Chapter...7?

I think?

Yes!

Enjoy, my 20 or so readers!


"Is that a...face?" Arsenic asked in surprise. The door was enormous, appearing bluish-grey in the dim lighting. Shadows were splashed across the face like make-up. It also had insane eyebrows and an awesome mustache.

"Apparently!" Hex whispered, his silver fur puffed up in fear. "I think that it's sleeping!" His eyes were like saucers.

"How is that possible?" Tech asked. "I've never seen anything like it before."

"It isn't a machine," Macchiato reported. He was almost invisible, the darkness making his silvery robotic armor difficult to distinguish from the wall.

"What is it then?" Peppa asked, looking at the face-door.

"It's organic!" Mint said in surprise. She stepped closer to the door, causing it to twitch and sniffle.

"OH MY GOD! IT'S MOVING!" Kitt screeched, trying to bolt from the room, only being held back by Maize.

"Relax please," Maize requested. Kitt straightened up, running a hand through her short hair.

"I'm okay," she said casually, trying to hide her embarrassment.

The door opened its tired black eyes, staring down at the group of children below it.

"What is the meaning of this?" the door boomed in a slow, rolling voice. "You seek to open the door to the heavens?"

"It talks..." Liquorish murmured, looking paler than normal.

"Yes," Hyde said, cutting her off. "We wish to open the door to the heavens."

The door paused before speaking again. "I can grant entrance only to those who wield great power," it said. "If you seek to pass, show me your power."

"Who wants to do it?" Hyde asked.

"Do what?" Lato asked.

"Show your power to the door," Hyde said. "Usually, we would each do it separately, but we don't have enough time. Someone needs to give enough of their power for all of us." Loud explosions from outside told them that they had even less time than Hyde said.

Everyone looked at one another, a little freaked out by everything that was going on. No one seemed eager to volunteer. Hyde sighed. He needed his strength to aid Ms. Madeline as soon as possible, but he knew how afraid everyone must be, about to be shot off into space.

"I'll do it," Mint said nervously, pulling on her green braid.

"Are you sure that you can? Are you strong enough?" Liquorish asked.

"Are you doubting me?" Mint asked quietly, her red eyes flashing. Liquorish said nothing, so Mint quickly passed her and walked up to the door, which watched her lazily.

She sighed and closed her eyes, her hands resting on her wooden staff. A glowing green hieroglyph appeared on the ground around her feet. It began to fade, and Mint could see that the door was far from impressed.

Oh no! I'm not strong enough! she thought in horror. She could feel everyone's stares on her back. Mint felt something on her hands change: the staff was sprouting little leaves along the top. As this happened, Mint felt a surge of power flow through her, expanding the hieroglyph at an astonishing rate. It vanished after a few seconds.

"Now opens the door to the heavens," the door said, swinging open. Mint just stood there, flabbergasted.

"Mint! You opened the door!" Flax cheered.

"Who knew that there was such a creepy door in the back of this storage closet," Peppa murmured. "And who put it back here anyway?"

"Well, it's open now," Hyde said, leading the way through the door.

"No! Not more climbing!" Flax said when he saw the enormous ladder.

"Men first," Liquorish said, waving them up the ladder.

"Where in the school do you think that we are?" Arsenic asked as she followed the boys up the ladder.

"I don't know," Tech said from far above her. "But did you notice all of the suspicious machinery? It is...excitingly suspicious." Peppa just rolled her eyes.

"Woah!" Hex shouted, being the first one to the top of the ladder, following a two-minute climb. Everyone else joined him up there, gawking at the sight in front of them.

"Come on guys! We need to hurry," Hyde ordered, brushing past his stunned friends. They were in another room, this one absolutely enormous. There was a landing pad, which had six green and red rockets on it. Three of them had the doors open, waiting for their pilots.

A mechanical voice came on overhead.

"How does this even exist?" Kitt asked, horrified. She was still trying to get over the talking door, and now this? She needed to sit down soon to process everything.

"Everyone, get in a rocket," Hyde shouted, running over to the control panel. "Liquorish, your team is in the first rocket!"

"Got it!" she shouted, running on board with Mint and Macchiato.

"The team going to Cassia!" he shouted, pointing to Peppa, Tech, Lato, and Maize. "Get in the second rocket." They ran onto the ship, the deck sliding up and compressing behind them. The door slid shut.

"Everyone else, go to the last rocket," Hyde ordered. Flax, Kitt, and Hex ran on the whimsical rocket.

"Come on Arsenic!" Flax shouted. Arsenic remained frozen, staring at Hyde.

"I'll be fine!" he yelled. An explosion from the ongoing battle outside didn't convince Arsenic. "Go Arsenic! Now!"

She finally unfroze herself and disappeared into the ship.

Hyde sighed and put on a head set. "Attention: Everyone on board. I'm now opening the launch pad." The huge metal doors slid open, causing red warning lights and sirens to come to life.

...

Outside, Principle Biscotti looked up in horror as the enormous clock tower slid open, the hands of the clock falling off as it did so. The ground began to shake, causing the children to shout in fear.

"It's alright children," he shouted. Inside his heart, however, he was torn. What has Madeline done? And what about...Hyde?

He was about to run into the school to look for his adopted son when he saw the faces of the children. They were terrified. He couldn't just leave them. They would panic and scatter.

Biscotti began to think very quickly. If the ship was here to cause harm to them, then a group of children would be a perfect target. He met the eyes of the other teachers and could see that they were thinking the same thing. He quickly gathered up all of the teachers.

"We need to scatter," he ordered. "Take the children from your class with you. Do not return until I or one of the other staff members comes and find you. Is that understood?" he asked, looking them all dead in the eye.

"What about Madeline's kids?" Dr. Erdbeere asked, leaning on his walker.

"I will take them," Biscotti said. "Go quickly now." He watched as the students dispersed and took their classes, running off with them in opposite directions, scattering across Kovomaka. Biscotti gasped as he saw a stray missile head towards Dr. Erdbeere's group, who were still in the clearing due to the red-headed teacher's slow, restricted movements.

"We need to go back for them," one of Ms. Madeline's students said to Biscotti, pulling on his sleeve. The little girl looked terrified.

"There is no need for that," Biscotti said, a smile forming beneath his thick white mustache. The little girl watch, wide-eyed, as the old, withered gy teacher jumped from the ground and smacked the rocket, causing it to spiral back into the sky and explode.

"Come on kiddies!" he wheezed, landing with his gym class again. He began to hobble towards the edge of the clearing. One of his students, an enormous salamander, scooped the aged teacher up onto his shoulder and carried him off with the class closely behind. The old man was shout with laughter as they went.

"See? Nothing to worry about," Biscotti said. "In fact, all of the teachers will defend you children with their lives." The little girl, who had been worried before, smiled gleefully.

I just hope that those other kids are okay, Biscotti thought to himself, staring at the shaking school.

...

"Are you ready to go guys?" Hyde asked, typing a pass code into the system.

"The roof just opened!" Lato said through the static.

"Yes, yes it did," Hyde agreed.

"Are we ready to launch yet?" Peppa shouted.

Hyde looked over all of the monitors. "Looks good-." The rest of what he was saying got cut off as a missile was deflected mere inches from the launch pad.

"OH MY GOD!" Tech shouted into the headset, deafening Hyde.

"They'll shoot us down before we can get out of the atmosphere!" Liquorish said.

"Let me think..." Hyde said, closing his eyes.

"Umm...I don't think that we have that kind of time," Hex muttered as more missiles exploded.

"Got it!" Hyde said, returning to the controls. "Just give me a second."

...

Biscotti watched as missiles shot towards each group of students. Whoever was coordinating this attack was very smart. And ruthless. Madeline was already worn down from all of the attacks. Now, she wouldn't be able to block all of the missiles. Heck, if she could deflect even one then it would be a miracle.

So, the teachers had to take care of it.

Ms. Himbeere and Ms. Salat, twin plant mages, cast up their own barriers. Enormous flowers, one pink and one green, erupted from the ground, each the size of a basketball court. Mr. Felsin shot his hands forward, creating a rock dome that acted as a shield for the children. The other teachers threw forward more defenses o help reinforce Ms. Madeline's shield. More giant plants, walls of fire, and bubbles with the diameter of a football field popped up all over Kovomaka.

Biscotti smiled, bursting with pride for his teachers. Lastly, he placed his hand on the ground. He could practically feel the rage of the planet. He allowed some of his magic to drip down into the surface, awakening the planet's powers. Strength from the core flowed through him. He was tempted to use the power himself, to pick the pesky pirate ship out of the sky. Instead, he distributed it the teachers, allowing them to strengthen their barriers and protect the students.

Nothing could be done for Madeline, though. Her shield was shrinking, now hardly enough to cover her own body. She was bleeding from wounds all over her body. It was clear that she was in pain.

But she would not abandon her adopted planet.

...

"Okay, are you ready guys?" Hyde asked. He honestly didn't care if they were or not. He was practically shaking with fear. He was on his only back up plan in case of attack, and it was a sucky plan.

But they had t get off of the planet.

"We're all ready," Liquorish said. He could imagine all of them in the tiny shaking cockpit.

"Here goes nothing," Hyde muttered. He slammed his hand down on the button. Immediately, all six rockets began to light up, increasing the heat in the room. Soon, Hyde was sweating heavily. He was tempted to say more, but decided against it. There were now six levers in front of him. Hyde closed his eyes, saying a quick prayer, and pushed each of the levers at different times. The launch pad began to rotate, and soon Hyde could not tell them apart.

"Launching rocket!" he said as a random rocket took to the air. The other five followed, streaming along in some sort of bizarre flock. Suddenly, the enemy on the ship seemed to realize that there were rockets in the sky. They fired projectiles towards the flock. One rocket was blown up. Hyde knew that it wasnt anyone from the school, due to the fact that he was still being deafened by them over the headset.

Another rocket was taken out. Hyde began to shake with anxiety. The odds of one of the real rockets being hit instead of the dummy one...

...

Biscotti watched as two of the six rockets of the school were blown up. It was hard to see, due to the dust, smoke, and explosions going on about him. He smiled as the rockets got higher and higher into the sky.

They're almost safe, he thought.

And he jinxed them.

The giant pirate ship shot off not one, but three missiles, all of them streaking towards separate ships.

"No!" he shouted. The other teachers watched helplessly as the projectiles got closer and closer to their targets.

And then, two streaks of white stopped two of the missiles in their path. Hyde had done as Ms. Madeline had earlier, creating a shield to use against the enemy weapons. He managed to stop the first missile.

Ms. Madeline, however, was not as fortunate. Her shield had faded, leaving her defenceless. Still, she cast herself in the path. The explosion threw her down onto the landing pad, leaving a smoking crater. Hyde landed next to her. She was battered and bleeding, her clothes torn. Her hair was a tangled, burned mess.

"Ms. Madeline!" he shouted, trying to wake he up. One of the rockets exploded overhead, shattering debris down on them.

"No..." Ms. Madeline murmured, tears coming to her eyes. Hyde jumped up and ran back to the headset that he had abandoned.

"Is everyone okay?" he shouted desperately.

"Yes, we're here!" Liquorish said shakily.

"Did you have to yell?" Peppa asked angrily.

"Oh my god," Flax muttered. "We just almost died, didn't we?"

"You're all alive," Hyde said, breathing in relief.

"Are they?" Ms. Madeline said, trying to get up. She cried out in pain and fell back.

"Ms. Madeline! Try not to move," Hyde said, running back over to her.

"Are they all okay?" she asked wearily.

"Yes, they're fine," Hyde said, his voice pitching in relief.

"Thank god," she muttered, visibly relaxing. Hyde looked up at the sky. The rockets were barely pinpricks against the blue sky. The pirate ship, apparently out of ammunition, was also leaving, but in the opposite direction.

"Alright guys," Hyde said shakily, knowing that this may be his last time speaking with any of them. "Be careful. Complete your quest as quickly as possible and come home. Ms. Madeline will figure out a way to pursue Kale. Make sure you all take care of one another."

"We'll be careful," Liquorish said earnestly.

"Yeah! No worries!" Macchiato said.

"Liquorish will take care of us!" Mint cheered.

"I'll take good care of my team," Tech said

"You mean my team," Peppa argued.

"We'll be safe," Lato promised.

"And you will too, right Flax?" Maize asked his brother.

"Of course!" Flax said. His voice began to crackle.

"If he doesn't, then I'll put him back in his place," Kitt said faintly. Hyde couldn't hear what Hex said.

"You be careful too, you got that Arsenic?" Hyde said. He could no longer make out any words, but he knew that Arsenic said something.

"We'll be waiting for your return," he muttered, even though no one could hear him. He took off the headset and looked down at his teacher.

"Job well done Hyde," she said weakly.

Hyde had just sent his friends, including his girlfriend, to the dangerous outer space, with no experience, to find the most powerful wizards in the galaxy, all while racing against the people who had basically just razed Kovomaka.

It did not feel like a job well done to him.


Chapter done!

Yay!

Point out my mistakes.

Thanks,

~CatKkit.