Outlaw Star: A New Dawn
Author's Notes: I'm bored and was anxious to continue with this story so forgive me if it's boring or something.
Chapter 4: Time Warp
"JIM! NOOOOO!!!" Gene screamed as he saw his young partner tumble off along with the broken pieces of metal that the robot had just blasted. Gene dove after him futilely, but it was already too late.
"Heh heh. What's the problem Mr. Starwind? You'll be joining your little partner soon enough," Dr. Darkman sneered sarcastically.
Anguish like Gene had never known before ripped through Gene's heart. Jim...Jim was gone...Never again would there be the loud, opinionated worrywart of an eleven-year-old for him to argue with. Gene just kneeled there, staring down the spiral of platforms in shock.
"You bastard..." He growled softly, tears springing to his eyes. For a moment he couldn't believe he was doing something he hadn't done in a while. He was crying.
"What was that? Come now, Mr. Starwind, speak up so that the rest of us can hear you," Darkman taunted.
"YOU BASTARD!" Gene screamed and whirled, firing at the same time. This took the robots by surprise and they couldn't react in time before the one who had killed Jim fell in a heap of scrap metal. Next to him, Suzuka had snapped out of her initial shock and fired at the other robot before it could react. Darkman stumbled backwards in surprise.
Without even waiting for Suzuka to stop firing, Gene made a mad dash forward and hurled all of his weight at Darkman.
"NO! YOU FOOL!" Darkman cried as he began to fall back. A glint caught Gene's eye. The Helix Hourglass was flying out of Darkman's pocket. Everything seemed to slow down as the artifact made contact with the platform and shattered. Shards of glass flew everywhere. The different colored sands spilled between the gaps in the platform.
"NO! MY PRECIOUS TREASURE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Darkman screamed.
Suddenly, beams of white light started shooting out of the shattered Helix Hourglass. Gene squinted and took a step back. The light lit up the entire facility.
"What the hell is going on?!" Aisha screamed. The lighted began to whirl like a tornado. Gene felt a powerful force propel him towards it. Resisting, Gene clung onto the metal railway.
"The light! It's so bright!!!" Darkman cried as he was drawn into the twister. The invisible force that was drawing Gene and the others in was getting stronger. He felt his fingers losing their grip on the rail.
"Ahh!" Gene heard Melfina scream. He twisted his head to see her fly past him towards the spiral, followed by a frantic Aisha. "Gene! Help!"
"Melfina! Aisha!" Gene yelled, but it was too late. They were devoured by the light tornado. Suzuka went next, her grip on the rail obviously having no effect against the dominating force.
Gene felt his fingers give out. His body was lifted off the ground and pulled into the cyclone of light. He squeezed his eyes shut by pure instinct.
The next thing he knew, he felt a tingling sensation all over his body. It wasn't exactly unpleasant...just unusual. He opened his eyes a little to find that flashes of different colors were surrounding him. Then it was suddenly gone, and he was falling.
Gene didn't have time to scream or anything before he plunged into cold water. Surprised, he fought his way to the surface. He waded in the water for a bit, gasping for air. Three other heads broke through the surface of the water. The others.
"Gene! Where are we?" Melfina asked when she spotted him. The three women waded over to him.
"I don't know, but we'd better get out of this water," Gene answered, relieved that they were okay.
"Yeah! Aisha hates water!" Aisha shrieked.
"There is a shore over there," Suzuka said, her voice still calm despite their situation. She nodded her head towards the direction behind Gene. He turned and saw the long stretch of sand.
Using his powerful arms, Gene swam towards the shore. His mind did a replay of everything that had just happened. Sadness wafted through him when he remembered the part about Jim.
Jim...I'm sorry I couldn't save you, kid...Gene thought, refusing to give into the painful emotion until they found their way out of this confusion.
Land never seemed so blissful. Gene stumbled out of the water and crashed onto the sand, gasping for air into his tired lungs. Aisha was the next to make it on land. She sat looking extremely unhappy in her wet clothes. Suzuka and Melfina lay on the sand still for a moment.
"Is...everyone...okay?" Gene asked at last. He reluctantly stood up and brushed some of the gritty sand off of him.
"What in the world is going on?" Suzuka asked as she took a quick glance around. Gene, wondering what she meant, did the same. Weren't they just in Darkman's laboratory? How had they ended up on some desolate beach?
Aisha's ears suddenly began twitching. She concentrated for a moment, frowning as she listened to something. Her eyes widened.
"Hey! There's a town or something nearby! My great Ctarl Ctarl ears hear people!" Aisha exclaimed.
"Where are they coming from?" Gene asked.
"From over there," Aisha said, pointing to a harbor nearby that Gene had missed.
"Let's go and find out where we are," He suggested to the women. They nodded in agreement and followed him.
The harbor turned out to be a small pier lined up with fish stands and fishing boats. People of all types were rushing about. There were some small stands that sold fish and a seafood restaurant with a dangling sign.
"What is this place?" Gene wondered. He sauntered over to one of the stands and addressed the man standing behind it. "Hey pal, just where are we?"
The man looked surprised. "Why, you're in Gully Bay, the busiest bay on all of Dragon's Lair."
"Say, wasn't there a lab around here?" Gene asked, hoping to get some real answers.
The man blinked. "That old place his majesty used to own? It was tore down years ago!"
Gene gulped. "His...majesty?"
"Why yes. His majesty Emperor Jerok Darkman. Just where have you been the last five years anyway, pal?"
Author's Notes: I'm bored and was anxious to continue with this story so forgive me if it's boring or something.
Chapter 4: Time Warp
"JIM! NOOOOO!!!" Gene screamed as he saw his young partner tumble off along with the broken pieces of metal that the robot had just blasted. Gene dove after him futilely, but it was already too late.
"Heh heh. What's the problem Mr. Starwind? You'll be joining your little partner soon enough," Dr. Darkman sneered sarcastically.
Anguish like Gene had never known before ripped through Gene's heart. Jim...Jim was gone...Never again would there be the loud, opinionated worrywart of an eleven-year-old for him to argue with. Gene just kneeled there, staring down the spiral of platforms in shock.
"You bastard..." He growled softly, tears springing to his eyes. For a moment he couldn't believe he was doing something he hadn't done in a while. He was crying.
"What was that? Come now, Mr. Starwind, speak up so that the rest of us can hear you," Darkman taunted.
"YOU BASTARD!" Gene screamed and whirled, firing at the same time. This took the robots by surprise and they couldn't react in time before the one who had killed Jim fell in a heap of scrap metal. Next to him, Suzuka had snapped out of her initial shock and fired at the other robot before it could react. Darkman stumbled backwards in surprise.
Without even waiting for Suzuka to stop firing, Gene made a mad dash forward and hurled all of his weight at Darkman.
"NO! YOU FOOL!" Darkman cried as he began to fall back. A glint caught Gene's eye. The Helix Hourglass was flying out of Darkman's pocket. Everything seemed to slow down as the artifact made contact with the platform and shattered. Shards of glass flew everywhere. The different colored sands spilled between the gaps in the platform.
"NO! MY PRECIOUS TREASURE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Darkman screamed.
Suddenly, beams of white light started shooting out of the shattered Helix Hourglass. Gene squinted and took a step back. The light lit up the entire facility.
"What the hell is going on?!" Aisha screamed. The lighted began to whirl like a tornado. Gene felt a powerful force propel him towards it. Resisting, Gene clung onto the metal railway.
"The light! It's so bright!!!" Darkman cried as he was drawn into the twister. The invisible force that was drawing Gene and the others in was getting stronger. He felt his fingers losing their grip on the rail.
"Ahh!" Gene heard Melfina scream. He twisted his head to see her fly past him towards the spiral, followed by a frantic Aisha. "Gene! Help!"
"Melfina! Aisha!" Gene yelled, but it was too late. They were devoured by the light tornado. Suzuka went next, her grip on the rail obviously having no effect against the dominating force.
Gene felt his fingers give out. His body was lifted off the ground and pulled into the cyclone of light. He squeezed his eyes shut by pure instinct.
The next thing he knew, he felt a tingling sensation all over his body. It wasn't exactly unpleasant...just unusual. He opened his eyes a little to find that flashes of different colors were surrounding him. Then it was suddenly gone, and he was falling.
Gene didn't have time to scream or anything before he plunged into cold water. Surprised, he fought his way to the surface. He waded in the water for a bit, gasping for air. Three other heads broke through the surface of the water. The others.
"Gene! Where are we?" Melfina asked when she spotted him. The three women waded over to him.
"I don't know, but we'd better get out of this water," Gene answered, relieved that they were okay.
"Yeah! Aisha hates water!" Aisha shrieked.
"There is a shore over there," Suzuka said, her voice still calm despite their situation. She nodded her head towards the direction behind Gene. He turned and saw the long stretch of sand.
Using his powerful arms, Gene swam towards the shore. His mind did a replay of everything that had just happened. Sadness wafted through him when he remembered the part about Jim.
Jim...I'm sorry I couldn't save you, kid...Gene thought, refusing to give into the painful emotion until they found their way out of this confusion.
Land never seemed so blissful. Gene stumbled out of the water and crashed onto the sand, gasping for air into his tired lungs. Aisha was the next to make it on land. She sat looking extremely unhappy in her wet clothes. Suzuka and Melfina lay on the sand still for a moment.
"Is...everyone...okay?" Gene asked at last. He reluctantly stood up and brushed some of the gritty sand off of him.
"What in the world is going on?" Suzuka asked as she took a quick glance around. Gene, wondering what she meant, did the same. Weren't they just in Darkman's laboratory? How had they ended up on some desolate beach?
Aisha's ears suddenly began twitching. She concentrated for a moment, frowning as she listened to something. Her eyes widened.
"Hey! There's a town or something nearby! My great Ctarl Ctarl ears hear people!" Aisha exclaimed.
"Where are they coming from?" Gene asked.
"From over there," Aisha said, pointing to a harbor nearby that Gene had missed.
"Let's go and find out where we are," He suggested to the women. They nodded in agreement and followed him.
The harbor turned out to be a small pier lined up with fish stands and fishing boats. People of all types were rushing about. There were some small stands that sold fish and a seafood restaurant with a dangling sign.
"What is this place?" Gene wondered. He sauntered over to one of the stands and addressed the man standing behind it. "Hey pal, just where are we?"
The man looked surprised. "Why, you're in Gully Bay, the busiest bay on all of Dragon's Lair."
"Say, wasn't there a lab around here?" Gene asked, hoping to get some real answers.
The man blinked. "That old place his majesty used to own? It was tore down years ago!"
Gene gulped. "His...majesty?"
"Why yes. His majesty Emperor Jerok Darkman. Just where have you been the last five years anyway, pal?"