Here we are, Chapter 7 or something!Not much to say other than juggling between two stories is a pain.Enjoy and review.
Puffy clouds departed after several days without sunlight, showing off the clear blue sky. The sun shone brightly across the desert that was finally dry like it should always be. Footprints remained in the sand as a small group of wandering users crossed the dunes of the desert carefully, the sun beating on their neck.
"Goddamn this heat. We're all going to die of heatstroke before we even make it half way to the depot. How far is it, Serenade?" Sabre_Mace complained, falling slightly behind the other four. He took his sheathed diamond sword and began carrying it by hand instead of letting it dangle on his side, its heated blade tapping against his leg.
Serenade placed her fingers over her eyebrows to block out the sand and look ahead, "Dunno. I sort of lost track."
The entire group groaned.
"Blimey, we could be going in a completely different direction," Garfunkel said, wiping the sweat off his forehead and taking off his glasses, "shall we head back and rest before trying at this once more?"
"We ain't going back. Not when these Redstone Rebels are proving to be a much bigger threat than expect." Sabre_Mace said and marched on forward, ahead of everyone else.
Just as the group was slowing down and preparing to turn around, a large cloud of sand caught their attention. It spread quickly and seemed to be following a travelling object like a snake. The sand cloud suddenly began coming in the direction of the Pack of Wanderers, sending a wave of panic through everyone's body.
SunRose turned around and began running before tripping on her shaking feet and falling onto her knees, "Run, guys! Save yourselves!"
"Get up, SunRose. They're stopping." Sabre_Mace said.
SunRose, confused, stood up and looked at the parting sand clouds. Where the sand clouds were was a large red vehicle, hovering above the sand with five passengers on board, laughing hysterically.
"Shoulda seen the look on yer faces!" The man in front with shaved red hair and a brown suit on shouted, slapping his hand on the front panel of the vehicle.
The Pack of Wanderers rolled their eyes and began walking away.
Another guy on the vehicle, wearing a sailor outfit with long, brown hair, stepped to the front, "Hey, wait up! This jackass wasn't laughing at you, he was laughing with you!"
The man in the brown suit pushed the sailor off the vehicle and onto the sand, "Shut it Frank, I told you back at Young Port that you weren't to talk back to me again."
"I wasn't talking back to you, Phil; I was just trying to apologize to these people for your incredible stupidity!" Frank shouted, climbing back onto the vehicle only to be pushed off again by Phil.
Sabre_Mace sighed as he watched Frank struggle to get back on, "Hey, let the man on. He was just being polite unlike you."
Phil took his attention off Frank, "Who are you to say anything?"
"We are the Pack of Wanderers, famed archaeologists across the land!" Roth shouted proudly.
Garfunkel patted Roth on the shoulder, "Actually, only SunRose and I are archaeologists. You're just a knight and I don't even know what Sabre_Mace is. Bloody, I don't think he even knows what he is."
"Don't think it matters, personally." Sabre_Mace pointed out.
Phil scratched his head, "Pack of Wanderers? What a bunch of lies. We are the Pack of Wanderers! I am Phil, captain of the Steaming Whale!"
"Steaming Whale? You couldn't come up with a better name than Steaming Whale?" Sabre_Mace asked.
"If it's steaming, wouldn't they want it fixed then?" Roth asked.
"Shut it! It's working fine, it's just a goddamn name!" Phil shouted angrily.
Frank sighed as he finally got onto the Steaming Whale, "I am Frank, I merely make sure these guys don't kill themselves."
A girl in the back with short purple hair and in a swimsuit stepped up holding knives in both hands, "I'm Madeline and I like to hunt whatever is in our way!"
The other two guys continued on the conversation they were having.
Phil wacked one of the men on the side of the hide, "Properly introduce yourself to these imposters so that we can kick their asses!"
"Excuse me, sir?" Garfunkel reacted.
Frank kicked Phil, "We're not hurting anybody! Will you quit this tough guy business?"
The two started fist fighting each other with almost all their punches completely missing.
Madeline stepped forward and pushed Frank off the vehicle, "Cut it out, Frank. You're embarrassing yourself again. Why don't you just sit in the back and let us do the negotiating?"
"We ain't negotiating nothin'! These idiots call themselves the Pack of Wanderers when we are the Pack of Wanderers!" Phil said, pushing Madeline back slightly.
SunRose walked over to where Frank lay in the sand and helped him up.
"Look, Phil or whatever your name is," Sabre_Mace said, unsheathing his sword, "can you give us a lift to the Balloon Depot and stop with this whole identity crisis thing? I don't want a whole chapter devoted to this nonsense."
"Oh, and what are you gonna do 'bout it?" Phil threatened, taking out a shotgun.
"A shotgun? Haven't seen one of those before." Garfunkel commented.
Sabre_Mace looked at Phil intently, "Yeah, I don't think anyone else has either. Tell me, Phil, where did you get that weapon?"
"This?" Phil asked, jumping onto the sand and pointing the barrel directly at Sabre_Mace, "Just my personal supplier."
Without fear, Sabre_Mace ducked and dug the tip of his diamond sword into Phil's side. He dropped the shotgun and let out a painful, high pitched screech as he began crying of pain. "What the hell did you do that for?"
"You mocked us, insulted us and are a bunch of no good Redstone Rebels."
Both crews froze.
Phil fell onto his side as blood covered the sand underneath him, "How did you know?"
"It is known that the rebels can make obsidian weaponry by hacking. If shotguns are inaccessible in Anascentia, how could you possess one?" Sabre_Mace said, examining the weapon.
Garfunkel began clapping, "Bravo, Sabre_Mace! You caught the bad guys!"
"Listen, if all of you want to live then I suggest dropping this whole gig of pretending to be the Pack of Wanderers and giving us a lift to the Balloon Depot. If you are kind to us then maybe we'll forget this ever happened, alright?" Sabre_Mace said as he climbed aboard the Steaming Whale, holding his sword out in front in defense.
Frank looked up at Madeline, "Sound fair, Maddy?"
"Shut it, Frank. I ain't givin' up the Steaming Whale to this no good. Get up here and help me take him out!" She shouted and dashed at Sabre_Mace. As she was only a few inches from him, she readied both her knives and prepared to dig them right into the hero's chest. However, he spun out of the way and tripped her with his leg, sending her over the edge of the vehicle. She landed right in front of Roth, who set his right foot on her back to keep her down.
Sabre_Mace looked to the other two nameless people onboard as they jumped over the edge and began running away screaming, "Well, I guess we have a free vehicle now, guys."
"You can't steal from us! That's a crime!" Madeline cried.
"She's right, Sabre_Mace. That's grand theft auto." Garfunkel said.
Frank climbed onboard and stood before Sabre_Mace, "Well, would it be a crime if I humbly gave it to you?"
Sabre_Mace smiled, "Yeah, would it, Garfunkel?"
Garfunkel looked at the other two rebels who were on the ground, "I… I don't know. I don't care really as long as I don't get sunburn from this. Frank, is it truly alright with you if we take this?"
Frank nodded, "I couldn't care less about this hunk of garbage. I was living in Young Port peacefully when these two morons pulled up in this floating piece of metal and forced me onboard. It's about time I got free of 'em."
"You were kidnapped?" SunRose was shocked.
"I guess you could say. But that's all over now! Shall we head to the Balloon Depot?" Frank asked.
Garfunkel, Roth, SunRose and Serenade got onboard and looked at Frank, "What do you mean 'we'? You're a Redstone Rebel." Serenade said, placing her hand on her hips.
"Yeah, well…" Frank shrugged, looking back to Phil and Madeline on the ground.
Sabre_Mace laughed, "Don't worry about it guys. He seems reasonable enough to tag along to the Depot. Wouldn't you want to be getting back to Young Port, though?"
"It's too far away from here and the Balloon Depot. If I were to ever return there then it would have to be in better travelling conditions. The Balloon Depot is fine for now. The ride to Babylon is cheap enough for me to follow through on." Frank said and began starting up the Steaming Whale.
"Babylon, you say? Why, that's where we're heading!" Garfunkel exclaimed.
"Truly? How convenient." Frank said, pulling the vehicle back slightly and turning around in a 180. In a matter of minutes the Pack of Wanderers were charging off across the desert, faster than they ever expected.
The Balloon Depot was situated on a large rock on the outskirts of the desert. The front gate was surrounded by gravel while the structure itself was wooden planks with a large field on top of the rock where four balloons were situated to transport people to and from Babylon.
As the Steaming Whale pulled up to the front, the group piled out and stood in front of the doors to the main office. Sabre_Mace, leading the group, stopped and turned to Frank, "If you are going to Babylon as well, would you be willing to help us then?"
"Help? With what?" Frank asked, moving past Sabre_Mace and opening the door for everyone to enter. The air conditioned inside felt like heaven after the endless heat that all of them had to endure. The group piled in and Garfunkel went to the front of the room to purchase their tickets to Babylon.
The rest of the group took their seats in a lounge in the bottom right corner of the room. Sabre_Mace sat across from Frank, next to SunRose while Roth left the group to head for the bathroom. "It's sort of a long story, but basically we are attempting to learn the truth behind a thing called The Dragon Prophecy. Since you're a Redstone fugitive I'm guessing you already know about it."
"I would have to say that I don't have a clue what you're talking about. What is the Dragon Prophecy?" Frank asked, intrigued.
Sabre_Mace and SunRose looked at each other and then back at Frank, "How do you not know about it? That's what the Redstone Rebellion is trying to fulfill and yet you don't know about it? What kind of gig is Obsidian666 running there?"
"A poor one, I must say. I don't know if it was because I was forced into it back in Young Port or if he just refuses to tell us but I don't know what this prophecy is. Phil and Madeline never spoke of it either so they probably don't know either." Frank said as Garfunkel returned with tickets.
"I've got the tickets, Master-"
"Not now, Garfunkel. Frank, the Dragon Prophecy is life threatening and could very well be the cause of the next apocalypse if we don't prevent it. We're heading to Babylon to determine the truth about its contents and we will need all the help we can get in preventing this. While the thought of risking your life for such a mysterious cause may sound a bit odd, please try to keep up if you are willing to help. This may bring the end of the Redstone Rebellion, so I hope you're okay with that." Sabre_Mace explained as they all took their tickets and proceeded to their launch pad.
Frank chuckled slightly at Sabre_Mace's ignorance, "Didn't I just tell you I was forced into the Redstone Rebellion? I don't care if they fall or not. Hell, I'd prefer if you were to crush them once and for all. Serves them right for terrorizing everyone."
"Well, I'm glad we're all on the same page." Sabre_Mace sighed as everyone piled into the hot air balloon. A man walked out from the wooden building and got on after everyone, shutting the door and inflating the balloon enough that it began to float. Soon, the entire device was off the ground and sailing for the sky.
About half an hour later the clouds appeared below the balloon. Everyone except Serenade marveled at the sight and saw the sun still in the horizon. They turned their attention to the conductor, who pulled a lever and slowed down the levitation of the balloon. Everyone piled to the front of the balloon as the balloon finally landed on a large, grassy field on the edge of a massive, floating island. As they left the balloon, they were astonished by a massive metropolis built out of cobblestone with an incredible mountain in the far back, reaching very high into the sky.
This was Babylon.