ACT 8 PROLUGE FINALE PART 2
I gathered some bravery I didn't know I had and pulled out my pocket knife, stabbing Amari in the thigh. He started gasping for air while trying to control a falling chopper. It seems pain can make us ignore the paralyzing fear. After a minute of controlling the chopper, Amari turned to me and said,
Amari: Nice thinking, youngin; it seems like you saved our liv—
He took a good look at me and noticed my pale face had turned purple. I didn't have enough strength to stab myself. FUCK, WHAT ABOUT THE PASSENGERS? If I was choking, I was sure the others around me were the same! Amari had a knife in his thigh and couldn't move fast enough.
As soon as Amari was about to stab me, something crazy happened. An absolute legend of a fighter jet pilot kamikazed into the turtle's eyes, stopping its soul-sucking attack—and killing himself in the process. Everyone was gasping for air, almost passed out, and mentally and physically exhausted. Amari was the first one to speak.
Amari: I don't think being in the air is safe... is that a fucking DRAGON?
Everyone's attention in the city shifted to the sky. A massive flaming body was traveling at unprecedented speeds, aiming for the turtle—a flying emerald-scaled dragon with three heads and six wings. The dragon's size was the same, if not a little bigger, than the turtle.
The dragon was the exact opposite of Animae Comedens; it gave a feeling of safety, security, and benevolence. The dragon shot like a bullet, distorting the space around it as it approached the turtle and slashed horizontally at its stomach. Animae Comedens let out an earth-shattering roar that destroyed the rest of the city.
The dragon spoke with an ancient sound, in a language we had never heard before but somehow understood.
Dragon: Foolish humans of Herathia, you have been betrayed by Animae Comedens! He is attacking your country right now, at the same time he is attacking the Earth realmers.
You would expect blood to come out of such a huge, ugly wound on the abomination's stomach, but far from it—black liquid started pouring from the wound. But as soon as it touched the air, it turned into a semi-transparent gas. Was that what was going to happen to us if that pilot hadn't sacrificed himself?
Amari turned the chopper around and tried to get away from the confrontation as fast as he could. Everyone was tense; some large-scale battle was about to go down. The dragon flipped its body with lightning speed and hit the Soul Eater on the head with its large, thick, gemstone-covered tail. The dragon was too fast for its size.
Normally, that attack could wipe out a mountain with ease, but mountains cannot fight back. Ignoring the pain, the Soul Eater grabbed the tail before it retracted and started spinning the dragon three times before slamming it onto the ground. Shockwaves were sent out for a two-mile radius that caused us to temporarily lose control of the chopper.
The Soul Eater looked at the dragon and began its soul-eating attack from before, and all of us were paralyzed with fear again—but this time it was worse than before. Taking precautions, Amari flew the chopper 130 feet above the ground, just in case the attack happened again.
Seven seconds before we crashed into a building, the attack stopped, and we managed to land somewhat safely. We were not far from the battlefield at all; it was too dangerous to fly under our conditions. Amari was stabbed in the leg by yours truly, the family was still not mentally okay from the attack, and Grandma was checking every inch of me to make sure I was okay. I was not the one who was stabbed, but whatever. Maybe if we hadn't taken the Serocola, we wouldn't be alive?
Wait... I should call Socrates! It would take him six minutes to get to us. I told them about our next escape route, and everyone was quite relieved.
Amari: Good thinking, youngin. If that attack ever happens again, Socrates can just drive us around.
Amari was glazing my quick thinking when Socrates finally arrived. We drove to the evacuation point. Normally it would take 15 minutes with a chopper, but I couldn't really complain.
Two minutes into driving, a massive barrier was ejected from the skies, stopping us from going forward, and a voice boomed:
Dragon: I am really sorry, Earth realmers. I split my body in two and spent 2,100 years traveling the cosmos to stop him at once. I am severely weakened and exhausted. If I don't stop Animae Comedens right now, not only is this planet in danger, but many others as well. I plan to take everyone in the barrier's radius with me for a final attack to stop the tyrant. I will remember your names, brave ones.
Everyone just blankly stared at nothing; we were simply too tired for this shit.
Girl: Dad, are we gonna die like Richie?
The dad was at a loss for words; the mother sobbed silently, Amari was laughing, Grandma was trying her best to stay composed, and normally, I was searching for an escape.
A bright light blinded the sky behind us at Point Zero; it was as if a second sun had appeared in the sky. That was most definitely the nuclear warhead. I got out of the car and checked on the barrier. Yep, still intact. It looked like we couldn't brute force our way out. I went back to the truck and pulled out a spade. I started digging under the barrier, but ten minutes into digging, it seemed like the barrier was miles deep into the ground. I was covered in sweat and grime. I stared blankly at nothing; my grandma tried to comfort me, but I wasn't paying attention to her. I wanted a plan. Are we really just going to die like that after all we went through?
After thinking hard about everything that happened from the beginning, I remembered that all the invaders had come out of a gate. Was the gate still intact? Did they all escape and close it behind them? Was it a one-way gate? Fuck it, it's better than doing nothing. I still had that deal with the empire; if I ever appeared in front of them, they wouldn't attack me. So I gathered everyone's attention and told them what I was thinking.
All of them said it was reckless, but it was better than doing nothing and just dying. I refueled AVX29 with an extra can just in case and started driving towards Point Zero, where it all started. The giants were fighting away from the gate, thankfully. Last time Socrates searched for them, they were three miles away from us in the sky. The useless dragon was getting its ass handed to it by the chad turtle.
Lifeless bodies that looked withered littered the streets. I could not believe that just ten hours ago, we were celebrating New Year's Eve, and the enemy camp was still operational somehow, despite the destruction. I stopped my truck a little close to the camp to see if I could pick up what they were talking about, and to my horror, that goblin really won against the two commanders?! How?! The sorcerer went back up through the portal to see if he could fix the damage done by the treacherous beast. I sighed in relief when I heard that it was possible to enter the portal.
But the problem was, the goblin was still searching the streets for me, and the gate was heavily guarded. I really shouldn't have thrown that last hook. I turned around and suggested that since I had a target on my back, I would be bait to draw the guards to me. Meanwhile, they could see if there was a working car near us and try to enter the unguarded gate. Amari and Grandma were not happy, but I said that nothing he could do would put a dent in my car, plus we really didn't have time. They eventually agreed to my plan.
Searching the nearby ruined buildings, we found an undamaged minivan. Amari started working on hot-wiring the cables, and after he got it right, I gave him a weird look.
Amari: What? Is it because I'm black? Do you want Lady Nizhoni to know about the—
???: Okay, okay, god damn, I'm sorry.
Everyone got in the van, and I gave them a radio and told them to wait for my signal.
Somewhere on the east side of the gate, roaming the streets with an exposed scalp, bloodshot eyes, and a foaming mouth, stood Malik.
Malik: WHERE IS HE?! WHERE IS THAT BASTARD?!
VRMMMMMMM VRMMMMMMMMM
He turned around to look for the source of the sound and saw a smug, handsome face with a cone-like device in his hands.
???: Did you miss me, goblin? Are you still angry because I have a Minotaur while you have a mini wee wee?
Malik started smiling and whispering to himself.
Malik: I must be dreaming, right? What did I do to deserve this reward in front of me?
He took a deep breath and said calmly,
Malik: You lived long enough, human. I will kill you slowly.
Malik started floating in the air; the people around the camp noticed the commotion and began packing their gear to prepare for the worst. The human turned his iron box around and said,
???: Try to catch me, numb nuts.
VRMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!
Malik: WITNESS MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
The beast maneuvered the ruined city as if it were its natural habitat. It knew every weak point and crevice that lay around it. Strength is not all there is to being the king of the jungle; you need to be able to adapt to your opponent's attacks and tricks. The beast knew it could not handle its enemy head-on, so it used its ability to camouflage itself when the morbidly obese bird got close, causing the insecure blob to miss the attack entirely.
The beast was smart enough to make traps for the horizontally blessed specimen flying above it at parallel speed. Using its backside to push away any harm coming its way, be it boulders, wind blades, or sometimes a tsunami, the beast had had enough of the boastful baboon's attacks and decided to attack back.
???: Amari, how are things on your side?
Amari: Not good, kid; there is a barricade blocking the entrance. We need you to somehow come and break it; the car can't take the impact.
???: Say less; be ready in nine minutes.
???: Socrates, drive in a straight line into the nearest parking garage!
The beast went out of camouflage to draw the unintelligent oats-muncher into a narrow space where it could not fly as freely as it wanted. The goblin thought that the iron box was getting tired like him and that was the reason it was slowing down. He thought he had finally cornered the beast, so he started increasing his flight in a narrow line. As soon as he reached the beast, the roof of the iron box opened, and his eyes became bloodshot as he thought about all the things he would do to the bastard.
The human pulled out a black stick with a crystal-like face and said, "Say hello to my little friend!" Then, his whole world turned bright, blinding him. It was just for a moment that he got distracted, and he found himself crashing against a concrete wall at 90 miles per hour.
My heart was beating out of my chest! I almost died four times alone if not for Socrates. No time to rest; I had to rush back to the gate and break the barrier so the nightmare could finally be over.
***
VRMMMMMMMMMMMM
???: Out of the way, Amari!!!!
Amari: What the hell is wrong with him?!
The fucking goblin, who had been squished to oblivion, pulled out a translucent vial and drank from it! His fatal wounds started healing at an alarming rate. Is that how he won against the commanders? Doesn't matter; I didn't have much time before he caught up to me. The barricade was in front of me, and the goblin was around the corner when I checked a moment ago.
Malik screamed with his crushed throat,
Malik: HAAAAAAH!
He sounded like he had a fork stuck in his throat. I rushed towards the gate and broke the barrier, and Amari followed me soon after.