‘I sacrificed a lot for you… now I’m wondering why.’ … ‘Because you never saw this coming…’…

And led to where they had almost faced destruction…

…‘I want to understand… Why did you do this…?’ … ‘Because it means that I will have more than you ever dreamed…’…

They had admitted her into their ranks, and showed her what they were about…

…‘I will expose you to the rest of them! You will not get away with this!’ … ‘But I already have, ‘strong man’’…

She was the pride of Chaosia, and was seen as a sister to them…

…’I trusted you...You were my friend and I thought you were better than this!’… ‘Well you thought wrong’…

But none thought that she would be the one that was foretold to tear them down…

…’ You sold us out! And for what?! Money? Power? Glory?’ … ‘All of the above, actually.’…

There were those who warned them, but they scoffed then…

‘I knew I could never trust you. But I never thought you would pull this’… ‘Well, then you have much to learn, ‘master thief’’…

And all were unprepared for what happened…

…’And now I see your true colors… Black and Scarlet…’ … ‘Then I believe my name is most fitting.’…

If only Scarlet’s betrayal had been stopped… Then perhaps, this world would not stand as it is…

[edit] Chapter I: Into The Jungle

Another year gone by… Another year I didn’t get into the Academy. Dan thought. Top student five years running. Dan Von Gin was the only son of a noble family, 10 years old. He had a skinny build, and medium-length brown hair. He has been attending Stargate School of Psychokinetics for the past five years, being gifted in the Psychoforce, one of eight pieces of the Chaosforce.

All I can do is hope they accept me this year… He thought. He looked down towards his fellow students, sitting quietly in their chairs, inside a grand, ornately decorated auditorium carved from solid marble. The headmaster was giving his usual end-of-the-year speech, when Dan felt something strange. It was dark and cold, like an icy abyss and felt more corrupt than any politician… and it was headed this way!

Catching everyone by surprise, something crashed into the school, the place shaking violently. Almost immediately, Dan jumped down from the ceiling, and used his powers to open the doors and push people out. As the shaking continued, some of the pillars began to crack and fall, being stopped by the instructors.

Dan, with the bulk of his powers focused on saving the others, was helpless to stop the pillar about to crush him. “Well, this story didn’t last long…” He said just as the pillar was bout to crush him into his favorite breakfast. With only seconds to spare, a yellow blur grabbed him and carried him to the cliff overlooking the Hidden Jungle.

“Whoa. Now that was weird,” he said, watching the yellow blur dash off into the jungle. “Something tells me that thing’s arrival was no coincidence.”

With that, he jumped down into the jungle, planning to follow the mysterious yellow entity. Hitting the treetops and using his psychokinetics to prevent the frail branches from snapping beneath his feet, Dan dashed along, following the path of the 'yellow spirit', as it shall be dubbed for the time being. As he was running, jumping from tree to tree, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, and felt the same icy chill from before. From out of nowhere, a black blur rushed by and knocked Dan off-balance, sending him falling through the trees to the ground.

Several hours later, Dan awoke in a daze, seeing nothing but a blurry landscape of greens and browns. Before his vision could return to normal, he was already seeing very clearly...... through smell. The fresh aroma of jungle flowers, the repugnant fumes of mosses and fungi, the sweet scent of the leaves, and many other smells. As these glorious aromas filled his nostrils, his mind cleared up the blurry image from his eyes. The fall, which he was lucky enough to have survived, seemed to have triggered a sense of smell at a canine level.

“Whoa... This day is just full of surprises, isn't it?” Dan asked rhetorically. Standing up, he took in all the smells, getting a grip on his surroundings. There's no way I'll be able to catch that Yellow Spirit now. There's no tr- wait... that smell... its freshly carved wood! He thought, heading in the direction of the scent.

He stopped in front of the tree where the smell was strongest, but he, at first, could not see anything unusual about it. Upon further inspection, though, he found that someone had carved into it. The carving read:

“Nanu?” Dan thought back to the unintelligible noise the Yellow Spirit had made. A noise that, now that he was thinking about it, sounded vaguely like 'Nanu'.

“Well, at least I know that I'm on the right track.” Dan said. He turned to the direction of the arrow and picked up the smell of carved trees ahead. He instantly followed the scent, coming to carving after carving, following his mysterious friend's trail. About halfway there, he noticed other smells... the distinct stench of power plants. Power Plants? Dan thought, slightly confused. He found it strange that the power plants used by the Sol Region of the Northeast were this far to the West. Maybe the regions aren't as clear-cut as they teach them to be... He thought as he ran into the busy Radical Speedway.

[edit] Chapter II: The Yellow Spirit Revealed

As Dan ran out into the streets, he almost instantly avoiding the traffic. Jumping, dodging, and weaving, it took all he had just to get out of the way

“Guess it's true what they say. There are only three speeds on the Radical Speedway: Fast, Faster, and Way Too Fast.” he, said, cracking a joke about the insane speeds of this place. Just as he turned around, he saw the yellow spirit dashing by the cars, following the path of the Speedway.

“Oh you've gotta be kidding...” He jumped over onto a passing vehicle, latching himself down with his powers. Upon contact, he felt an incredible rush of speed, and was sent zipping down the streets, following his strange yellow friend. Although he still had to duck and such to avoid incoming signs and overpasses, to his luck, the car he was on never took a different path, as if it too was following the spirit. But, his luck quickly turned into dismay, as the car was quickly approaching a High Speed Zone. Oh, come on! That voltage will kill me! He thought.

Lucky enough for him, there was an area just off the road that he would be able to reach, if he timed his jump right. With the bluish electrical generator closing in, Dan sprung off, landing on the wall, safe from getting fried. He watched as the yellow spirit jumped up on top of the tunnel, following its course.

“Great,” he said as he hopped down to the ground, “how can I catch that thing now?” He kicked a piece of scrap metal, which landed on a pipeline following the tunnel. On contact, the metal began to zip along the pipe, as though it were flying through the tunnel. This gave Dan an idea, and he grabbed another scrap piece and hopped up to a nice vantage point.

“Well, here goes everything...” Dan stated, jumping off, placing the metal beneath his feet, and landing on the pipe. He began zipping along the pipe, following the trail of the spirit. As he went, Dan really got into it, jumping and performing tricks as he got hot on the trail of the yellow spirit. Close to the end, the spirit jumped from the top, heading off towards a dead sector, an area without power. Dan leaped off his 'board', flipping over and over, landing a distance away from an abandoned power plant.

“Where are you going?” Dan inquired of his 'guide'. A little short on his powers by now, he rushed over to the old, unused building. As he entered, he saw that, as he thought, the building had been abandoned several years ago. Dust covered every inch of the interior. From deeper inside, he could hear the sounds of a battle being fought. Heading for the rail, he saw the yellow spirit engaged in combat with the blackened creature from before. Or rather, one that looked similar, but had blood-red markings on its body. He watched as the spirit dashed around the creature, connecting blow after blow, with the creature, of a size equal to that of a full-grown man, making no motions to defend itself. Dan could tell that the creature was gauging it's opponent's speed. Sure enough, without warning, the creature grabbed the spirit and tossed him across the room, and into the generator.

Unfortunately, this activated some of the lights, revealing Dan to the creature. On instinct, Dan lifted a large metal crate and flung it around at the creature, nailing it in the head. This caused it to reel back, giving Dan another 'brilliant' idea. He began to jump around, using his powers to launch numerous heavy objects at his foe. After several minutes’ worth of relentless pounding, the creature turned and retreated.

“Guess he didn't want to play catch after all,” Dan said, with a cocky tone. From behind him, he heard groaning, coming from the busted generator. He turned around to see a boy about his own age standing where the Yellow Spirit had landed. He was wearing jeans and a yellow shirt, and seemed very... hyper. He was also skinny, and had hair full of cowlicks, but did not seem to mind.

“Nanu.” He said.

“Hi.” Dan responded, looking at the shirt. That explains the yellow blur... “So, I guess you're the 'yellow spirit'?”

“Yep,” he said, “name's Thomas. Thomas 'Nanu' Sparx.”

“Dan Von Gin.” Dan replied. “Now, would you mind telling me what's going on here?!”

“I was hoping you'd be able to answer the same thing.”

“Great...” Dan sighed, “Can we at least follow that creature.”

“Easy,” Thomas said, grabbing a rope and tying it to himself, tossing the other end to Dan. “Hold on tight, pal.” Dan did as he was asked, and he felt a sudden jerk, and before he knew it, the passing landscape had become blurry.

“Whoa... Intense!” he said. Before too long, the landscape changed from highway to jungle, and then again to that of a port town. In less then ten minutes, they had come to the docks of Junglira. Thomas collapsed, exhausted of his Electroforce powers.

“So... what's first?” he asked, struggling for air.

“Well, as soon as you're done resting, we get some food, then go from there.” Dan quickly replied.

“Okay then,” Thomas said, quickly recovering. As soon as he was back on his feet, they began to walk around the docks, and walked over to one of the shops, where they got some Ramen to eat. As they were eating, Dan decided to ask Thomas something.

“So, Thomas. Where do you come from?”

“Well, I have a family out in the southern deserts. But… we’re kind of broken. Dad’s dead, brother’s crazy, and mom… well, she has trouble paying for everything, ya know.” Thomas said, looking down, “so when I saw that thing, I decided to track it down, see if I can make some money. Help the family, ya know?”

“Oh… makes me feel uncomfortable telling you my story…” Dan replied, “I come from a respected family in Junglira. I have pretty much all that I ever wanted. Family, good food, a little spending money, and now I can even cross ‘good friend’ off the list. They only thing I want that I don’t have is entrance to the Chaos Academy. I guess that’s what I’m in this for.”

“Yeah, that makes me feel better.” Thomas said, finishing his ramen.

“Alright, how bout this: Once this is all over, I’ll get you the money you need. Sound good, friend?”

“Great. Pal.” And the pair shook on it, sealing their friendship.

“Alright, now that we’re full… any ideas?” Dan said, looking around. Thomas also looked around and was the one who spotted the newspaper. He picked it up and showed it to Dan.

'Saturday, May 30th, 3215

Mysteries at Stargate

Yesterday afternoon, a mysterious blur struck Stargate School of Psychokinetics during their End of the Year ceremony. The ceremony was cut short by the sudden collapsing of the building. A head count was made after the destruction had ended, and only one student has been reported missing.

The missing student is none other than the school’s pride, Dan Von Gin. Eyewitnesses reported seeing Dan nearly flattened by a falling pillar, saved by a mysterious yellow blur, suggesting this second one is friendly. It is as of yet unknown what has become of Dan or the two blurs, only that they have gone into the Hidden Jungle. More reports on this incident will be made as they arrive.'

“Well, would you look at that, we made front page news, Thomas. And they even got a nice picture.” Dan said, half-smiling.

“They also warn people to keep an eye out for the black blur. Huh. Wonder if anyone’s seen anything.”

“Only one way to find out.” And so the pair walked around, asking about the blur, using the picture as reference. After a little while, they came to a man on the docks that saw something.

“Hoy there! Whatcha be needin’?” The man said. “Name’s Tonio.”

“We want to ask you if you know anything about that thing?” Thomas said, indicating the black creature.

“Oh, mighty bad vibes there. You best keep yer distance from that thing.”

“The ‘thing’ happened to destroy my school.”

“You… You’d be Dan Von Gin, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. And this is my friend, Thomas Sparx. He saved my butt back there, actually. Now, please, have you seen this thing recently?”

“Aye. It came not but a few hours ago. When I saw it, I felt a nasty chill run down my spine. I hopped into that ship and locked down, but I watched it from the safe inside. Looked like it was runnin’ from somethin’. Saw it steal Marco’s boat, and head off to the north, probably halfway to Aquaria by now.” Tonio finished.

“Great. Thanks! Alright, Thomas, we just need to find a way to Aquaria.” Dan said.

“Hey, I’d be willin’ to give you a ride there, if yer heart’s set on it.” Tony said to them.

“Heck, I’ll take it.” Dan said. Tonio led them over to his boat, which Thomas almost instantly deemed as a ‘rust bucket’.

“Well, I know she’s not much to look at, but she’ll get us there in one piece.” Tonio said, helping Dan and Thomas aboard. “Hang on to somethin’, though. Startin’ up ol’ Rosie is a little bumpy.” He called before starting up the engines. At that moment the whole boat lurched forward, then leveled out.

“Are you sure this thing is safe?” Dan asked him.

“Relax! She’s fine!” Tonio called back. “Sit back and enjoy the ride! Next stop: Aquaria!”

[edit] Chapter III: City of Ice

Days passed. Thomas and Dan had helped Tonio with cleaning up the ship each day. By the time they had reached their destination, the ship had never looked better, according to Tonio.

“Hey, boys. I’d wager you’ve got a big adventure ahead of you. Here, take this.” He said, handing them a compass-like device. “This will lead you in the right direction.”

“T-T-Thanks, Tonio. K-Keep an eye out for us in the p-p-p-papers.” Dan replied.

“Aye, that I will.” He said as the pair walked away. The two looked around, and were amazed by the tall, glistening structures, completely made of ice. Even the sidewalks and smaller structures were made of ice, with streets of water reminiscent of ancient Venice. Dan only had one complaint.

“It is STUPID cold out here!” He exclaimed, shivering, “come on, Thomas, let’s find a shop.” The pair walked into the city, and headed into the nearest shop. Walking up to the counter, an old man showed up from behind it.

Well, now, you two look like fine young gentlemen! And travelers by the look of it! Welcome to the city of ice, Aquaria!” the man said “And welcome to Marcus’s Coastal Hut! I’m Marcus, and you two fine gentlemen are?”

“D-Dan Von Gin and T-T-Thomas Sparx.” Dan said, still shaking. “D-Do you have anything f-f-for a kid w-who isn’t so used to such c-c-c-cold?”

“Ah Von Gin, eh? I think I may have just the thing for you!” Marcus said, disappearing into the back of the shop. There were sounds of crashing and banging, causing confused expressions in the boys. After a few minutes, Marcus came out from the back holding a box. “I tell ya, this is a one of a kind item,” he said, opening the box.

Dan looked into the box and pulled out what was inside. “It’s… a jacket?”

“Not just any jacket. This one was made long ago for, and here’s the kicker, specifically for the Von Gin lineage!” Marcus exclaimed. “It provides the feeling of the jungles that they are used to! And, it seems to adjust a size to fit the wearer. It is quite the exotic item.”

'Wednesday, June 3rd, 3215

Highways and Dock Scanning

In a follow up to Mysteries at Stargate (see last Saturday’s issue), reporters followed the trail of Dan Von Gin, the yellow blur from last week’s image (which has been identified as Thomas Sparx), and the black figure. Dan had chased the two blurs through the jungle, eventually coming out at Radical Speedway. The three supposedly clashed inside an disused power plant. It is unknown what exactly took place there.

After this, the black figure is confirmed to have stolen the boat of a Marco Rodriguez. A few hours later, the two boys had arrived at the docks, and accepted a ride from Antonio ‘Tonio’ Cortez, who took them to the Congelé Region capital, Aquaria. Fair weather permitting, the group will have likely arrived in Aquaria on the same day that this article is published. If they have arrived, please be sure to inform your local reporters as soon as you can.'

“Well, look at that. Front-page news twice in a row. Thomas, we are getting famous.” Dan said, laughing.

“No kidding. All I can hope is that this doesn’t hinder us.” Thomas said, looking around, as if trying not to be seen.

“True.” Dan looked to his right to see somewhat of a commotion brewing. He stood up to get a better view, but it was what he heard that confirmed his suspicions.

“COME BACK HERE YA LITTLE PUNK!” a voice called out. Dan and Thomas stood up and moved to where they could get a better view. What they saw were three older boys chasing a boy about a year younger than them.

“Sorry! I may be crazy, but I ain’t suicidal!” the younger boy called back. Dan and Thomas watched as he ended up running into a spot that left him cornered by the three others. Dan and Thomas took this as a sign to get moving. The older boys surrounded the younger, cutting off his escape.

“You’re gonna pay for wrecking this shirt, punk!” their apparent leader said. Just as Dan and Thomas got over to them, he was raising his arm up for the strike. Dan jumped over and grabbed his arm, stopping him.

“Come on now… can’t we talk about this…?” Dan said, straining to keep the blow from being finished. The leader stopped, pulled his hand away, and turned to Dan.

“And just who do you think you are?” he said.

“Name’s Dan. And you guys are?”

“I’m Jordan. And these are my pals, Jared and Jerome.”

“Nice to meet the three of you. Now, what’s going on?”

“This little punk,” Jordan said, indicating the boy behind them, “spilled soda all over my favorite shirt!” The boys watched as a crowd gathered around them, inadvertently cutting off Thomas from the others.

“Now hold on just a darn minute, there, Jordan!” The boy said, standing up. “You know darn well that I tripped! I didn’t mean to get your shirt all wet!”

“Shut up!” he said, grabbing the boy and tossing him into Dan. He came up to them and once again prepared to strike, only to have Thomas jump over the crowd and kick him back. Thomas landed in front of Dan, and helped him and the boy to their feet. Jared turned to the group, and charged. Dan looked to either side of him, nodding. Thomas and the boy jumped to the side, and Dan formed a psychokinetic barrier between himself and Jared, sending the latter flying back into the wall. Jerome used this as a chance to get the drop on Dan. Running up to him, he was about to strike when Thomas slammed into him, shocking him and sending him into the crowd. Thomas and Dan exchanged high fives, as Jordan was getting up. Jordan, fuming with rage, charged at them, giving them little time to react. Just as he reached them, a block of ice shot up and struck his head from below. Jordan reeled back and fell over. The boy came up and leaned over him.

“This is what happens when you overreact to something that can be washed out, my friend.” The boy then took his leave through the crowd, followed by Dan and Thomas. They began walking across town, Dan and Thomas congratulating each other on their teamwork.

“That was pretty good for our first fight as a team, eh Thomas?”

“Yeah. But, we couldn’t have done it without you, kid. What’s you’re name?”

The boy turned to them, smiling. “Name’s Jason O’Waterfalls. Some people call me the local town boob, but hey, gotta live with what ya got.”

“Well, Jason,” Dan said, “thanks. If it wasn’t for you, Thomas and I would be out cold.”

“Eh,” was his only response. Jason was a young lad of nine, sporting somewhat messy hair and a tall frame, and continued walking, looking down. Dan thought that something was bothering him, but he didn’t feel like asking. After a half hour of walking, they were on another shoreline, and in front of a sort of run-down building. Jason opened the door and invited them in.

“Ruckus! I’m home!” Jason called out.

“I’ll be up in a minute, boy! I’m tryin’ to finish this thing up!” came a voice from downstairs. Jason and the others took seats on the couch and chairs, while they waited for Ruckus. The house was a bit of a mess, and was without a doubt the residence of an inventor.

After around an hour, Ruckus emerged from the basement. He was a slightly pudgy man with a strangely large eye that seemed to pierce into your mind. He was covered in grease, and was wearing a lab coat. “Hey there, Jason. Ah, you brought company! Wonderful!”

“Uncle Ruckus, these two are Dan Von Gin and Thomas Sparx. They really helped me out earlier.” Jason said, smirking.

“Oh, well, it’s great to see you have some good friends, there, Jason. Come on, help me out here in the kitchen!” he said, turning and heading into the kitchen. Jason got up and followed him inside. Thomas and Dan looked at each other, shrugged, then got up and went into the kitchen. Upon entering, they saw that the mess in the living room was nothing compared to that in the kitchen. Ruckus could be seen trying to dig something out of the refrigerator, while Jason was preparing the stove for cooking. Dan and Thomas decided to throw in some help, and they managed to get some dinner going in a matter of 10 minutes.

After having been fed, the four of them sat once again in the living room, and were exchanging stories.

“Well, let’s see…” Ruckus began, “I was born down in the South Bayou, with my brother Jay. I had always loved building stuff, and even when Pa and Jay were out fishin’, I would be holed up in my room, tryin’ to make something out of what I had. Eventually, I left the house and traveled around, eventually took up residence here, and then even takin’ Jason in.”

Dan smiled. “That’s a wonderful story. I lived my life happy with what I had. It’s not like I was not provided for, no, far from that. The only thing I want that I don’t have is being in the Chaos Academy.”

“Yeah. I come from a broken family.” Thomas said. “My dad died when I was young, so I didn’t know him well. A few years later, my brother went insane and he was taken away from us. Ever since then, my mom’s been struggling to provide for my little brother and me. So, that’s how I came to be here.”

The three turned to Jason. He looked from one to another to another, going back and forth, before getting up and leaving. Dan got up to follow him, but Ruckus stopped him and told him that Jason needs time alone. Dan watched as Jason walked out of the house, then he sat back down.

“Now, boys, try to understand… You both have it better than Jason has. Dan, you have a well-off family that loves you and cares for you, while you, Thomas, have had your family broken by circumstances beyond their control.” Ruckus began. “But Jason… Well, see, his father, Jay, had always been a fisher at heart. One day his career brought him to a small water town called Suburbia. He met a wonderful woman there, and before I knew it, they were getting married. They lived happily for a time, and had three kids: Huey, Rachel, and Jason himself. But what came to pass…”

“What happened?” Thomas asked

“What happened was that Jay and his wife, Maria, began to drift apart. Eventually, they split apart. Huey went to become a fisherman with his dad, and Rachel went to become a nurse like her mother.” Ruckus continued “The two of them fought over which one of them Jason would go with, so much so that he eventually just up and left. He came to me eventually, and he’s been living here… But he doesn’t belong here. He deserves better than what I’ve got to offer.” At those words, Ruckus got up and went back downstairs. Dan looked down, and he couldn’t help but feel he had to do something for Jason. He got up and headed outside, looking for him.

When he got outside, he saw it was sunset, and the light was glimmering off the buildings and streets in a wondrous way. He stood there, taking in the awe-inspiring sight, when a voice broke his focus.

“It really is a beautiful sight, isn’t it?” Jason said, looking at Dan from on top of the house. Dan looked over to him and jumped up onto the roof.

“So, come out here often?”

“Yeah. I like the colors you get to see at sunset and sunrise. It kinda makes everything worth it.” Jason said, who then looked down. If only mom and dad could see the beauty of what they had... he thought.

“Jason… Ruckus told us about what happened. And… I want to let you know that Thomas and I are probably going to be all over the place the next few months.”

“What’re you saying?”

“Ruckus said that you seem like you don’t belong here. I’m trying to say that you could come with us until you find where you want to stay.”

“That’s mighty kind of ya, Dan.” Jason said, smiling. “Maybe tomorra I can take you and Thomas around to see the city” And the boys agreed on that, going for early in the morning. The pair got down from the roof and went inside, where they were greeted by Thomas, and the three went to sleep within the hour.

In the morning, Jason got Dan and Thomas up early, and they scrounged out a breakfast, and then headed out. They walked around the streets, Jason giving information on just about everything they came by. Eventually, Jason had led them to the top of a moderately sized structure. There, he used his Hydroforce powers to create two boards from the ice.

“Thomas, you want one?” he asked.

“Nah, I’ll just run.”

“Suit yourself.” At that, Jason jumped on one of the boards and slid down the building. Dan jumped on the other and followed him, followed by Thomas running down the building. When they were nearing the bottom, Jason formed a small ramp for the three to follow down into the water. In the water, Jason was moving his body in a flowing motion, propelling himself through the water. Dan was performing similar techniques, only instead propelling himself off the solid ice, while Thomas was keeping himself above the surface by running. Going along, the three of them caused quite the disturbance by splashing water upon those near the streets. Eventually, they came to a stop near the heart of the city, resting to regain their power. Dan said that he never knew anyone who knew how to have fun like that, bringing them all into laughter. Then, the three felt a sudden, inexplicable chill. Dan and Thomas knew what it was and jumped up, pulling Jason along as the black creature smashed through the building they had been in front of.

“Whoa! What is that thing?!” Jason cried.

“The reason we came to Aquaria, Jason.” Dan replied.

“It looks like it’s after something… in there.” Thomas said, pointing to the ornate building nearby, which the creature was heading into.

“Ah, shucks. Nothin’ in there but a little old sapphire.” Jason said, faking a southern dialect.

“A… Sapphire?” Thomas said, “What would it want with that?”

“Not much, unless…” Dan replied, “unless… Jason… have you seen this sapphire? And if so, does it… glow?”

“Well, actually, yeah, it gives of this wonderful blue light.”

“A chaos jewel!” Dan and Thomas both exclaimed. They grabbed Jason and chased after the creature. They crashed into the building, and were almost instantly attacked by guards. They sent ice going up around them.

“You can’t be here! We are going into a lockdown!” One of the guards said.

“Yeah? Let’s see you stop us!” Jason said, send the ice into them. Then while they were off-guard, he proceeded to bust Dan and Thomas out. “Come on!” he said, leading them off down the hall. They tangled with guards the entire way, some of them even setting traps, which they were lucky to get through. Icicles fell from the ceiling and shot from the walls, the floor would give way and become pits or waterways, and even pillars of ice would shoot around them. Thomas had the speed to avoid these obstacles, Dan’s powers mostly protected him, and Jason could get through no problem with his. After what seemed like and endless struggle, the boys noticed the traps getting faster and more powerful, along with the ice changing from a transparent and white complexion to a bright blue color, indicating that they were getting close to their goal. Sure enough, the hall came to a large chamber, and set in the center was none other than the Blue Chaos Jewel, forged of Hydroforce energy over 1000 years ago. But, their luck soon went south as they saw the black creature about to snag the gem.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Jason said, moving his arms in a wave like motion, sending the creature sliding back into the wall. This seemed to make it rather irate, as markings of a sickly green formed on its body. It turned to them and charged at them, the three of them scattering as it closed in. The one it followed was, of course, Jason, who was managing to keep it at bay, much to his surprise.

Dan had journeyed up to the ceiling, and was waiting for his moment to strike. Thomas, however, wasted no time repeating his earlier actions, and began pummeling the creature at high speeds, just like he had done before. It was only a matter of time before Thomas found himself gripped around the throat and thrown into Jason. It was at this moment that Dan had launched himself down at the creature, but it seemed to be prepared for him, and knocked him aside. It then turned back to the jewel, ready to take it once more as Thomas and Jason went over to Dan.

“Okay, we need a new strategy” Dan said, “Thomas, you and I will have to draw the creature’s attention away from that jewel so Jason can get it and get out.”

“Right” his friends said in agreement. And so the plan was set in motion. Thomas ran up to the creature and drew its attention from the jewel, running back over to Dan. It was then attacked by Dan from the side, then followed up by Thomas. The pair continued to distract it, not giving a readable pattern, and Jason managed to slip by and grab the jewel. But, this proved to be more harmful, as the chamber became unstable, as if it were melting. Dan and Thomas stopped what they were doing, grabbed him, and ran.

“Why do I get the feeling that that Chamber was kept together by the jewel?” Thomas said as the waters crashed into them. The roaring waters pushed them outside the crumbling building, sending them falling into the waterways. Coming up from the surface, they were able to see the museum's central dome sinking downward.

Great... Now the whole of the city is gonna be on our case if they catch us. Dan thought. He swam over to his friends.

“Hmm.... They probably wanted this for some pre-planned, twisted, evil scheme...” Jason said.

“Yeah, yeah, let's just get out of here!” Dan said, dragging them both from the water. The boys rushed back to Jason's house, with the authorities gathering around the museum, shocked at its collapse. When they got to the house, they began to gather up items and pack them.

“Now what's going on here?!” Ruckus said, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Uncle Ruckus, we kinda smashed the museum.” Jason said, holding out the blue jewel.

“What the-?!”

“Ruckus, sir, we need to leave Aquaria, and fast.” Dan said.

“W-Why?”

“Two reasons,” Thomas said, “one is the authorities will be looking for the jewel. Second is that they aren't the only ones.”

“Great...” Ruckus said. Reluctantly, he helped them get some supplies and led them down to the basement, where a state of the art boat waited. “I've been working on this baby for years. Now, hurry, inside.” And at that, they all got on the boat, and Ruckus took the controls to drive them away through a secret tunnel, just as the creature came into the house.

“So, where to?” Ruckus asked them.

“I don't know.” Dan said “Where could the other jewels be? I haven't the slightest- Tonio's compass!” He dived his hand into his jacket pockets, and fished out the compass. He held it in front of himself, not knowing what to do next. Oh man, I have no idea where to go... I want to find the Red Chaos Jewel though... He thought. As if it could read his mind, the compass began to glow and showed an image of the Valley of Flames far to the South.

“RUCKUS!” Jason called. “We gotta get to the Valley of Flames!”

“Alright, boys, here we go!” Ruckus said, hitting a switch. The boat made a large jump in speed and the group was soon on their way to the Valley of Flames, the most volcanically active spot in the world.

[edit] Chapter IV: Fire And Fury

The trip to the Valley of Flames took less time than was expected, probably due to the high speeds. Along the way, Dan and Ruckus were talking about the compass, which seemed to have magic properties, and Jason tried using the power of the Blue Jewel, at Thomas' suggestion. Upon arrival in the docks, the group was greeted by intense heat.

“Does this place.... have to be.... so close... to the volcanoes?” Jason asked?

“Yes it does, boy.... these people.... thrive off the heat... so they.... live where it's .... abundant....” Ruckus replied.

“So, what's the plan, Dan?” Thomas said.

Why am I the plan guy? Dan thought. He looked around and spotted a newsstand, and led them over to it. He grabbed one of the newspapers, which seemed to be coated with something to prevent burning. It read:

'Thursday, June 11th, 3215

Disaster At The Aquaria Museum

A mere day after our follow up to Mysteries At Stargate, Dan and Thomas were spotted at the Aquaria Museum, along with the Black Creature they had been tailing. At the museum, both the boys and the creature attempted to steal the Blue Chaos Jewel from the central chamber. The boys were successful in their attempt, which brought devastation to the building.

In tracking the culprits, the authorities followed them to residence of Martin “Ruckus” O'Waterfalls and his nephew, Jason. When they arrived, however, the place had been ransacked and abandoned. Be on the lookout for the criminals.'

Dan sighed. “Great, now we're wanted.” he turned to the others. “Look, we just got to make sure that no one finds out who we are, and we're good to go.” The others nodded in agreement. They spent the next few minutes discussing their next move. They had come to the conclusion that the Red Jewel is the 'engine' of the nearby Volatile Volcano. While the boys went to retrieve it, Ruckus would stay behind and guard the ship.

“So tell me again why we are walking through this god-forsaken, burning wasteland of hell?” Jason asked.

“It's like you said: They're after the Chaos Jewels for some sinister plot” Thomas responded.

“So we're going to the Volatile Volcano. It's eruption pattern is so erratic, it must be where the Red Jewel is.” Dan finished.

“Wait, are you nuts? The Jewel is going to be inside the volcano!” Jason exclaimed “We'll be burned alive!”

“And that's where you come in.” Thomas said “See, you have the Blue Jewel. Limitless Hydroforce energy.”

“So, it's your job to keep us from being turned into extra-crispy bacon.” Dan said. “Mmm... bacon...” and at that, the boys rushed off towards the volcano. “Remember, all we need to do is get over the small river of lava, and then it should be safe passage to the cave entrance that's supposed to be over there.”

“And then what?” Thomas asked him.

“I haven't gotten that far yet.”

Right then, the boys were brought to a halt and knocked to the ground by a violent rumbling. Looking up, they saw that the volcano had begun erupting, spewing insane amounts of lava. What's more was that the lava line was getting dangerously close to the boys. Thomas grabbed the others and ran them uphill to a safe point.

“It just figures that the writer would make this far more difficult than it needs to be.” Jason said.

“Huh?” Dan and Thomas said, confused beyond belief. Dan was the first to shake it off.

“Well, this makes things more difficult...” he said. “Alright, we still need to get to the other side. Jason, do you think you could make some platforms from the lava?”

“I can give it a shot,” he replied, sending a stream of water at the lava. He did manage to create a small platform, but it was not enough as it quickly melted. He tried time and again, but the result was mostly unchanged. He just shrugged and turned back to the others. They stood there, wondering how they could cross the insanely large river when Thomas spotted large chunks of rock floating down towards them.

As soon as they could, Dan and Thomas threw Jason onto the nearest rock, then Dan jumped on, followed by a running jump from Thomas. The platform wobbled a little, but they held their footing. They continued in this fashion, heading up the river of lava, until at one point, Thomas almost fell into the lava.

“Gotcha!” Dan said, grabbing him and pulling him to a stable position. The guys looked at each other, then heard what sound like an explosion, followed by fire flying overhead. The sound repeated itself several times, growing louder each time.

Are those... Jason thought, hoping it was something else.

Oh no... Thomas thought, seeing the creatures approaching.

Don't tell me... Dan though, putting his head in his hands.

“Lava Lizards,” the three of them said as one. Sure enough, a group of the creatures was coming towards the platform that the boys were on. Lava Lizards are beings that live in flows of Lava, so they are common around the volcanoes of the Yn Brydio region. The lizards are very territorial, and will attack and devour anyone who gets to close. This fact was a problem for the boys, as they needed to head into their territory to get to their goal.

One lizard jumped out of the lava and landed on the platform the boys were on. Flames erupted from it's back, threatening to burn them. Instinctively, Jason shot water at it, the creature recoiled and seemed to harden. Thomas was able to kick it into another lizard, rendering them both out cold. This gave them an idea, and they continued up river, taking down several lizards. But before long, Thomas and Jason were growing tired, and yet they were still surrounded.

What are we gonna do? Dan thought, looking around frantically. To his surprise, a large chuck of volcanic rock was floating down the river, and slamming into lizards in front of it. Dan realized that this was his only option. But it would require timing to be rid of both problems. He waited as the lizards closed in around him and his friends. Thomas and Jason protested, telling him to do something. Just as the lizards were upon them, Dan slammed his hands to the ground, which sent out a wave of psychic energy. Dan struggled a bit, but lifted up the many lizards around them, and threw them collectively at the rock. As he had hoped, the rock shattered, and Dan grabbed the others and jumped ahead, continuing towards the volcano. After a few hours, they had finally reached the cave entrance, but Dan was as tired as his friends, and they had agreed to take a short rest. Of course, they had to take shifts to make sure that they weren't ambushed while sleeping. Thomas decided on the first shift, and Dan on the last, leaving the middle shift for Jason.

With that decision made, Jason and Dan laid back and fell asleep. They had agreed on eighty minutes total rest each, and before Jason knew it, Thomas had shaken him awake. So now, Thomas had gone down for a rest while Jason was left watching them for the next forty minutes. He sat there, with nothing going on.

Bored... Bored... So bored... he thought, thinking he was gonna fall asleep again. But, just before he nodded off, he heard something. It was unclear at first, but after a little while, it became clearer.

”.....chase them....”

Chase them? Jason thought, chase who?

“....Jase thon....”

“Jase Thon? Who's that?” Jason asked to whoever was there.

“....Jason...”

“Wait, who are we talking about? Jase Thon or Jason?”

“Jason..... are you listening, Jason?”

“Huh? What? Uh... Yeah?” Jason responded as a blue sphere came from almost nowhere.

“Jason... They call me Splash. Listen to me for I haven't much time... The creatures are planning to bring back an ancient evil...”

“Really? Huh, I knew it was diabolical plan, but...”

“Focus, Jason, focus. As you had guessed in Aquaria, they require all of the Chaos Jewels to accomplish this. Dan and Thomas must know this and stop the plan, even if their destruction is necessary” Splash continued in his echoing, watery voice. “And one other thing... beware the girl with two faces.”

“Huh?”

“In a few months time, you and your friends will meet a girl that one will accept to the group, and another that will be your enemy. The are the same girl, wearing different faces. One seeking to destroy you from without, and the other seeking to tear you down from within.” Splash said, fading from view.

“Huh. Okay, so....” Jason began, trailing off. He shrugged and went back to guard duty. Unbeknownst to him, one of the black creatures had slipped by and into the cave. After a short while, he traded places with Dan, going back to sleep. Dan's shift was uneventful, and soon he had shaken both Thomas and Jason back to an awakened state. He motioned for them to follow him to the cave entrance.

“Okay, Jason, you got the jewel ready?” Dan said, when he nodded, holding the jewel up, he told Jason to make a barrier of water around the three of them. Once that was made using the jewel, they headed into the lava caves of the Volatile Volcano.

Meanwhile, back in the Village, an old friend, Marcus Furris, had invited Ruckus into an eating-place. Marcus was certainly surprised to see his old friend hanging around the docks this far south when he knew he lived in Aquaria. He approached him, and the two instantly remembered what they referred to as ‘the good times’.

Inside the restaurant, Marcus was happy to tell Ruckus that he had made it very big in the Regional Sport, Lava Surfing, which Ruckus took as no surprise. Marcus was about six foot three, a little taller than Ruckus. His most defining features were the result of his father being a Pyrrus, a being of fire. His literally flaming red hair, and the flames shooting from his wrists were his defining traits that gave him away to Ruckus

“So, what do you do now?” Ruckus asked him.

“Well, I’m actually a board manufacturer, now, helping out other people to get them to where I was.” Marcus replied, smiling.

“Yeah. You were big. And your image hasn’t changed a bit since then, Marcus.”

“So, what do you do now, Martin?”

“Well, first, people still call me Ruckus,” Ruckus said, laughing, “and secondly, I mainly just tinker around with various things.”

“Oh, so while I’ve changed much since we were kids, you’re exactly the same.” His friend replied, bringing both of them to a fit of laughter. The two men spent the next hour or so catching up with each other as they ate. But as fate would have it, their friendship was about to be put to the test.

“So… what’s this stuff I hear about your nephew?” Marcus asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Your nephew, Jason. Read in the papers that he and a couple friends of his who had been in the news already robbed the museum up there in Aquaria.”

“Now listen, Marcus, there is a very good reason they did that…”

“And what would that be? Face it, Ruckus, your nephew is a criminal at heart.” Marcus said, attacking Ruckus’s pride in the boy, “after all, he gets in trouble all the time, and he even ran away from home…”

“The Black Order, Marcus. They are coming back. But they need the Chaos Jewels to do it.” Ruckus responded, keeping his voice low so not to panic anyone nearby.

“What?” Marcus said.

“Remember those stories we’d hear… about the Betrayer?” He continued, “One of the rumors surrounding it was that she was only imprisoned… never defeated. She’s got to be the one behind all this.”

“Ruckus, you have finally lost whatever semblance of a mind you had.” Marcus said, shocked that his friend would even suggest that. “Ruckus, what do you have to back up your story?” At that, Ruckus stood up, turning to leave. “You really have changed a lot, Marcus. The Marcus I knew wouldn’t side with the masses over his friends.” He said, walking away, leaving Marcus stunned by his comment.

Meanwhile, back in the lava caves, Thomas was searching every nook and cranny for the jewel, or at least the path to it. Jason was left with the duty of keeping the three surrounded in a bubble of cold air, bordered by water. Though it was a tedious task, Jason never gave up, as Dan had told him that Jason’s power was crucial to this mission. With Thomas leading the way, they soon came to a large, open area beneath the volcano. The boys stood there, awestruck by the open, field-like area that stood before them. The began to walk around, looking at the scenery, when a slight rumbling shook them. Right in front of them, a small lava vent opened up, and small blobs of lava oozed out, and began to slide around.

“Bulbos.” Thomas said. Dan and Jason looked at each other, slightly worried. But this was not because of the Bulbos. The snail and crablike Bulbos are rather docile, and even are kept as pets from time to time. But they also happen to be a favorite prey of Lava Lizards and other more dangerous creatures. Sure enough, Embros, dangerous lava-based creatures, began to burrow up into the chamber. The Embros began to feast on the Bulbos, only to take notice of the boys. One lunged at them, with Dan jumping back and pulling the other two with him. Dan then fired a ball of energy at the Embro, which became covered in water as it broke through the group’s barrier. Upon contact with the creature, the sphere exploded, sending water splashing around the beast. It reeled back, roaring in pain, drawing still more Embros near.

“Crap.” Dan said. He instinctively grabbed his friends and jumped up to an elevated section, hopefully out of reach of the Embros. As it happened, they were out of physical reach of them, but still within firing range. Embros began tossing lava balls and even large Bulbos at them. Dan did as best he could to dodge the projectiles, but another rumbling knocked him down as lava began to flow from the hole that the Bulbos and Embros had come from.

“You're kidding me...” Dan said, worried that he and his friends would be done for. A pair of Embros had managed to claw their way up to them. Thomas jumped into action and spin kicked them back down, while Jason was looking around for an exit.

“Guys!” He said, “Over there! Head for the opening!” He pointed to a hole in the wall, above the rising lava line. Dan traced a path from where they were to there, and began leaping from platform to platform, bringing Jason and Thomas with him. The challenge was avoiding the Embros and falling into the Lava. Dan was beginning to realize that on a mission like this, one wrong move meant game over.

Thankfully without too many near-death encounters, they had made it over to the small tunnel opening and climbed inward, finding it to be very narrow for a natural lava tunnel, and they guessed that this is the way the black creatures went. They crawled through, all the time hoping they weren't being followed by the fiery creatures. To their surprise, the tunnel took a sharp dip downwards and became substantially wider, dropping them in a large chamber with a notably large pool of lava surrounding a pedestal. And sitting upon the pedestal was...

“The Chaos Jewel!” The three of them said in unison. They jumped to their feet and began to run towards the pedestal's small isle when again a violent rumbling shook them down.

“Oh, come on, not now!” Thomas said, thinking it was another eruption. The lava pool began to bubble and church as a large paw rose from it and slammed down next to the boys. A matching paw rose and touched down several feet away, as a reptilian head rose in front of the boys.

“What the hell is that?!” Jason cried, shaking slightly.

“I think... it's the Lizard King.” Dan said. “The ruler of this colony of Lava Lizards.”

“RRRWWWOAAR!” came the deafening boom from the creature's mouth. It raised its paw to strike down the intruders to its lair. Thomas grabbed his newfound friends and pulled them backwards just in time, as the paw pressed down into the ground where they had just stood.

“I think Jason and I should distract it while you get the jewel, Dan.” Thomas said, with Dan nodding his agreement. With some effort, Dan and Jason managed to make a second bubble, held in place by Dan's Psychoforce powers. Thomas and Jason went left while Dan went right. The larger bubble was a more noticeable target to the King, and it turned its attention to the pair within. Jason fired some shots of water at it, angering it into spewing fire towards them. Dan slipped around back and hopped upon the floating rocks in the lava.

From that angle, Dan noticed that the Lizard King had an oddly reddish tone to its natural colors, which led him to think that like the museum, it was supported by the Jewel. Meanwhile, Thomas and Jason were getting pulverized, barely able to stand from the fire, despite the freezing air around them. Thomas took the chance to hurl a flurry of blows at the water, sending a barrage of water balls towards the King, with minimal successful shots.

“Jason... I don't know how much longer I can keep this up” Thomas said, pulling him aside to avoid being hit by one of the Lizard's claws.

“I know, it's like his armor is made of iron or something...” Jason responded, and they both realized that the King's armor plating WAS iron in a way. After spending countless years underneath the surface of the lava, a Lizard's armor becomes harder and harder to where it is an iron-like toughness. But, Thomas guess that the spaces between the armor were highly sensitive, and that is where they pair fired their next few shots.

Dan, meanwhile, was hopping along the rocks, drawing closer to the pedestal, but it was continually shifting, and when their attack struck the Lizard's sensitive area, the pedestal's location shifted drastically. Dan realized that the pedestal rested on the creature's tail.

“GUYS! TRY NOT TO LET IT MOVE SO MUCH! I'M ALMOST THERE!”

“Got it!” They said, turning back to the Lizard. They choose to simply draw it's attacks to one area. The Lizard thankfully did not catch on, focused only on removing the intruders. With the others running out of room to move backwards, Dan jumped up and grabbed the red jewel, pulling it from its resting spot, and began heading back to the shore.

The lizard of course began to roar and thrash about, shaking the cavern. Its armor began to crack and fall apart as the boys climbed their way back up the tunnel, and made their way out of the volcano.

Upon reaching the out caverns, the group lowered the bubble, and Dan yelped at the intense heat of the Red Jewel. After adjusting to it, they climbed out of the cavern, to find themselves surrounded by black creatures.

“Crap.” They said together. But what happened next certainly took them by surprise. One of the creatures stepped forward.

“I'll admit you three are talented. But your resistance is over. Hand over the jewels you have right now and we'll let you leave here alive, agreed?” is what it said. Judging by its voice, they guessed it was a guy. The three of them huddled together.

“We can't let them take the jewels guys.” Jason said.

“We can't be killed either, Jason.” Thomas said.

“Okay, look, we'll give them the jewels so that they let us live. Then we can tail them further.” Dan said, and it was agreed. Dan handed the creature the two jewels and watched as they all took off. As soon as Dan was sure that they wouldn't notice them following, the three headed back to the village. What they saw surprised them even more, as many of the villagers and their law enforcement had gathered around, awaiting their return.

“There they are!” one of them cried out.

“Get 'em!” others shouted.

“This just isn't our day, is it?” Thomas said. The trio split up and managed to divide up the group pursuing them, which made things easier for them. Thomas took off in a mad dash towards the docks, leaving the others behind him, unable to keep up the whole way. Dan, however, had headed to the higher ground – the rooftops – to escape their reach, making getting to the docks a breeze. Jason instead took the less direct approach by slipping behind them and disguising himself. The three eventually managed to meet back at Ruckus' boat, with Ruckus ushering them onto the boat.

“Come on, boys, let's get out of here.” He said, attempting to fire up the engines. The engines, however, would not respond. “Oh, come on, baby, don't fail me now” Ruckus said over and over as the villagers closed in.

“Looks like we're in for another fight.” Jason said, as the three prepared to defend themselves.

“No!” someone said. A figure leaped from behind the crowd and landed between them and the boat.

“Marcus!” Ruckus called out. The man turned to them.

“I'm sorry old friend. You were right.” he pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it to Ruckus. The latter recognized it as a gear to his starter and began installing it as Marcus unleashed fire upon the village to defend his childhood friend. Sooner than one would believe, the boat was fixed and started up, pulling out of the port at a high speed. As the boat pulled away, Marcus let himself be arrested.

“You're going away for quite a while, Furris, for aiding and abetting.” One of the cops said. Marcus simply smiled, knowing he had done the right thing.

[edit] Chapter V: The Last Stronghold Revisited

As they rode off away from the valley, Ruckus was looking back to the shore, concerned for his friend. After a few minutes, Jason spoke up.

“So, Uncle Ruckus… who was that guy?” he asked.

“That, Jason, was my old friend Marcus Furris.” Ruckus responded, smiling.

“Waitwaitwait… you mean Marcus Furris? The Lava-Surfer?” Dan said, surprised.

“That’s right. He and I were friends back when we were kids on the Bayou. He’s quite durable, having survived a lot of my experiments,” Ruckus said with a chuckle. “Eventually, though, we split up, and I became the aspiring inventor you see today, and he became a lava surfer. But in the end, he was one of the best friends I could ever ask for.” At those words, the boys looked at each other and saw that they too were fast becoming friends. After a few minutes, Ruckus broke the silence.

“So, did you boys get the jewel?” the three of them looked away.

“Yeah, we did.” Thomas said “But we had to hand over both of them to the black creatures to stay alive.”

“Oh. Any ideas on where to go?”

They all shook their heads. Suddenly, Thomas remembered the compass and rummaged around for it. Upon finding it, he asked where the black creatures were heading. It pulled up the mysterious map of the world, zoomed on Chaosia, then zoomed on a part of the Sol region. It showed the Yellow Desert of the northeast. It then zoomed on a worn structure deep within the desert. With that knowledge, Ruckus adjusted their course to head to the desert. On the way, Dan and Jason were playing cards while Thomas was getting a snack. Dan was actually relieved that he got to change partners, stating that he would never play Speed with Thomas again. Everyone laughed, even Thomas.

With a couple weeks worth of travel, the group was on the shores near the desert. They got out of the boat and looked around. The small village nearby was the only thing they could see amid all the sand. They made their way into the little town, and found a little diner. They decided that they should use this time to get an early lunch. While in the diner, they found another newspaper, and picked it up, intrigued by the headline.

'Monday, June 22nd, 3215

Marcus Furris: Criminal?

The day of the release of Disaster at the Aquaria Museum, Dan and his cohorts were seen at the Valley Of Flames. They had reportedly gone into the dangerous Volatile Volcano to take the Red Chaos Jewel. In a vigilante attempt at arrest, famed lava surfer Marcus Furris created an opening for the others to escape.

Shortly after his arrest, Furris was interviewed by Nikki Kruger, a reporter in the Yn Brydio region.

“Nikki Kruger: I think the question on everyone's mind is why did you help them?

Marcus Furris: Because Martin is my friend, and I trust his judgment on them.

NK: And what is his judgment?

MF: He believes his nephew, Jason, and his friends are going to save us all.”

This shocking statement left many wondering on the intentions of the boys as they left the Valley.'

Ruckus shook his head as he read this. Jason just tossed the paper aside, and Dan and Jason didn't say anything about it. They quickly ordered their food and ate, discussing how they were going to find the mysterious structure.

“You know, something that big and that old is bound to stick out” Jason said

“Yeah, but I've seen this place. The desert is too big for us to just wander aimlessly through.” Thomas said. The two had been going back and forth over this for a few minutes when a man with strange glasses was passing by.

“Excuse me” he said “but are you trying to get to the stronghold?”

Everyone looked up at him. “Stronghold?” Dan asked.

“Yes yes.” he said. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Professor Zan Jovus, a Researcher for the Archives.”

“Really? Well, what do you know about this “Stronghold”, Professor?” Ruckus asked, intrigued.

“Ah, this stronghold was actually the last hold of the Chaotic Reign some three hundred years ago!” he said enthusiastically. “I've been wanting to go into it and see what artifacts I can find there, but there are these dreadful beasts swarming it now.”

“Dreadful beasts?” Dan said, “I think we may be able to help you.”

“Really?!”

“Yes. Just get us there and we'll handle the rest.” “Marvelous! Meet me outside, and I will show you the way!” He said as he departed. The group looked at each other and soon followed him outside. The Professor lead them over to the edge of town, and uncovered what looked like a small hover-car.

“Whoa, a Sand Speeder!” Ruckus exclaimed, “I remember reading about these things! I always wanted to improve on them, though...”

“Yes, they are quite the contraption.” Zan replied. “Come, everyone in!” He said, climbing into the speeder. Ruckus climbed into the seat behind him, and Dan took shotgun, with Jason behind him. Thomas, however, didn't get in.

“I'd prefer to run.” he said.

“Very well” Professor Jovus said. He started the speeder and drove it off to the desert, Thomas revving his feet and taking off after them.

Driving through the desert, they found that it was vast, endless, it just kept going and going. The sun was beating down upon them as they crossed the yellow sands, though the wind from their speed kept them relatively cool. However, after a little while, Thomas hopped into the speeder and nearly fell asleep. Professor Jovus chuckled slightly and looked back to him.

“Still haven't gotten to where you can keep it up for a while, huh?” he said. “My Grandpa Ricky was pretty slow starting out, but he got to the point where he could break Mach 4. Faster than anyone has gotten before. And no one has gotten much faster than that. Who knows? Maybe you'll be the one.”

“Yeah, right...” Thomas said, almost sounding defeated.

“And maybe Jason will become a genius” Dan said, trying to make the setting more light-hearted. Unfortunately, all he got were a few light chuckles, and the rest of the trip was made in silence. After what seemed like a few hours, with the sun reaching it's peak, a strange structure began to come up over the horizon, and upon seeing it, the professor slowed down the speeder. Jason sat straight up.

“Hey, why are you slowing down? It's hot out here!”

“Because this is where we'll start seeing those beasts I told you about.” Zan replied quietly. And sure enough, in the distance, a worm-like creature sprung forth from the ground, and dived back into it. More and more began to appear, and Ruckus began to look worried.

“Sand Wyrms.” He said, unenthusiastically. Sand Wyrms, while not particularly territorial, were still dangerous when hungry. Not to far from them, they saw a Sogua, a camel-like creature known for wandering the deserts, get eaten alive by several of the Wyrms. They knew then and there that if they didn't keep the Wyrms at bay, they'd me their next meal.

“So.... this is what you meant by 'Dreadful' beasts?” Dan said, grimacing at the sight of the Wyrms gorging themselves on their prey.

“Yes. I have found it far too dangerous to try and get by them without some way to combat them. Nothing I posses works against them” Zan replied, downtrodden.

“Hmm... what was that thing about Wyrms that I read in school...” Ruckus said “Hmm... They enjoy sunlight, so they are mostly active during the day... And they enjoy... A dry environment! That's it! Jason, you can do this, kid!” “Huh what?!” Jason responded, caught off guard.

“I think he's saying that since the Sand Wyrms prefer dry environments, they may have a weakness of sorts to water” the Professor responded.

“Jason, he wants you to use your Hydroforce powers on them. Hopefully drive them off.” Dan said “You can do this, man.”

At those words, Jason nodded and hopped out of the speeder, and began running forward. The desert... he thought, Why does it have to be the DESERT?! I'm so much faster on water... He trudged on forward towards the stronghold, hoping in vain not to be noticed by the Sand Wyrms. Of course, they delighted in a slow, clumsy prey and began to head towards him. They went with their usual tactic: Sneak up from behind so that their prey won't know they are coming until it's too late.

The Wyrms failed to realize that Jason was not alone. Hovering above the ground behind him were his friends and his uncle, along with the professor. As they were following Jason, something bumped into the bottom of the hovercraft, shaking it considerably. Backing up, the group could see a dazed Wyrm that had popped up beneath them.

“Oh, dear....” Zan whispered. He called out to Jason, “Jason! They're coming! Get ready!”

Jason jumped at those words. He began to panic and look around wildly. However, he could see nothing. The Wyrms had retreated deeper into the ground and backed off. But before long, they began to close in on Jason once more, and they began to rise and fall from the ground like speeding dolphins. But this was their undoing, as Jason shot out a ball of water at the one closest to him as it came up. It reeled back, crying out and swelling up slightly, making it a little sluggish. Jason took off towards the remains of the stronghold, though a little sluggish himself with the desert sands not being as smooth or slick as the streets of Aquaria. Two other worms attempted to take Jason from the sides, but he managed to drop down just in time and hit both of them with water. They both curled up as they flew to the sides. Jason tried to increase his speed, but it wasn’t enough and soon several were closing from behind. One thrust itself high into the air, and dived for Jason. Ruckus almost fell out of the speeder as he called to his nephew. The thing was almost upon the boy as he turned around.

Then, for a moment, he felt time freeze. His life came to him. Everything that had happened since he started living with Ruckus came to him and filled him with a sense of happiness. Then came to him the day he met his newfound friends. Such elation came to him, such overwhelming joy. Time resumed, and Jason slid out of the way just in time. When more came, he lashed a stream of water at the lot of them. When the water ended, Jason found himself holding a bluish sword in the form of the old Mediterranean Falcata. He was surprised at it's appearance, but as the remaining Wyrms gathered around him, he began swinging the blade around somewhat haphazard, but each swing sent out a small burst of water. The bursts missed for the most part, but kept the Wyrms at bay. Occasionally, one would strike a Wyrm, making it retreat entirely. After a short while of this, the Wyrms had completely retreated, and Jason fell over backwards. By the time the others picked him back up into the speeder, the Falcata had become nothing but mere water.

With the Wyrms having fled, the group was able to make it to the stronghold's tower unscathed. They took refuge under a fallen spire from the tower. Setting up a fire with supplies provided by the Professor, they began sharing the tale of their adventures thus far.

“Goodness. Seems the papers are a bit mis-informed, hmm?” He responded. “So, you're gathering the Chaos Jewels to prevent them from falling into the hands of what may be the remnants of the Black Order?”

“That's what it looks like,” Ruckus said. He then began chuckling.

“What's so funny, Uncle Ruckus?” Jason asked him.

“Well, it's just that I'd be an idiot scientist if I didn't know how you and I got caught up in this. And we know how Dan became a part of this, but,” He ranted, “we have no idea what got Thomas caught up in this.”

“Yeah, you're right,” Dan responded, “he was already in this by the time I was. I'm curious now... How did you get wrapped up in this?”

Thomas looked around a bit. He said “Well, it started back in Solea, where I live...”

“And begin flashback!” Jason interjected, drawing looks of both confusion and annoyance.

I live in the little coast town of Solea, it's not even a day's journey from Junglira. You know that my mom doesn't have a lot of money, so she and I, along with my younger brother, live in this small little apartment in the old town. It's actually a nice place, and I was pretty happy living there. I went to a somewhat large public school. It's pretty crowded sometimes. But it's nice, because I know my way all around the old town. I never would have guessed what the old abandoned tavern was hiding.

Nor did I expect to get wrapped up in all this. A few days before school ended, I started noticing a glow from the boarded up windows. It was faint and short at first... but it started to grow brighter and longer. The last day of school, it almost shone through the boards. So, I went up to it to see if I could find out what was causing it. I saw a blackened figure just as the light dimmed. Next thing I knew, something had bust through the wall and headed off in the direction of Junglira. I jumped the gun and chased it. And you all know what happened next.

“Sounds like some sort of conspiracy.” Jason said.

“And that may be right. It seems more and more of them have been turning up ever since I left Solea.” Thomas said.

“Well, whatever the case, we have a Jewel to get, right guys?” Dan said, looking at the two of them.

“Right!” They said together.

“Perhaps we should check for an entrance?” Professor Jovus said. The others nodded in agreement, and Jovus and the boys went to look for an entrance to the tower. Thomas searched around the tower for a hidden underground entrance, while Jason and Jovus search the walls. Dan also searched the walls, heading to the places just out of the reach of his friends. They spent an ample amount of time looking for a way in, but all they found was a path leading to the top.

After returning to the place they stopped, they found that Ruckus had made a small meal using the Professor's supplies. They all shrugged and sat down with him and began to eat. The meal went in silence, the question on everyone's mind being how they would get into the tower. They all knew that if they could not find away, then all their work would have been rendered pointless.

Then, from above them, something fell to the ground. The second before it hit the ground beside them, they saw what appeared to be a spider-like creature. The sickening splat noise made them all look away, but only for so long as they heard another one screeching as it feel from the tower. Entranced by curiosity, they all looked up, to see one of the black creatures at the top of the tower, struggling against a horde of the spiders. They seemed to be pouring out of a window at the top of the tower. And that’s when it hit him. Dan grabbed his friends and took them over to the bottom of the staircase-looking area.

“Guys, I think we just found our way in!” he said, smiling. Following them were the Professor and Ruckus. They both looked at the staircase.

“You really think that that will go into the tower?” Ruckus said.

“How else did that guy get up there?” Thomas asked. No one responded, so, Jovus approached the three of them.

“Boys, I know you’re looking for something important in there, but I too wish to find something.” He handed them a folded piece of paper, which they promptly unfolded. The paper had a picture of a book and a small description written beneath the picture. “That, boys, is a log kept by the leader of the Chaotic Reign some two hundred years ago. There is much missing on the transition period between High Chaosia and the Chaosia of today. I was hoping that by finding it I could find some new information about those events.”

“Huh. Well, if we find it, we’ll make sure to bring it back with us, Professor.” Jason said.

“Thanks boys. I suppose Ruckus and I shall wait here with the speeder, seeing as neither of us is likely to make it up there,” he said, turning back towards the speeder. With that, Ruckus followed suit, and the boys began following the pathway up to the top of the tower.

As they began to ascend the tower, they noticed that the stairs were only sticking out from the tower, and were not a part of the original structure.

“Huh… wonder why they added the stairs?” Thomas asked.

“Maybe they were creating an alternate path inward in the event that the original was buried in the sand?” Jason responded.

The other two looked at him. “Nah,” they said as one. And so they climbed up the winding, almost endless staircase, avoiding crumbling walls and stairs, jumping gaps, and even the spider-creatures tried to stop them. Continuous stairs lead them higher and higher, with Thomas and Jason nearly falling off at a few points. For what felt like ages, they climbed and climbed up the tower, until at last, the weary trio reached the top, where they found a small passageway, leading into the tower itself. They crawled through the little tunnel and found themselves in a large domed room... a room which no longer held the jewel, which had fallen to the bottom of the tower some time ago.

“Well, this day is just full of surprises.” Dan said, exasperated. After having climbed the outside of the tower to find that they had to go back down the tower from the inside.

“So it fell down to the bottom?” Jason asked.

“Yeah. It's down there.” Dan replied. “And we're gonna go get it. Start looking for some stairs or something.” He walked forward and felt around on the floor, looking for a hatch of some sort. His friends looked around as well, feeling the walls for any sort of switch. Jason soon found something, but it wasn't any kind of passage. Rather, it was a small book. He picked it up and put it on near the exit so he wouldn't forget it. Then he went back to the search for the exit. It was Thomas that found it after searching along the walls. He pressed a loose stone in the wall, making the hatch flip open... underneath Jason, sending him into the wall.

“Ow...” he said, getting up and following his friends into the hatch, going down the stairs into the next chamber... a chamber crawling with spiders.

“Just how many of these things are there?” Dan said, wondering how they were going to get down further.

“No time to waste. I'll tear through them. I'm too fast for them.” Thomas proclaimed. I hope.... he thought, getting ready to run. The insectoid creatures seemed to take notice of their visitors and began scuttling up the stairs towards them. Thomas knew he would get one shot. Too early and his friends would be covered in bugs, and too late and they would all be covered in bugs. He waited just long enough. When the moment came, he would know. He didn’t know how or why he knew he would know, but he would know.

The moment arrived. He briefly motioned to his friends, then tore down the stairs, blasting through the bugs with his speed, sending them flying around. After the initial hit, they decided to keep their distance from this surprisingly fast creature, instead going for the two slower ones behind him. But they soon found out that the one behind him was a wild and vicious beast like they were. And that the one behind him was little more than an icicle. Deprived of meals, the insects began to attack the one in front, in vain, to at least overwhelm him and hopefully his friends.

Their ambition would become little more than a pipe dream as the combined efforts of the boys was enough for them to fight their way through to the stairs. Guarding themselves, they headed down into the next chamber. Unfortunately, it also had large insects. And the others were following them down.

“This isn't going as planned.” Dan said. He jumped up in the air and fired several bolts of energy around the room, scattering the insects, giving a passage for his friends. Thomas and Jason followed suit, and landed next to him in the center of the room. Jason had an idea. Covered in sweat, he pulled it off himself with his powers, froze what he could, and fired away. He managed to hit several of the ravenous creatures in their eyes, but merely enraged many of them. But that left them throwing their saliva around as they cried. Jason took advantage of that and used his Hydroforce energies to multiply the moisture in the room, drenching the insects in their own spit. Thoroughly soaked, they were completely vulnerable to Thomas' lightning blasts. Frying a handful of them as a warning, he fired away in the direction of the next set of stairs. While some escaped the blast, most were fried as the boys charged forward. While Thomas cleared a path, Dan and Jason kept the ones still alive at bay. Backing up to the stairs, Dan noticed that the crunching noise beneath his feet wasn't changing. That thing's already been through here.

And true enough, the black creature was a few floors below them. He knew he should have had the jewel and been long gone by now, but his progress had been seriously hampered by the presences of these insects. He had the advantage of speed, but they proved the truth in the say "there's strength in numbers". It's only a matter of time before those interfering kids catch up... he thought as more spiders came in around him. Considering I don't become a meal first.

It's only a matter of time before we catch up to him... Dan thought as the three boys tore through yet another floor. More spiders jumped out at them. If we live that long...

The chase went on for quite some time, and by the time they had reached the bottom, both parties were exhausted. But still they were stunned at the size of the chamber. But more surprising was the super-sized bug crawling around the small pile of rubble where the jewel lay gleaming brightly despite the dim light.

Dan and his friends began to approach the behemoth bug, but were held back by the black creature.

“Wait. As much as I would like to have the three of you out of the way of our plans, I don't like my chances against that spider alone.” he said. “As much as it pains me to say it, I would like to assist you in bringing it down.”

“Why should we trust you?” Dan asked him.

“Because I want that jewel as much as you do, if not more. Wouldn't it be easier to face me than that thing?”

Dan looked back and forth between their "guest" and the giant spider. It was obvious which one would be easier to fight over the jewel with. “Fine,” he said reluctantly, “We'll work together long enough to get rid of the bug. Then it's back to fighting for the jewel.”

“Most agreeable.” The creature responded. He motioned for Thomas to follow, and the two of them ran full speed at the mega-spider. It turned its attention to them, and attempted to swat them away, but they proved to be too fast for it to catch. Distracted, it did not notice Dan or Jason preparing their strike.

The dank, cave-like air of the domed chamber was perfect for creating spike-like icicles for an attack. Dan used his powers to carefully arrange them like bullets in a gun barrel around his wrists. Once they were set, Dan ran forward and jumped high in the air. He uses his powers to propel the spikes toward his target in pairs, striking it several times in various places. Caught off guard, it tried to react to this new pest, but it was cut off by an arc of lightning and a rush of water. Soon the spider was overwhelmed by flashes of ice, lighting, and energy flying around it. While all this was happening, the black creature had slipped away, and was going for the jewel. Just as he was approaching it, Jason spotted him and fired several spheres of water at him. Dan and Thomas noticed that his fire was going away from the enraged bug, and saw that they were being double-crossed.

“Thomas! Go!” Dan shouted. But Thomas was already going over to their “friend”, ready to strike. But he was one too quick for his attacker, and grabbed the jewel, taking off at high speeds. Straining himself, Thomas managed to match his speed and then a little more, catching up to him.

“You're a pretty pathetic creature. Relying on the self-sacrifice of others for your own survival.” he said to the back-stabber.

“You really think you and I are so different?” he said, the streamlined shape of his head beginning to change. “I was only doing what the three of you are too naive to do. And judging by the way this is heading....” he continued, his blacked face splitting to reveal a human face, looking at the battle, “None of you will live long enough to be too 'noble' for that.” His apparent mask reformed itself and he took off faster, heading for the exit.

Thomas was already going more than he could. He thought they were done for. Then he thought that maybe, just maybe, he could draw energy from the jewel. What was it that Granddad used to tell me? He thought. Suddenly, the words of his late grandfather came rushing to his mind.

The Chaosforce is a mysterious and beautiful power. Used wisely, even the slightest positive emotion can create great power. Thomas thought hard on what would trigger the Electroforce powers in both him and the jewel. All he could think of was act of kindness he received from Dan.

“Once this is over... he'll help us.” Thomas felt a rush of power building in him. It threatened to explode. And explode it did. In a flash of thunder and lightning, Thomas' speed drastically increased. Electricity surged from his hand, forming a yellow-tinted sword in the shape of a South Asian Talwar. He knew that the tides had turned. Closing in on his foe, he went into a slide and knocked his feet out from under him, sending him tumbling backwards. He dropped the jewel as he went rolling away towards the insect, which Thomas quickly retrieved. Standing up, he was ready to strike back, but he was too late, and the spider spotted him and swatted him back into the wall. From the point of contact had come the blue jewel. Jason knew he had only one chance. He froze the ground in front of him and swiftly skated over to the big bad bug, sliding just below its swing, grabbing the jewel, and reversing his direction.

“Let's get out of here!” Dan said as his friends came up to him. The task was easier said than done, as they had to fight their way all the way back up the tower, then descend the stairs on the outside once more. Before exiting, Jason grabbed the book. It was late afternoon by the time they got back to the bottom and returned to Ruckus and the Professor.

“Dear, boys, such ruckus coming from that tower!” Ruckus said.

“Yes. It is good to see that the two of you are okay.” the Professor stated.

“Well... it wasn't easy.” Dan said, laying on the sand. Jason walked up to Zan and handed him the book.

“I found this in the top chamber. Thought you might want it,” the young boy said. The professor took hold of it, reading it over.

“Oh, my! It's information about the Betrayer... It says here that her name was Scarlet... and that she had been treated as a sister to the Chaotic Reign of the time.” Professor Jovus said, startled.

“Scarlet?”

“Betrayer?”

“Chaotic Reign?” came the questions of the boys in turn.

“Yes.” Ruckus responded. “The Chaotic Reign is the named used by many a heroic group from the days past.”

“And around two hundred years ago, they were betrayed by a person we have only known as the Betrayer.” Jovus continued, “But now we know her name... Though we know little else.”

“But it seems we've made yet another discovery.” Ruckus called from the remains of the spider that fell from the tower. “Yes, yes. Quite right!” Jovus said, filled with joy at today's events. “It would appear that it is a relative of the Canyon Climbers, often found running along canyon walls around the world.”

“Though it could be more closely related to the Mountain Scalers, considering the steep territory.”

“This is a great biology lesson, but we need to get going. We have to find the next jewel before the black creature guys do.” Dan interrupted. Ruckus and Jovus both nodded, got what they could of the newly christened “Tower Climber”, and the group climbed back into the Speeder, and took off towards the dock town where they came from.

It was nightfall by the time they got back to their boat. Dan placed the jewels in a drawer and pulled out Tonio's compass. He thought about where the creatures would strike next. Where could they go for an easy win after a devastating defeat? The compass knew the answer. The compass once again made its map, and zoomed on a small city not far from where they were now.

And so the course was set. The three children were exhausted from their day's work and had gone to their bunks. Before long, Ruckus had gone into his own bunk, leaving the ship to direct itself. Thomas, however, had woken up at this time and headed to the galley for a midnight snack. Upon arriving in the galley, though, he noticed that the place where the jewels had been stored was shaking and glowing with a yellow light. Hesitating, he opened the door, releasing a small crackling orb which went whizzing about the galley.

“Well it's about bloody time someone opened that door!“ Came a fast talking voice from the orb.

“Uh... who are you?” Thomas asked it, not believing he was actually having a conversation with it.

“Right. The call me... Sol. I'm impressed that you got by that colony I... relocated.”

“Wait, that was you? We almost got eaten alive!” Thomas shouted as quietly as he could.”

“I know. Listen, I came here to warn you to be on your guard. All of the jewels have traps guarding them. And each is more deadly than the last.”

“Oh joy.” Thomas said, “What kind of traps?”

“Well, really, I shouldn't tell you. I'm supposed to let you and your friends figure them out on your own and all.” The orb said. “But I suppose I can get away with giving you a hint: Where you're going next, don't hit the lights! It'll be easier that way. Well, my time's up. See ya on the other side someday!” And with that, the orb was gone. Thomas was left there, wondering if this was all real or just a dream. He decided he'd figure it out in the morning and headed back into his bed.

[edit] Chapter VI: The Mad Mechanics

The trip was shorter than usual, only lasting a few days compared to the week or longer that the past few trips have been. By the time he woke up, Thomas had forgotten the tip from the orb. Ruckus docked the boat and the group headed into the city.

For Dan, it was a surprise that there was little change between the city and the jungle. In the jungles where he lived, it was trees and vines as far as the eye could see and then some. Looking around the city, he noticed that the same could be said about the sheer amount of buildings and people. Ruckus, on the other hand, was elated with the amount of technology that now surrounded them. After a few minutes of wandering around, they came to what appeared to be a newsstand. Upon closer inspection, they found that it was unlike newsstands in the other regions they had been to. Instead of newspapers, they found electronic tablets with digitally printed reports that could be selected from the screen. Picking one up, they choose a story entitled “Secrets of the Stronghold”.

'Thursday, June 25th, 3215,

Secrets of the Stronghold

Continuing our story on the trio of boys, we travel far from the Valley of Flames to the Yellow Desert, where the last stronghold of High Chaosia still stands. According to sources, the boys had venture into the desert in search of the tower.

Zan Jovus (age 41), a professor working for the Grand Archives, has confirmed that they indeed went into the tower. Professor Jovus claims that, in addition to the jewel, the boys returned with a book written by the members of the Chaotic Reign from the end of the High Chaosian era, as well as stating their presence led to the discovery of a new breed of Mountain Scalers. We will continue to document the story as it unfolds.'

“Well, it's nice to have some good things circulating about us.” Ruckus said, chuckling.

“Yeah, that's a nice change.” Dan said. “But, we need to keep moving to get that silver jewel.”

“There's just one problem, Dan...” Thomas said. “We know it's in a factory around here. But we don't know where it is.”

Dan looked at his friend. He knew he was right. The city was too big and too crowed for them to just wander around looking for it. “There's got to be a way to find it...”

“Maybe there is...” Ruckus said. “I once heard tale of the Chaos Jewels having something of radar-like properties to them. I think.”

“Well, it's all we've got.” Thomas said, pulling out the yellow jewel, letting it shine. Its glow was only just brighter than normal, as its blue companion was in Jason's pocket. Thomas took off, blowing past people, trying every direction he could to see if he could find the silver jewel they were searching for. Up and down and back and forth he went, with his friends barely able to keep up, until he came to a stop at an overhanging part of the city.

The sight before him and the others was shocking: An entire section of the city was completely abandoned. The structures were pitted, dented, and covered with rust. Towers had completely collapsed, leaving only rubble behind. The lone building that was still completely standing was a twisted, rusted factory in the center of the rubble.

“It... It's like a scar...” Jason said. The others could only nod in agreement. Looking around, Thomas spotted a small path heading down into the scrap yard, which he led the others to. Through the valley of twisted metal they walked, insects and arachnids running to their hiding places.

The path to the twisted complex was easy, as there was nothing still active in the wastes. The doors, however, were another problem. Having done nothing but sit there for years on end, they had succumb to rusting and had rusted shut. Dan thought he might be able to push them open if the rust was loosened up. Thomas' electricity, however, would be of little use, as more than likely it would simply weld whatever actual metal was left together. Jason was the one to do the job. Summoning energy from within himself, he unleashed a big burst of ice over a section of the doors. Dan took the hint and used his psychokinetic powers to lift something up and slam it into the frozen section.

Once. Twice. Three times he struck the doors. He could not break through, but he was doing damage. Jason put more ice over the doors. Again, Dan took three swings. They went back and fourth, over and over, until by the end of the ninth cycle, the were successful in busting through.

The boys and the inventor squeezed into the small hole, Dan and Jason recovering from their work. Inwards they went, but stopped when they came to a path that they could barely see in the now-dim light. Ruckus looked around for a switch whilst Thomas began to create a ball of light to illuminate the way. Ruckus found his target before Thomas was finished. He instinctively reached under and began to push the large power switch upward. The grinding noises it made caught the attention of the boys. Thomas understood what he was attempting to do, and stopped with his light sphere.

“Ruckus, no wait!” He tried to say. But it was too late. The switch clicked into place, and at once, the Mad Mechanics came to life. A spring-loaded part of the floor came up in front of Thomas and slammed into him, knocking him quite a ways down the hall. Another part sprung up from below, and launched Dan high up to the clockwork mechanics of the complex, while yet another opened up and sent Jason falling to the basement of the facility.

“Oops....” was all Ruckus could utter before backing away.

Dan had always wondered how a clock worked, but now that he was surrounded by pounding pistons, crushing gears, and swinging pendulums, he was debating whether or not he really wanted to know.

Great... he thought, jumping up on top of a nearby gear, The pillars failed to turn me into pancake batter, and now the gears are gonna take a shot at it... Dan, of course, would have no problem jumping around the gears... as long as he was careful to avoid the pendulums. One hit from those, and it would be all over. It was, however, rather disorienting when the “floor” was constantly moving, even more so when it was in a circular motion. Dan knew that all he could do was go onward, and pray he didn't get crushed.

Meanwhile, down many floors below, Thomas was having problems of his own. He had been sent forward with sufficient force to nearly knock him out. When he was fully aware of his new location, he was glad he didn't black out. Before his eyes was an endless stream of assembly lines, some actually putting things together, some completely empty. Drill bits, arc welders, blades, and every possible bit he could think of was going. The sheer noise was assault on his mind.

He attempted to turn around and run backwards to the entrance, but it seemed that as soon as he tried, the conveyor belt itself increased speed to match his own. He slowed down, but yet it did not seem any faster. He decided that, if he can't go back, he'll just outrun the machinery. But his attempts were, surprisingly, met with resistance. Mechanical arms with all sorts of construction tools, even some that were just hands, twisted and turned to him, as if they were going out of their way to get him.

The only reason for this that Thomas could comprehended was simple, yet completely unrealistic. It's almost as if this place... is ... alive.

And of Jason, the boy had been lucky enough to make it down to the basement safely, but he was unprepared for what he would find down there. As he walked around in the dim lighting, he heard buzzing and clicking, and rather metallic scuttling all around him. His nerves were on edge, as he had no way of being sure exactly what was making the noise.

I got a bad feeling about this... He thought, jumping at every noise. Before long, his paranoia turned out to be valid, as a rusted, pitted, malfunctioning machine leaped out at him. It appeared to be both partially unfinished as well as hastily put together, almost like it was broken and never repaired. On instinct, Jason froze the metal beast, but still the noises continued.

“Why do you hate me so?” he said, looking at the ceiling. He had little time to contemplate, as another of the factory's numerous robotic rejects charged at him, slamming him to the ground. He wrestled with it, albeit not very well, and managed to freeze some of its moving parts. With his foe partially paralyzed, he kicked the twisted machine off him, hoping, in vain that that would be the end of it. His hopes were, of course, met with disappointment, as in the distance, he could see countless LED lights dimly glowing. “And now would be a good time to run.” He concluded.

And run he did. Why, no one can say, as the area was hardly a moist terrain, which slowed his movements somewhat. All he could think of was to run, as he knew there was no way he could hold out against all of those machines. Running and running, on and on, it was only a matter of time before they caught up, as he would wear out, but his pursuers would never tire. He ran as fast as he could, and when he thought he could get away, he made a sharp turn into a small passage, which seemed to be heading upwards. Unfortunately, this did not solve his problem, as while the larger machines were unable to follow him, the smaller ones easily fit through and continued their pursuit.

I can't take much more of this... were the words on Jason's mind as he continued running. Occasionally, he would freeze the ground behind him, to send the machines back a little bit, but it was not a permanent fix. When he thought he could run no more, he came to a large but very old door. On one side, there were several gears and rows of gear teeth that would pull the door open. On the other, was the switch that would open the door. Without even thinking about it, he threw the switch, allowing the door to open, but it only opened partway before getting stuck. The opening it had made was narrow, just slightly too much so for Jason.

Ah, darn it! Jason thought. The only ways he would get through that were either passing through the door, which he was incapable of doing, or becoming much thinner, which he did not have the time for. There has to be a way through. Please, oh please give me a way through. With the robotic rejects closing in, he panic and tried to squeeze through anyway. He did manage to get in, all the way up to his elbows. But, the inevitable happened: he got stuck.

“No, no! I don't want to be mauled by robots!” he said. He struggled and squirmed, and, to his relief, began to slide through, but his progress was slow. The machines were nearly upon him when he managed to work his arms through the door. With the use of this hands free, he was easily able to pull himself the rest of the way through. His mechanical foes, predictably, attempted to squeeze through as well, but even they were too big. Jason smiled.

“Oh yeah! Who's the man? Who's the man? That's right! It's me!” He began chanting. A small object that had gone unnoticed by Jason came flying from his right, striking him in the head. When he looked to see what it was, he saw that it was a small, slightly squished box. What's more, he saw that the door had resumed opening.

“Karma sucks.”

Dan and Thomas, unfortunately, were not doing much better.

At some point during all his jumping and clambering, strange floating machines appeared from all around and began firing sonic pulses down at Dan. Luckily for him, his powers were capable of reflecting the pulses back to their source, but there were just far to many of them to fight while moving constantly.

Thomas, on the other hand, ended up coming across another one of the blackened soldiers, who was having trouble of their own with the assembly machines. Thomas knew what he, or possibly she, was after, and jumped down onto their line.

Dan, high above, was really getting tired of the drones. He had, however, found what appeared to be the central structure of the building. He took his only option: jump downward from gear to gear until he could safely escape.

Thomas caught the attention of his foe. It spoke to him in a rather feminine voice, so he assumed that this one was a woman.

“Ah, you must be the speedy one. Pleasure.” she said.

“Do you people ever give up?” he responded.

“No. It's just against our nature” she replied causally, as if she was speaking to an old friend. “And it seems to be against yours, as well. We're more alike than you realize.”

“I am nothing like you.” Thomas fired out several small bolts of lightning, which the soldier redirected with the help of some of the moving machines.

“Oh really? Racing around with almost no authority, trying to take what isn't yours, throwing the first punch, meeting people with hostility because you don't like what they are doing...” She said. “The only things that make us different is the power we use and for who we use it. You're doing for the good of those around you, I do it for the one who leads us.” Her words were like poison. She was attempting to trap Thomas into self-pity... and it worked.

Thomas looked inward. He saw that her words were painfully true. The pity he felt for himself was strong. And this had negative affects on his powers, as the next bolt he fired was weak, not even worth the effort of deflecting.

What the...? he thought, surprised at the weakness of the bolt. Where'd the power go? He tried to bring forth the Talwar he had summoned before, but to no avail. At once he knew something was wrong. His pity grew, and that gave his opponent the opening she needed.

While this was happening, Dan had made it to the floor of the clockwork area, right above the core room. The problem was he didn't have a way down through the floor. But he had an idea. If he could time it right, he could trick the sentry drones into blasting a hole in the floor. His timing had to be near perfect. If he moved to early, they would be able to adjust their shot. If he moved to late... he'd rather not think about it.

I'm turning into quite the risk-taker... he thought as he watched one of them fire a pulse down at him. As soon as it was fired, he jumped out of the way.

His plan had, surprisingly, failed. The pulse had not blow a hole in the floor, and now several drones were firing at him. He ducked and weaved, sometimes narrowly avoiding the pulses. However, they were having the effect he desired from the first one. Before long, the floor crumbled beneath his feet, and he was falling down towards the core chamber.

“Okay, not exactly the way I planned it, but oh well.” He said, used both the rubble and his own powers to slow his fall. From one of the many entrances around the room, he saw Thomas emerge, grappling with another blackened soldier, and he seemed to be loosing. Sure enough, the creature grabbed Thomas and tossed him across the room, close enough to where Dan was for him to catch his friend.

“Heh. Well, now I only owe you one.”

“Enough cracks, Dan.” He said. “My powers, they just suddenly fizzled. I feel so pathetic...”

“Dude, what happened?”

“She.... She said some things. It kinda got to me...”

“Thomas, don’t listen to her.” Dan said. “Let’s just beat her, get the jewel, and get out of here.” Thomas nodded in agreement.

“You take care of her. I’ll get the jewel.” he said, before running for the jewel.

Dan used his powers to propel himself forward, towards his foe. However, a wall of metal formed from the ground between them. Dan barely had time to react and dodge to the side.

“Ah, Sonicforce. This is going to be interesting.” He said, smiling.

“Ha. Your powers pale in comparison to mine, young Amanzonan.” She said. Before his eyes, the metal crumbled... and began to fly at him at high speeds.

Thomas, on the other hand, thought he was crazy. Well, more so than usual. The jewel had not moved from it's place in the core machine, but everything around it was. As he attempted to grab it, a pair of mechanical arms grabbed him and tossed him away like a crumpled -up piece of paper. He tried to approach it, but welding torches shot sparks at him, coupled with large cutting tools swinging wildly.

“Okay, seriously, what is wrong with this place?” He said, just as Dan was tossed into him by his foe.

“I think a better question is 'What isn't wrong with this place?'” Dan replied.

“No, don't you see? The machines are actually going out of their way to attack us!” Thomas said, “This place... it's alive.”

“Can we really do this? We have to not only get the jewel from the machines, but also keep it from her.” Dan said, getting tired of the traps. “Speaking of which, run!” he shouted, scrambling to his feet as their enemy fired a sonic blast their way.

“Uh-oh.” Thomas quickly got up and ran, but the sonic burst was slightly faster than he expected, and it hit the ground behind him, sending him flying once more. Geez, how do those airheads from the Draak region stand all this flying?

Dan, however, was thankful that Thomas hadn't gotten away: It provided the perfect opening for Dan to strike back. With her attention diverted, he fired a psychic bolt at her. Unfortunately, when it collided with her head, it did little more than annoy her.

“Ah, crud. Where's Jason when ya need him?!” Dan made a break for it, while Thomas, seeing her attention elsewhere, decided to make another go for the jewel. Of course, this was just what she wanted, as she only sent a few sonic burst towards Dan, then headed for the jewel herself. She was met with minimal resistance, as most of the arms were occupied with Thomas' speed.

Thomas was almost there. He could feel it. Unfortunately, the arms were right behind him, one of them even slowing him. His hand was inches away from the jewel. Just a little more, and he would... Lose it. Before his very eyes, the blackened hand grabbed the jewel from it's pedestal. At once, every machine from all around shut down, and mechanical arms went limp.

“Thank you for your help, boys.” She laughed, taunting them as she easily blasted through the walls to make her escape. But just as she did, a hatch on the floor opened up. None other than Jason sprung from it, and just as quickly as he got out, he slammed the hatch and froze it over. When he saw the surroundings, he kicked a rock across the room.

“Ah, darn it all! I missed all the fun!” he said, causing his friends to roll their eyes.

“Come on,” Dan said, “we may not be able to catch her, but at least she’s leading the way out.” Thomas and Jason nodded in agreement, and together the trio followed her path up and out of the insane foundry. Coming into the light, they found that they were on the other side of the factory. This hardly discouraged them, as they simply decided to circle the building to they came to the entrance.

As they came around the side of the building, Ruckus spotted them. “Hey boys!” he shouted, running over to them. “Did you get the jewel.” No one answered. “Ah. Well, let’s get out of here. There’s still four more out there.”

“Well…. I found somethin’.” Jason said, pulling the cube that had hit him in the head out of his jacket pocket. He opened it up for his uncle and friends to see. Inside, there was nothing more than a small disc with a golden crystal in the center, atop a small set of instructions, both of which Ruckus pulled out to examine.

He opened up the instructions. “The… Chaos Crash…” he said, reading it. “It’s instructions to combine this little thing with seven other pieces…”

“Man, our people sure have a thing for the number eight.” Jason said.

“What else does it say?” Dan asked.

“Not much. Just drawings of the finished device, all the pieces… and the locations of them!” Ruckus exclaimed “This makes things easy!”

“I hope so…” Thomas responded.