Next Chapter!
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Hyde made his way through the hallways towards the girl's dorm. It was 5 am, so he knocked quietly.
Liquorish yanked the door open. "He's here! Finally!" she hissed, pulling him into the room. It was bustling with quiet activity. Liquorish left Hyde and went back to talking with her group members, Mint and Macchiato, planning on where to start their search on Gren. They were around a small square table, surrounded by their packs, scrutinizing a map of the planet.
"I think we should start here," Mint said, pointing at an eastern part of Gren that was thick with forest.
"Why not here?" Macchiato asked, pointing to the enormous tree on the map.
"Because that is where the Protector of Plants used to live. After the attack and attempted murder, I don't think that anyone in their right mind would return," Mint said.
"I have already decided where we are going," Liquorish said, pointing to the southeast part on the map. It showed the enormous exposed root system of the planet..
"Why are we going there?" Mint asked, leaning against her wooden staff.
"There is a sacred shrine there. It is well hidden, and only a plant wizard can find it. I think that is where the Protector that we seek is hiding," Liquorish said, marking a red X on the map. "Any questions?"
"No ma'am!" The two said in unison, saluting Liquorish.
"Good," she said.
Peppa was having a quiet argument with Tech. Tech was insisting that he should be the one to fly the rocket. Peppa was trying to explain to him that the rocket would be on auto pilot, but the stubborn android boy just wouldn't listen. Lato was just sitting there, glancing over at Liquorish occasionally. He didn't want to be parted from her. She was his over-protective sister figure. He would miss her dearly.
Flax and Maze were talking in the corner. They were saying their goodbyes in case one of them didn't make it back. Flax gave Maize a hug and the two departed over to their separate groups. Flax walked over to his group.
"So, what's the plan?" Arsenic asked.
"We can discuss it on the rocket," Flax muttered. "We need to focus on getting to the rockets without anyone catching us."
"And how will we do that?" Kitt prompted, her purple eyes fixed on Flax. "I am totally useless when it comes to this planet, so don't ask me to help out."
"That's alright," Hex said with a grin. "I don't know much about the layout either."
"Alright, let's get started on the plan," Flax said, rubbing his hands together. "First off, we need to come up with a plan."
"You mean you have no plan?" Kitt exploded. Hex shushed her quickly, afraid that her shout woke any one.
"Relax! We'll come up with something," Flax said sheepishly.
"I'll be right back," Arsenic said, slipping away from her group. She wove quickly in and out of the furniture and people crowding her dorm room. Once she had made it to the back of the room, she was met with the light blue stare of Hyde.
"Hey Arsenic," Hyde said, forcing a cheerful smile.
"Hey Hydenator," she replied cheekily.
"You seem quite excited," he commented.
"Oh! I am! I can't wait to get off of this planet, and see Puffoon! I hear that the Space Police are located there!" Arsenic said happily, jabbering on about the planet.
"Sounds like fun," Hyde said, leaning casually against the brown walls.
"I know! I just wish that you could come with!" she muttered sadly.
"Hey, don't you worry. I'll be here, waiting for you to get back," Hyde said, taking her hand.
"Just make sure you are here," Arsenic said seriously, looking into his eyes. She sighed. "I'm really going to miss you."
"Here," Hyde said, holding out a small, wrapped gift box. "It's a present. I meant to give it to you a while ago, but I never found the right time to."
"What's in it?" she asked, looking at the tiny green box.
Hyde smiled. "Just a necklace. So you won't forget about Kovomaka, or Will-O-Wisps, or me..."
"I could never, ever, in the history of everness, forget about you," Arsenic said, planting a kiss on his cheek. Flax was beckoning urgently at Arsenic, wanting to go over the new plan with her.
"I think he wants to talk about your plan," Hyde said, glancing across the room.
"Or lack of thereof," Arsenic commented. She gave Hyde a final hug before returning to her group, holding back tears.
It will only be 3 weeks, she thought to herself, depositing the box into her pocket. At least I'll be excused from my homework.
Maize let out a huge sigh as he sat on the red sofa next to Lato.
"You guys will see each other again," Lato said. "Soon too! This quest is not going to take very long. Ms. Madeline said no more than 3 weeks!"
"Yeah, I guess so," Maize said, his gold eyes drooping with sadness. "He's my twin brother, though. I'm going to miss him no matter what."
"It'll be fine. Now, do you want to bet on which one of these knuckleheads will win the fight this time?" Lato asked, gesturing to Peppa and Tech.
"I think that Tech will win," Maize said.
"But Peppa is right!" Lato pointed out.
"That doesn't matter. Peppa is going to give up, which means that she loses. The Ms. Madeline will tell them that it is going to be flying on autopilot, which Tech will argue over for about a minute before accepting it and moving on," Maize explained. "Peppa would still be the loser in this situation."
"I'm not so sure. My money is still on Peppa," Lato said. "Five bucks."
"Watch and learn then, my friend," Maize said, leaning back on the couch.
"Hello children!" Ms. Madeline trilled softly as she entered the room, carefully closing the door behind her. "Are you all ready and packed up?"
"Yes ma'am," Liquorish said, answering for everyone.
"Good! And I assume that you all have plans for where you plan on starting?" she asked.
"Yeah," Flax said, proud of his plan. It only took him two minutes to come up with.
"Wonderful! Simply wonderful!" Ms. Madeline said, beaming around the room. "Now, we must get outside of the school without anyone noticing us."
"How?" Arsenic asked.
"Oh, use your imagination!" she said cheerily. "But make sure you are quiet, and bring all of your supplies." In a flash of white light, she vanished.
"Wha-? Where'd she go?" Hex asked, astonished as everyone shouldered their packs.
"We'll meet you all at the front of the school," Hyde said. Then, he also vanished in a bright flash of light.
"Alright, let's go!" Peppa ordered.
"Way ahead of you!" Flax said, disappearing out of the window. This was alarming, due to the fact that they were on the seventh story. Hex gasped and glanced out. He saw no sign of Flax until he looked down: Flax was scaling down the wall like a giant squirrel.
"Excuse me, I need to get past here," Mint said, brushing past Hex, fixing her long, green hair into a braid as she went. She raised her staff old, twisted staff, which glowed with a warm, green light. An enormous vine entered into the window, wrapped around Mint's waist, and hoisted her out the window. Lato walked into the bathroom, transformed into water, and went down the sink drain, much to everyone's horror.
"See ya," he bubbled as the last of him disappeared down the drain.
"Yeah, I'm going to leave now," Hex said, vanishing in a flash of light, just as Ms. Madeline and Hyde did just minutes before.
"Okay, if they are all finished, does anyone want to go out the door?" Peppa asked, pulling on her metal gauntlets.
"No, we'll take our secret exit. Bye now!" Tech said. He pulled a painting on the wall, activating a trap door. He and Macchiato vanished, the floor sliding closed the second they were gone.
"Now? Are we all going out this door?" Peppa asked again.
"Yeah. I think we all do. Give us a second to get ready," Maize said. He and Kitt backed away from the door as the two dark mages edged forward, eager to be on their way.
"Alright. On the count of three," Peppa said, her pale hand resting on the knob. "One...Two...Three!" she pulled the door open. Arsenic and Liquorish were the first out. Their bodies seemed to shimmer as they passed shadows, sometimes vanishing completely.
"They coast is clear!" Liquorish called out softly, barely visible in the shadows.
"Alright, let's go," Peppa said, walking briskly out. She had no tricks to hide herself, so she had to be extremely careful.
She ran into someone before she could even take ten steps.
"Hello Peppa!" It was Dr. Erdbeere, one of the gym teachers. He was a wrinkly old man with a tuft of fiery hair that stuck out from behind his ears. He was moving slowly on his walker, his bunny slippers quiet on the green floor. How he became a gym teacher was a mystery to everyone.
"Oh! Hello!" Peppa said. She ducked to his other side so his back was to the dorm.
"It is certainly a wonderful evening, isn't it?" he wheezed.
"It's five o'clock in the morning," Peppa corrected. She watched as Kitt and Maize crept carefully out of the room.
"Say, isn't your dorm there?" he asked, swinging his walker towards the door. Maize tackled Kitt back into the room, barely avoiding the old man's gaze.
"Yes sir, it is," Peppa replied, almost yanking out her long, grey hair in distress.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked. "After all, it is eleven o'clock at night."
"Yes, I should be in bed," she agreed. She needed to get Dr. Erdbeere to look away from the dorm.
"You should sleep," he said, his voice getting muddled.
"So should you, sir," Peppa said. "Here, let me help you back to your room." She took his arm.
"Oh, no need for that, my dear. I am just going for my usual noon day walk," he said.
"Sir, it is five in the morning. You should go back to bed," Peppa said, more forcefully this time.
"Alright, I suppose so," he said, turning his head from the door. The second he did so, Kitt and Maize bolted out of the room, weaved past Peppa and the teacher at lightening speeds, and were down all ten flights of stairs in three seconds.
"Did you feel that breeze?" the teacher asked as he slowly made his way back to the teacher's dorms. "It reminds me of my youth."
"Yes sir. Very good," Peppa remained where she was until the teacher was gone. Liquorish and Arsenic, who had remained frozen for the entire time, began to move again.
"Sorry," Liquorish said.
"Yeah. We didn't see him," Arsenic added.
"It's fine," Peppa said as they hurried down the stairs. Luckily, they didn't run into anyone else.
"Hey guys!" Maize said, panting.
"That was a close one, eh?" Kitt laughed breathlessly.
"Are you guys alright?" Arsenic asked.
"Us? Yeah, of course," Kitt said as both of the cats straightened up.
"Let's hurry up. I don't want to be the last one," Peppa said as they walked quietly up to the front door. Instead of trying to open the enormous, creaky door, they decided to go through a window instead. They quickly rejoined the rest of their group.
"Where is Lato?" Liquorish asked with a hint of panic in her voice.
"Heeerrreeee!" Lato called, bubbling up from a storm drain. He returned to his human form and got up.
"Alright. Everyone is here now. Let's hurry and get to the ship storage station and steal us some rockets! It is about a mile from us," Ms. Madeline said. "Lead the way, Hyde."
"Okay!" Hyde said. He took off in a run, everyone else following him.
Ms. Madeline paused for a second and looked up at the sky. The tiny dot of a ship could be made out, suspended in the sky.
Strange, she thought. Ships are supposed to go straight to and from the docking station. No exceptions. The upper atmosphere is far too dangerous for a ship to loiter in, so why is one there now? And isn't the station closed for holidays?
She felt her blood freeze as realization hit her.
"Stop!" she shouted. The children, about 100 yards away from her, skidded to a halt. Ms. Madeline looked up again. The ship had fired off several missiles, each one speeding towards the ship storage.
"What is that?" Mint asked, shaking.
"It's an attack!" Ms. Madeline warned suddenly. She began to run towards the ship storage station, preparing to throw a shield of light in front of it to protect it from the missiles, when the ship fired off several more, these ones heading for the school.
Ms. Madeline stopped and jumped straight up into the air, higher than the school, and threw forward her wall of light. It expanded to the size of five football fields, and took the blast from the missiles head on. Small cracks appeared in the light.
Unfortunately, to save the school, Ms. Madeline had to sacrifice the ship storage, which was their only ticket off of the planet.
The ship, which could now be made out as an enormous pirate ship, fired more missiles at the school, now ignoring the ruins of the ship storage. Ms. Madeline swung the huge shield to stop them in their tracks. More cracks appeared in the huge white barrier.
"Hyde! Take them to the alternative ships!" she shouted.
"What alternative ships? The only ones are in the storage, and it was just destroyed," Lato yelled.
"No! There are more! Follow me!" Hyde shouted. He ran back towards the school. The group followed him, dashing up the steps. The doors were suddenly pushed out, allowing a stream of other students to race out of the school. Hyde pushed his way through and ran up the stairs. He paused at the top of the first flight, watching the others struggle through the crowds.
"Hyde! Slow down!" Kitt shouted, shoving her way through the mob. The group members began to reach the steps, and soon they had all joined Hyde.
"Hurry now," Hyde ordered. He led them up all the stairs, up to the sixth floor. He then turned and ran across the hall, up a circular flight of stairs, and through a green door at the top.
Everyone bundled inside. The green door closed behind them, locking itself.
"Well, it looks like we are stuck here," Kitt muttered.
"Now what?" Hex asked, flattening his ears as he heard more explosions from outside.
"Up here," Hyde said, gesturing to a regular brick wall. It was about 10 feet across of large grey stones. It rose up high, vanishing into the shadows.
"That is a wall. We cannot climb that," Peppa declared. Hyde merely smiled and tapped on one of the grey bricks. It lit up brightly in white. Dozens of the bricks moved, creating hand holds.
"Now we can," he said, hauling himself up. Flax followed after him with Hex. Maize went next, catching Hex whenever the tiny cat slipped. Upon Peppa's insistence, Tech and Macchiato followed. Lato went afterwards, swallowing at the great height.
"We'll wait down here in case if one of you fall!" Liquorish shouted.
"Thanks!" Lato called back shakily. He felt much better, though, knowing that his best friend would catch him if he fell. Luckily, no one needed any catching.
"Alright, now it's your turn!" Hyde shouted as he pulled Lato up.
"Okay! Just make room at the top!" Peppa yelled. "Lots of room!" Hyde looked at the other boys, confused, but moved back anyway.
"Okay, you girls ready?" Peppa asked from the base of the wall. She had linked arms with Liquorish, forming a platform.
"Yes! We're ready!" Arsenic said determinedly.
"Alright! GO!" Liquorish shouted. Arsenic ran at the two girls at full speed, and jumped off of their arms like a spring board. She landed at the top with the boys, who looked flabbergasted. Arsenic quickly moved out of the way as more girls came rocketing up. Kitt came shooting up, far higher than Arsenic. She spun several times in the air and landed with a roll, stopping herself with her claws. Mint popped up a second later, laughing hysterically out of a mixture of terror and exhilaration. She landed on her face, giving herself more reason to laugh.
"How are you two going to get up?" Macchiato shouted.
"Easy!" Peppa called back. Liquorish backed away from the base of the wall and ran at Peppa, who catapulted her friend up. Once she was sure that Liquorish had landed, Peppa ran at the wall, kicking off from a small crevice to launch herself up to the others. She landed neatly on the small space leftover for her.
"Alright, everyone's here," Hyde said, already over his initial surprise. "Let's go." He walked through another door and into a dusty room full of old items. There were outdated, over used, and forgotten machines pushed up against the walls. On the other side of the room was a huge door. It wasn't a regular door, though.
This one had a real, sleeping face on it.
Chapter done!
It's kind of a weird place to stop, but whatever.
Please point out my errors!
Thanks,
~CatKkit.