Chapter 24: The Trial
When the inducer went out, Renata tried frantically to fix it but it was too late. The people were encircling her and Pyro, crying, "A DEMON! THE DEMON MUST BE DESTROYED!" She looked at Pyro, then grabbed his shoulder and they ported out of the circle. Big mistake. When they both turned around, most of the villagers were more enraged than shocked. "WITCHCRAFT! WORK OF THE DEVIL!" they cried. "THEY MUST BE TRIED! THEY MUST BE BURNED!" With the latter statement as their rallying cry, the villagers chased Renata and Pyro. Renata ran on all fours as was her custom when she was the blue fuzzy, (plus, it was more efficient) while Pyro ran next to her. "Want me to fry em?" he yelled as her reached for the switch. "NO! It'll give them more reason to kill us!" Renata called back. They kept running through the town. The crowd seemed to grow bigger and bigger at each building they passed. The faces grew angrier and angrier as they gathered more and more weapons. Renata and Pyro tried to run as fast as they could but eventually, the crowd caught up to Renata. The villagers caught her by the tail and dragged her into the crowd. She desperately tried to break free and thought about porting out. But she couldn't see where she would go, she could materialize within someone or something. That could kill her. "Renata!!! DON'T TOUCH HER!!!" yelled Pyro as he reached for his switch. "Don't do anything Pyro! Just get out! I'll figure out a way out of this my- -..." Suddenly, one of the villagers hit her in the back of the head, knocking her out. At the sound of Renata being cut off, Pyro turned on his flamethrower, but at the moment some of the villagers turned and ran towards him. He knew better than to attack a whole group single-handedly, and decided to form a plan before he did anything. He turned and ran as fast as he could into the forest. Once there, he looked behind him and saw the crowd running towards him at full speed. He ran more into the woods until he knew he was hidden and climbed up a tree. Man, this would be so much easier if NC could just port me up here... he thought as he climbed. He sat in the branch and watched as the villagers looked around. After what seemed like hours they gave up the search and returned to the village where they would try then burn Renata. After waiting for about an hour, Pyro climbed down the tree and walked slowly out of the woods. He looked around and saw that the town was nearly deserted. Probably at the trial, he thought. He looked at his watch before he realized that it was his time, not the town's time. So he looked up, and judging by the position of the sun he guestimated it to be around 3. He walked into town but decided the better of it and walked behind the buildings. Every once in a while he looked down the alley to see where the trial/burning was held. After walked a few minutes he reached the middle of town (which was a big courtyard type thing) and thus the location of the burning. Pyro climbed up to the roof and sat down to watch. He had decided in his time in the tree that he would wait until they actually started to try to burn Renata. He figured he'd play with their minds a little and control the flames. Renata slowly came to and found herself tied to a stake. Her first thought was to port out. But she had never ported when she was tied down. Would the door open even with her tied down? Or would she port and materialize while tied down? She thought about it for a minute and realized something. Everything that came in contact with her while she ported would port with her. Hence her clothes, or her backpack when she was late for school. "Dammit!" she cursed to herself. She can't port while she was tied down! What was she going to do? She looked around hoping for some sign of Pyro. Pyro saw Renata wake up and look around. He figured he would give her some kind of sign that he was there and was ready to help her. But what? Fire gets people's attention, but maybe it would draw unwanted attention too. He decided he would create a tiny flame and send it down onto on of the villager's already lit torches. He made a mini letter P and floated it down. Renata saw a letter P float down onto a torch. No one noticed it thank god. She casually looked in the direction where it came and saw Pyro crouched on the building rooftop. She turned her attention back to the town pastor who was currently reading the charges brought against her and why she should burn. "...For disappearing and reappearing in different places, thus using the power of Satan! For brutally attacking villagers who were clearly trying to bring her to me peacefully..." read the pastor. Bastards! she thought. You're purposely twisting everything around in your favor so newcomers would be on your side! And now I'm going to burn because you're all afraid of how I look. I hope Pyro turns you all into KFC! "...and finally, since you maintain the appearance of a demon, you must burn. No demon shall take the now purified souls of this town to the devil himself!" finished the pastor. There was a roar of cheering form the villagers as the pastor walked over to the stake where Renata was tied. As she watched the pastor light the wood and hay she glanced up at where Pyro was. "Hurry up and use your damn power already. You want me to get a tan or something?" she said to herself. Pyro watched as the pastor lit the wood and hay and flicked on his flamethrower for reinforcement, just in case. He watched as the flames began to form. Slowly the flames grew and the crowd cheered. "It's showtime!" he said to himself, imitating Beetlejuice. The flames grew and approached Renata. What the hell is he doing? Taking his sweet time? I'm gonna die here! she thought frantically. As she watched the flames, she realized something. The flames weren't as big as they should be, and they weren't approaching her. Thank god! she thought to herself. Pyro slowly manipulated the flames with his hands from atop the roof. He didn't want to screw up in a crucial time like this. He made the flames stay the same size and stopped them from going near Renata. He kept it there for a while until he heard on of the villagers cry out, "HEY! She isn't burning!" That's my cue, he thought. He made the flames suddenly grow extremely big and tall then reduced them to tiny specks, then made them grow again. "The work of the devil! The devil is protecting his minion!" cried the crowd. Renata merely glared in Pyro's direction. Ok, you can free me now. Anytime would be good. Most people die of smoke inhalation before they're burned anyway, she thought angrily. Pyro seemed to sense her thoughts and decided he played with their minds enough. He returned the flames to their normal size and sent a small flame to burn off her ropes. Renata felt the heat from the flames and knew that it was eating away at her ropes. She waited patiently until her ropes completely fell off. She paused and waited to watch Pyro's next move. Pyro saw that Renata's bonds fell and called out to her, "Come on up here when I make a diversion!" Renata barely heard Pyro above the yells coming from the crowd. She waited for him. Suddenly the flames formed a wall between her and the crowd, but this wall was instead a huge snake. The crowd screamed in fear. Renata saw her chance and ported to the roof where Pyro was. "Hey, wanna port out to the edge of the woods? I can see it from here," said Renata breathlessly. "Yeah sure, now for my grand finale..." smirked Pyro. With that, he transformed the snake into the devil, complete with horns, tail, and pitchfork. The crowd was paralyzed with fear and screamed that the devil was among them. "Ok let's go," he said. Pyro let down his hands and Renata grabbed his elbow and ported to the edge of the forest.
When the inducer went out, Renata tried frantically to fix it but it was too late. The people were encircling her and Pyro, crying, "A DEMON! THE DEMON MUST BE DESTROYED!" She looked at Pyro, then grabbed his shoulder and they ported out of the circle. Big mistake. When they both turned around, most of the villagers were more enraged than shocked. "WITCHCRAFT! WORK OF THE DEVIL!" they cried. "THEY MUST BE TRIED! THEY MUST BE BURNED!" With the latter statement as their rallying cry, the villagers chased Renata and Pyro. Renata ran on all fours as was her custom when she was the blue fuzzy, (plus, it was more efficient) while Pyro ran next to her. "Want me to fry em?" he yelled as her reached for the switch. "NO! It'll give them more reason to kill us!" Renata called back. They kept running through the town. The crowd seemed to grow bigger and bigger at each building they passed. The faces grew angrier and angrier as they gathered more and more weapons. Renata and Pyro tried to run as fast as they could but eventually, the crowd caught up to Renata. The villagers caught her by the tail and dragged her into the crowd. She desperately tried to break free and thought about porting out. But she couldn't see where she would go, she could materialize within someone or something. That could kill her. "Renata!!! DON'T TOUCH HER!!!" yelled Pyro as he reached for his switch. "Don't do anything Pyro! Just get out! I'll figure out a way out of this my- -..." Suddenly, one of the villagers hit her in the back of the head, knocking her out. At the sound of Renata being cut off, Pyro turned on his flamethrower, but at the moment some of the villagers turned and ran towards him. He knew better than to attack a whole group single-handedly, and decided to form a plan before he did anything. He turned and ran as fast as he could into the forest. Once there, he looked behind him and saw the crowd running towards him at full speed. He ran more into the woods until he knew he was hidden and climbed up a tree. Man, this would be so much easier if NC could just port me up here... he thought as he climbed. He sat in the branch and watched as the villagers looked around. After what seemed like hours they gave up the search and returned to the village where they would try then burn Renata. After waiting for about an hour, Pyro climbed down the tree and walked slowly out of the woods. He looked around and saw that the town was nearly deserted. Probably at the trial, he thought. He looked at his watch before he realized that it was his time, not the town's time. So he looked up, and judging by the position of the sun he guestimated it to be around 3. He walked into town but decided the better of it and walked behind the buildings. Every once in a while he looked down the alley to see where the trial/burning was held. After walked a few minutes he reached the middle of town (which was a big courtyard type thing) and thus the location of the burning. Pyro climbed up to the roof and sat down to watch. He had decided in his time in the tree that he would wait until they actually started to try to burn Renata. He figured he'd play with their minds a little and control the flames. Renata slowly came to and found herself tied to a stake. Her first thought was to port out. But she had never ported when she was tied down. Would the door open even with her tied down? Or would she port and materialize while tied down? She thought about it for a minute and realized something. Everything that came in contact with her while she ported would port with her. Hence her clothes, or her backpack when she was late for school. "Dammit!" she cursed to herself. She can't port while she was tied down! What was she going to do? She looked around hoping for some sign of Pyro. Pyro saw Renata wake up and look around. He figured he would give her some kind of sign that he was there and was ready to help her. But what? Fire gets people's attention, but maybe it would draw unwanted attention too. He decided he would create a tiny flame and send it down onto on of the villager's already lit torches. He made a mini letter P and floated it down. Renata saw a letter P float down onto a torch. No one noticed it thank god. She casually looked in the direction where it came and saw Pyro crouched on the building rooftop. She turned her attention back to the town pastor who was currently reading the charges brought against her and why she should burn. "...For disappearing and reappearing in different places, thus using the power of Satan! For brutally attacking villagers who were clearly trying to bring her to me peacefully..." read the pastor. Bastards! she thought. You're purposely twisting everything around in your favor so newcomers would be on your side! And now I'm going to burn because you're all afraid of how I look. I hope Pyro turns you all into KFC! "...and finally, since you maintain the appearance of a demon, you must burn. No demon shall take the now purified souls of this town to the devil himself!" finished the pastor. There was a roar of cheering form the villagers as the pastor walked over to the stake where Renata was tied. As she watched the pastor light the wood and hay she glanced up at where Pyro was. "Hurry up and use your damn power already. You want me to get a tan or something?" she said to herself. Pyro watched as the pastor lit the wood and hay and flicked on his flamethrower for reinforcement, just in case. He watched as the flames began to form. Slowly the flames grew and the crowd cheered. "It's showtime!" he said to himself, imitating Beetlejuice. The flames grew and approached Renata. What the hell is he doing? Taking his sweet time? I'm gonna die here! she thought frantically. As she watched the flames, she realized something. The flames weren't as big as they should be, and they weren't approaching her. Thank god! she thought to herself. Pyro slowly manipulated the flames with his hands from atop the roof. He didn't want to screw up in a crucial time like this. He made the flames stay the same size and stopped them from going near Renata. He kept it there for a while until he heard on of the villagers cry out, "HEY! She isn't burning!" That's my cue, he thought. He made the flames suddenly grow extremely big and tall then reduced them to tiny specks, then made them grow again. "The work of the devil! The devil is protecting his minion!" cried the crowd. Renata merely glared in Pyro's direction. Ok, you can free me now. Anytime would be good. Most people die of smoke inhalation before they're burned anyway, she thought angrily. Pyro seemed to sense her thoughts and decided he played with their minds enough. He returned the flames to their normal size and sent a small flame to burn off her ropes. Renata felt the heat from the flames and knew that it was eating away at her ropes. She waited patiently until her ropes completely fell off. She paused and waited to watch Pyro's next move. Pyro saw that Renata's bonds fell and called out to her, "Come on up here when I make a diversion!" Renata barely heard Pyro above the yells coming from the crowd. She waited for him. Suddenly the flames formed a wall between her and the crowd, but this wall was instead a huge snake. The crowd screamed in fear. Renata saw her chance and ported to the roof where Pyro was. "Hey, wanna port out to the edge of the woods? I can see it from here," said Renata breathlessly. "Yeah sure, now for my grand finale..." smirked Pyro. With that, he transformed the snake into the devil, complete with horns, tail, and pitchfork. The crowd was paralyzed with fear and screamed that the devil was among them. "Ok let's go," he said. Pyro let down his hands and Renata grabbed his elbow and ported to the edge of the forest.