So, It's been a bit. New year, new chapter. I'm personally excited for this chapter, first time writing a fight scene. Tell me what you think.
Also, the chapter title thing from the last chapter is still in effect, even if no one has suggested any yet.
Anyway, on with the show...
(Copyright): I don't own shit.
The outside of Iron Island was fucking massive. You could genuinely say that it was a just mountain in the middle of the ocean that someone carved stairs into. And it was those stairs that became my personal hell. Now, while I may not have been the most athletic person, I wasn't a slouch either. I even ran a few marathons. I never finished one, mind you, but I still made it to the halfway point. It was the knowledge of my past experiences, even with how limited they were, that made the feeling of climbing those stairs much more of a kick in the dick.
It was okay at first, me and Riley making our way up the stairs at the same pace, though I could tell he could go faster if he tried. After a few minutes, I start to slow down considerably, my entire body starting to ache. My breathing became really heavy, with every step feeling like a chore to take. Slowing to a crawl, the sweat falling from my forehead and getting in my eyes. As I took another labored step, just catching a glimpse of Riley looking over his shoulder at me, a smug grin plastered on his face, he started booking it up the stairs. He left me in the dust, striding up two steps at a time and making it to the top before I could say a word. Grumbled curse words hissed out under my breath as I kept going, the stairs seemingly stretching and getting taller when looking up them mid-climb.
After what felt like hours, while in actuality it probably was just a few minutes, I finally reached the top, huffing and puffing the whole time. Just as I crest the last stair, I spy Riley standing off to the side, his smug grin now shifted into a shit-eating one, arms held across his chest.
"What took you so long?", he asked, the smarm infecting every syllable.
I raise a finger and open my mouth to rebut, but it was that exact moment that my legs decided to give out. I fell forward and faceplanted onto the rocky ground, whatever I had to say dying in my throat. A muffled groan was all that escaped my lungs, the long exhale kicking up a small wave of dust. Rolling onto my back and taking deep breaths to calm my thumping chest, Riley leans into my view, just barely blocking my eyes from the sun.
"Jeez, man, it's just a few stairs.", he said, the snark practically dripping off of his every word.
"Don't you...sass me.", I snapped, weakly raising a finger towards him, heaving deep breaths in and out. "Those stairs...are bullshit!"
He rolled his eyes, shaking his head a bit and letting out a small chuckle while reaching out a hand to help me up. Just as I was about to take his hand, another notification panel filled my vision, causing my eyebrow raise.
[Due to your vigorous exercise, your Vitality has increased by 1]
'...Fuck you...', I thought bitterly as I reached my hand up, dismissing the screen and grabbing his hand in the same motion. He pulled and hoisted me up to my feet, though I stagger a bit with my legs feeling so weak. "Thanks.", I say to him as I'm taking a few cautious steps forward.
"No problem.", he replied, looking me up and down with his own curious eyebrow. "You okay? Your legs are looking a little wobbly there."
I took a few more uneven steps forward and sat on a nearby rock, letting out a sigh of relief that I wasn't on my aching feet anymore. "I'll be fine...", I started, taking out a water bottle from my jacket pocket and taking a quick drink of it. The surprisingly still cool water was quite refreshing amidst the heat belting down from the overhead sun, the sky now bare of clouds and empty of shade. "...I should be okay once we get inside the mine. Speaking of which, where're we going?", I ask, tucking the water bottle back into my jacket.
He casually pointed over to the side and I finally became aware of my surroundings. We were on a sort of plateau-ish area that stretched for a good while before hitting a raised wall of rock. Off to the left, there was a modestly-sized hut with a blue roof situated next to another staircase, this one going further up the mountain, but I couldn't see what was at the top from where I was sitting. I Internally grimaced at the sight of the staircase, but was also slightly thankful that it was nowhere near as long as the one before.
"At the top of that staircase is the entrance to the mine. Once we get inside, you need to stick close to me, as it can be like a maze in certain sections of the mine. While this place is open to the public, and there are signs posted to keep people from getting lost, I don't think Galactic will be keeping to the public areas exclusively. Whatever they're here for, be it the pokemon or something else, they won't get away with it.", he explained, his eyes narrowing and expression turning serious. With the way his face twisted ina a somewhat vengeful scowl, I could tell that he didn't want to stop them just for altruistic reasons. There was just that littlest bit of a personal grudge slipping through.
Taking a minute to get to my feet as he looked on, seemingly lost in thought, I placed a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him. He shifted his gaze over to me, his scowl softening a bit when he saw my look understanding. "Don't worry man...", I started, patting his shoulder a few times to ease him down a bit, "...We'll send these nutcases packing with their tails between their legs and be back in time for supper...whatever that may be.", I end with lighthearted chuckle.
His demeanor shifted a bit at my proclamation. His hardened gaze, while that vengeful spark was still evident, lightened as his eyes met mine. He seemed to study my face for a moment, but evidently didn't find what he was looking for. After another moment, he turned his head back towards the mine entrance, resolve now evident on his face, and muttered in a low voice, "Damn right we will."
He took a few steps forward, just allowing himself to take a few deep breaths to calm down. After a bit, he turned back to me, the look of seriousness had fallen away and returned to his usual laid-back smile.
"Alright...", he started, "before we head to the mine, we need to stop off in that house real quick.", he said, gesturing to the cottage with the blue roof.
I simply shrugged and followed him over to the house. When we reached the front door, he pulled out a small key from his jacket pocket and quickly unlocked it. Stepping inside, it was dark and shadowy, the only light in the room being the few rays of sun that peaked through the cracked doorway behind us. Riley took a few steps into the center of the room, quietly raising and waving his hand through the air above his head as he walked. As I was about to question what he was doing, he appeared to have found what he was looking for, grasping it and giving a quick tug.
In an instant, the room was bathed with light, the bulb in the center of the room flickering to life with a quick pull of its hanging chain. The room itself seemed to encompass nearly the entire cottage, save for two doors on the back wall that were situated on opposite sides of a brick-and-mortar fireplace. The fireplace's mantle was adorned with many different photographs and family portraits, most of which were situated directly underneath a large painted portrait of a man I didn't recognize. To the right of the room was a medium-sized kitchen area, with an island countertop, a wide basin sink, and a handful of the usual amenities. Immediately to the right to the kitchen was what appeared to be a small office space, with a couple of desks and electrical appliances. Namely a computer that, by my old world's standards, was positively ancient. The monitor was big and bulky, the keyboard and mouse looked like they were from the 90's, and the tower itself had a white-finish casing that had started yellowing. On the other desk against the south wall was a large ham-radio setup, though the only thing that I actually recognized was the microphone.
After making a mental note about the computer, knowing that I'm gonna have to do some research later about the tech level in this world, I turned my attention to the other side of the room. It had three large glass display cases all lined up against the wall in the center, two large and deep metal cabinets to the left of those, a bookcase on the right, and finally, in the southeast corner of the room, there appeared to be a metal hatch built into the floor. It was latched closed, a large padlock fed through the metal bar keeping the lid in place. The rest of the room was dotted with bits and pieces of miscellaneous furniture, giving it a bit of a home-y feel.
Riley took a deep breath of the somewhat stale air and a nostalgic smile crept across his face. "Home sweet home.", he breathed, before making his way over to the desk with the radio.
I gave him a questioning look and asked, "You live here?", taking a few steps towards the display cases.
I casually perused their contents, finding dozens of geological samples and fossils neatly cataloged amongst the many shelves. While the samples didn't hold much interest, the fossils were slightly intriguing. There was one that looked like a flower, a large claw, a weird sea-shell shape, and an oval with a ring around its midsection.
"Eh, kinda. I grew up here.", he replied, turning a few dials and flicking a switch, the aged device coming to life with a low hum. "Me and my best friend Roark would spend every summer here when we were kids. We'd mostly just dick around, though there were times when we'd actually train our skills and battle. I would usually win our little bouts, though that's more on the fact that Roark wasn't much of the battling-type. He's more content digging in the dirt, looking for treasure, than actually taking battle seriously. Still, he's a good guy.", he explained while further tuning more knobs on the machine. After a moment, he puts on a pair of headphones connected to the radio and grabs the nearby mic. He begins talking into it, presumably to someone, but I didn't inquire as to whom.
I shrugged and left him to his thing. Looking around the room for something to do, my eyes fell on the bookcase to my right. With a few quick steps over to it, I quietly start looking over the selection, secretly hoping to find more skill books. After a few minutes, I walk away with a small handful of books and take a seat in a nearby recliner. Unsurprisingly, I found a manual for miners, pretty much just a book full of "look out for this, stupid", though it was beat to hell with a portion of the front cover missing. Aside from that, I found a first aid booklet, a cookbook, and a few copies of the same wilderness survival guide. The survival guide wasn't a skill book, but since they had multiple copies, I didn't think they'd miss it. Plus, I know next to nothing about the wilderness, so if I end up getting stuck in a forest or something, I'd at least have a lifeline. Getting stuck in the ocean was bad enough.
Anyway, the First Aid booklet was up first, as it was the shortest. It talked about the stuff you'd expect, bandaging wounds, performing CPR, the works. The skill, however, was much more than what the booklet would lead you to believe.
[First Aid/ LV 1 (5)]
You are, in emergencies, able to take care of minor injuries or ailments.
Restore you or a target's HP up to 10% of their max HP. Potentially cure one status ailment.
[Cost: 15 MP.]
Anyone with a brain could immediately tell how useful it was. While I wasn't sure if it meant "you can only heal up to 10% period", or "you can heal up to 10% each time", it was still a healing skill. Either way, it'll work wonders if I ever get into a fight, especially considering that Team Galactic is why we're here. The only thing that I was worried about was the MP cost. At its current level, I could use it maybe six times before I run out. If things got really dicey, that might not be enough. And I wasn't sure how my MP could be refilled, aside from sleeping, and I don't think they'll let me take a nap in the middle of a fight.
I added that thought to the long list of questions related to how my power works and moved on, grabbing the mining book next. I'll be honest, the mining book was one of the most boring things I've ever read in either lifetime. Seriously. If not for the fact that the information in it is now permanently stored in my brain because of my power, I would have forgotten everything in it ten-times over by now. It was that dull. The skill was pretty useful, at least.
[Mining/ LV 1 (20)]
You know just where to smack with your pick to get the most out of each swing.
Increases Mining speed by {5%}, reduces Stamina cost for Mining by {2%}, reduces Mining tool degradation rate by {3%}.
It also had the fringe benefit in increasing my intelligence by another point.
Just as I was about to start the cook book, I felt a hand start lightly tapping me on the shoulder. I look up and see Riley, the look on his face and a quick gesture with his thumb told me that it was time to go. Just as I got up and began putting the books away, I noticed Riley head over to one of the metal cabinets on the other side of the display cases and open it, rooting around in it's contents as I was making my way over. I peer around the metal door and see dozens and dozens of tools, most of which are presumably for mining in some way, but I had no idea what even a good portion of them would be used for. Riley lets out a frustrated huff and slams closed the cabinet doors, causing it to shake and rattle on the inside. He takes a few steps to his left and starts rooting through the other one, his frustration seemingly evaporating when he finds what he's looking for.
He turns back to me, holding what appears to be a flashlight and a small, yellow, rectangular plastic box. "Here.", he says, handing them to me. I took a a moment to look them over. "Not all the areas of the mine have lights installed.", he explained. He reached back into the cabinet and pulled out his own light and box, clipping them to the right breast pocket of his jacket and belt respectively, which I mimicked.
"Now", he continued, "while the most dangerous pokemon you'll find here is an Onix or a Mawile or two, it's the Zubats that you have to keep an eye out for. They're small, fast, and like to swarm. They're also nocturnal, so they're also real sensitive to light. Don't go swinging your flashlight around like a jackass." He said, grabbing the flashlight on his chest for added emphasis. His hand then fell down to the box on his hip, which he tapped a few times. "This is a crank charger. It's not the most efficient method of recharging your batteries, but it's the best you got underground. Just simply pop the cover, plug the cord into the bottom of your light, and spin the crank. Fifteen minutes of cranking should give you an hour's worth of juice, but turning it faster will charge it faster. You got all that?", he asked when he finally finished.
I gave a shrug and said, "Yeah, seems pretty simple."
"Good, now let's get going. We've got no more time to waste."
Once we were actually inside the mine, we were immediately met with a fork in the road, two staircases to our left and right, both going downward. I gave a questioning look to Riley and he pointed to the staircase on the right, so we started descending. After a few moments, when we reached the bottom of the stairs, we stepped out into a large open chamber, a number of stalagmites hanging from the ceiling, and a few shifting forms in the shadows of said stalagmites. Riley brought a finger up to his mouth and motioned to follow, both of us ducking down a bit when we heard tiny chittering overhead.
I cast my gaze out over the room as we walked, the dim flickering bulbs only illuminating a few patches of the rocky terrain, the elevation rising and dipping throughout the room, even becoming jagged in parts. There were a few shapes moving about in the distance, just barely cresting the edge of the bulbs' radius, but still managing to keep out of its glow.
Of the few shapes that willingly entered into the light, one could easily recognize them as different species of pokemon, though at the time, I couldn't tell you their names were. There was a ball of rock with arms and a face that levitated across the ground. There was also what appeared to be a small purple gremlin with a creepy, wide smile and gemstones for eyes, occasionally digging at random spots in the rock for seemingly no reason. Every now and then, I could even catch a glimpse of one of the infamous Zubats when it dropped from the ceiling and glided through the beams as it flew off to another part of the mine. While I understood that any of these creatures could easily kill me if I so much looked at it wrong, I was kinda filled with a bit of a sense of wonder as I quietly observed them.
These were actual, living creatures. Not numbers or pixels on a screen. I had that thought in the back of my mind when I was petting the Lucario, but this just. compounded on that feeling, that sense of childlike discovery. How it fills your gut with butterflies and makes you giddy with excitement. Thankfully, I had much better impulse control, so I didn't run to hug the giant, two-ton snake made of rocks we found on the next floor...no matter how much I wanted to.
Anyway, speaking of the next floor, that's where we found our first Galactic guy. He stopped us at the bottom of the stairs to the second level. I have to say, whoever designed the outfit for team Galactic should be fired. He was wearing a striped, skin-tight bodysuit, with a black-and-sliver vest and a pair of black shorts over it. The vest's collar was circular and really high, coming up to just under his chin, and the leggings of the shorts fed right into a pair of stark-white lace-less boots. Finally, in the center of the vest, he had the same elaborate "G" insignia from the side of the boat emblazoned on his chest.
Now, strictly speaking, it wasn't a bad outfit on it's own. It matches their namesake, give off an "Astronaut" or "Space-man" vibe, and was ascetically pleasing to the eye, to a certain extent. Sure, the big obnoxious yellow "G" in the middle was a bit of an eyesore, but it wasn't something too outlandish. No, where I draw the line in the sand is at the hair. Bright...fucking...cyan...in a bowl cut.
Don't think I need to say anything more on that...let's move on.
Just as we hit the bottom of the stairs and start to walk ahead, he sticks out his hand and shouts, "Halt!". We, of-course, turn to face him, and just as I was about to say something to him, he just continued on with his spiel.
"Surrender! In the glorious name of Team Galactic! Hand over your pokemon and anything valuable, and no harm shall come to you.", he proclaimed with boisterous fervor. As he spoke, he did small pirouettes and poses throughout, finally culminating in him ending in a pose that even the Ginyu force would laugh at, before he finally returned to a normal standing position with his arms crossed. He looked so proud of himself.
A pregnant pause fell over the room, a still silence that steadily shifted into an uncomfortable one as nobody said a word. Me and Riley just stared at the man with utter bewilderment. Another moment passed in silence, the only sound being the distant echoes of water droplets dripping down from the ceiling. The man himself especially didn't expect the silence, as he shifted in place awkwardly, his eyes jumping back and forth between us. He clearly expected some kind of reaction, probably one of fear, and we were knocking him off his game.
Me and Riley quickly shared a look, and in that one single look, a whole conversation was had without words. We both smirked, trying our best not to snicker, and turned back to him.
"A-and what if we don't?", I asked, biting my lip to keep from laughing.
"Yeah. What if we- What if we resist?", Riley added, barely able to keep it together himself.
The man was clearly taken aback with how we were acting, possibly even offended based on his slight eye-twitch. Still, he continued, out of some sense of pride or spite, probably.
"If you resist...", he started, dramatically grabbing a pokeball out from behind his back and holding it up in the air, "...Then I will be forced to do battle, and trust me...", he brought the pokeball down in front of his face in a gesture that I think was supposed to be menacing, "...I've never been defeated."
"...Is that because you've never fought before?", I ask, my pitch inching slightly higher as the words left my mouth.
The guy reeled back at the question, his face turning a light shade of pink. "What! No! That's not- you just don't- ugh, shut up!", he shouted, incredulity leaking from every embarrassed syllable.
That was the straw that broke the camel's back for us. Any sense of professionalism we had went out the window as we buckled over in laughter. By all rights, it shouldn't have been as funny as it was, looking back on it. But there was just something about the way he sounded like a child throwing a temper tantrum that we both found hilarious. He even started stomping the ground in frustration as we kept laughing at him.
"You insolent curs, you dare mock me!", he shouted, but his voice cracked as he yelled, actually making us fall to the ground and roll over each other, gasping for air. He let out a deep growl in frustration, gripping the pokeball in his hand so tight that his knuckles went white. His hands were shaking in fury, his eye twitched erratically.
"That does it!", he roared at the top of his lungs, "You're both dead! Pokeball, go!"
In an instant, both of us stopped laughing and hopped to our feet, poised for a fight. I dove out of the way while Riley already had a ball in the air, both balls colliding in the space between us, erupting in a brilliant burst of light. The mass of light subdivided and coalesced into two forms that I'd never seen before.
On Riley's side was a large cat-like pokemon with snow white fur, a large mane-like scruff covering its neck and upper chest, and a length of fur on its head that hung down and framed the left side of its face, kind like bangs. Its body was lithe and thin, but not in an unhealthy way, more like it added to the air of grace and elegance this thing exuded. The most striking features were the shades of black, seeming only to exist to contrast the untouched white of it's coat. Its claws were long, thick, and looked ready to rip and tear anything in it's path. It's tail was thin and had a reflective sheen to it, shaped more like a batwing or a blade than a limb. The singular horn that protruded from the side of its head was the most blade-like, resembling a reaper's scythe, curving up and back behind it's head. There was a smaller bump that poked through the center of its forehead, like a horn that got cut off, or that has just started growing. And finally, even the dark shade of its face is contrasted by the deep, crimson red of its eyes, containing a look that spells doom for anyone on the receiving end.
On the Galactic Guy's side was a medium-sized bipedal frog, standing on its hind legs but hunched over in a ready position. It's indigo skin was leathery and hide-like, two large white stripes wrapped around it's midsection, somewhat reminiscent of bandages, but they were definitely part of its pigment. The pads of its hand and feet were colored black, except for the middle of its three fingers, which was colored bright orange for some reason. The same shade of orange was shared by the bubble-like pouches on its cheeks, which seemed to inflate and deflate as it breathed. It's eyes were bright yellow with slits for pupils and black rings around its eyes, which combined with its overbite and wide mouth that makes it look like it's perpetually smiling, gives it the look of always being smug.
"Absol!", Riley shouted, starting the battle off with a bang, "Ice Beam, now!"
The newly named Absol gave a deep growl in affirmation before opening its mouth, a small ball of blue energy condensing and forming in front of it's face. The ball crackled and sparked as it formed, growing considerably in size in the few seconds since it started, just about the size of a baseball. The Absol reeled its head back and snapped it back forward, letting out a deep battle cry as it unleashed its attack.
"Croagunk, Dodge!", the Galactic Guy ordered in response. In the instant the words left his mouth, a bright blue beam of cold erupted from the Absol, the temperature in the room suddenly dropping several degrees as it soared through the air. Following its master's command, the newly named Croagunk leapt to the side, just barely missing the beam as it struck the spot where it once was. The ground where it struck was immediately covered in a layer of ice. A mere moment later, a series of icey spikes shot up from the shimmering sheet.
Seeing that it's shot missed, the Absol quickly turned and raked the beam across the chamber, creating more spikes wherever the beam struck in its path. The Croagunk kept dodging the beam with each swipe it made, though only just barely, as a thin film of frost was starting to form on its body in the areas that were the closest. The beam began to die out, and the Croagunk's smug smile got the littlest bit wider as it regained its footing.
"Feint Attack into Poison Sting!", the Galactic Guy, who I'm just gonna call Gary from now on, shouted.
The Croagunk got a dark look in it's eye before it rushed forward, holding its arms out to its sides as they gained a shadowy glow. It rushed up to the Absol in a flash, reaching out with one of its arms and swinging, but just stopped short as the Absol was gonna move, the other arm coming around from the other side and poised to jab into its ribs. Just as it was about to hit home though...
"Double Team!"
Instead of finding purchase on the Absol's ribcage, the strike went straight through, the speedy after-image fading with a smug smile a few seconds later. The Croagunk looked around in confusion before turning around and seeing its opponent now several meters away, two ethereal copies with it.
Gary let out a hiss of frustration, gripping his fists tightly. "Bulk Up!", he shouted with indignant rage.
"Absol, Sword Dance!", Riley shouted in response.
Both pokemon took different stances opposite to each other, the Absol lowering its head to the ground and the Croagunk crossing its arms across Its chest. They both began to glow, One a wispy ethereal blue, the other a deep bloody red, and stared each other down. In an instant, the Absol raised head back up, summoning six ethereal swords from nowhere. The swords moved back and forth around the Absol for a moment, before coming together in front of its face, forming a single, more solid looking sword. The sword then began dissipating into small motes of light, flowing like a river straight into the scythe-like horn on the side of its head. Once the last mote was absorbed, the horn became wreathed in the same blue energy that seemed to make up the swords.
In the same instant, the Croagunk unfurled its arms in a Furious motion, the red aura completely enveloping its form. It quickly flexed its arms, the muscles in its body beginning to thicken and swell. The veins on various parts of its body started to poke through its leathery skin, in a way that almost looked painful. After a moment of its muscular expansion, it let out a deep, heavy breath, seemingly relieved that the process was over. The red aura from before had remained, but lessened, settling as a thin film around its new expanded muscles. It quickly raises one of its foot pads and brought it back down, the stone caving in at the heavy stomp, testing its new strength.
With both now finished with their power ups, they continued staring each other down as they waited for the trainers order. There was a palpable sense of anticipation in the air, from all parties, myself included. After a moment of tense quiet, the trainers each sharing a quick look with their pokemon, both were happy to oblige as they called out their attacks...
"Psycho Cut!"
"Sucker Punch!"
In an instant, both pokemon sprinted forward like unleashed dogs of war, ready to strike each other down. Absol's horn glowed even brighter than before and Croagunk's right paw was wrapped in a mixture of red and black aura. They reached each other in no time, heavy footfalls leaving a small trail of craters behind them. They swung their blows...
They collided in mid-air. Fist met horn as a massive shockwave erupted from their collision, sending us all back a few steps by the sheer force of it. Neither was willing to give an inch in this contest of strength, so they were locked in place, bursts of energy continually pulsing out from the epicenter. The ground quaked under the force of these two powers refusing to give in. Then, just as it seemed like it would never end, it did...
The Absol quickly shifted its momentum to the side, pivoted, and deflected the Croagunk's attack with its horn. The frog pokemon was knocked off balance, leaving itself open as it stumbled forward. The Absol immediately twisted and reeled it's head back, the aura around its horn condensing until it was just the edge of the blade. With one quick motion, it unleashed a furious horizontal slice across the Croagunk's midsection. Time seemed to slow for a second as the move connected, as if physics needed a moment to catch up with what was happening, before suddenly returning to normal as the Croagunk was launched clear across the chamber like a missile. He crashed into one of the north walls, slowly sliding down it until he came to rest on the floor, unmoving.
The Absol let out a victorious roar before returning to its master's side, a look of contentment clear on its face. Riley knelt down and pet its head, which lead to it purring and rubbing its face against his hand affectionately. He stood back up a moment later, earning him a disappointed mewl, and turned his attention back to Gary.
"So-", he started, but was interrupted by a sudden rumbling noise. All four of us looked around nervously, as we couldn't tell where it was coming from, it seemed like it was all around us. It wasn't a heavy rumble, nothing to put the stability of the mine in jeopardy, but it was still concerning. Then, just on the edge of my senses, I hear something, just barely over the rumble.
It was unfocused, just barely there. A second later, it got a bit clearer. Another second later, even more so, I began to make things out. And yet another second, my heart sank and my face went pale, as I recognized the sound. "Oh no...", I muttered with shaky breath.
I didn't want to say the word, I knew what it meant...but it escaped my lips nonetheless.
"Zubats..."
Just as I breathed out the word, a large black mass swarmed in from one of the south tunnels, echoing and screeching out high-pitched squeaks that spelled our potential doom. There was only one word that any of us needed in that moment, as our bones knew exactly what to do...
"RUN!"
Yeah, everyone loves a cliffhanger, especially me. Aint' I a stinker? Anyway, You know what to do.
Thanks again to AsuraJZero for being my beta reader.