Me: Hey Izzy.
Izzy: Yeah?
Me: I've been thinking. You have air skates, right?
Izzy: Yep. The same exact ones as Shadow the Hedgehog. You gave them to me because as a Rocket Power fan character, I'm supposed to be able to do at least one thing the stars can do.
Me: Right. And speaking of the show, it emphasizes safety, right?
Izzy: Yeah… So?
Me: So, my question to you is: Why on earth don't you wear a helmet when skating?
Izzy: ::Scoffs and waves a dismissive hand:: Please Boss! If the great Shadow can skate without safety gear, I certainly can! ::Checks watch:: Oh, we gotta get started. See ya later! ::Skates away::
Me: ::Whistles innocently and snaps my fingers::
::As Izzy got about twenty feet away from me, a tree with a low branch appears::
Izzy: O O Oh CRAP!!! ::Tries to stop::
::CRASH!!!::
Izzy: ::Falls on his back:: X X The stars…
Me: ::Turns to the camera:: And let that be a lesson, kids. ::Winks and gives a thumbs-up:: Always wear your safety gear when skating.
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Last time on The Runaway...
(To the tune of "It Doesn't Matter")
Otto: Hey! Otto Rocket here for some last chapter commentary. After a massive earthquake shook Ocean Shores, everybody but me & Izzy were taken to some castle that was in the ocean! After fighting about what we should do, we went to my house to do some last-minute preparations.
About a million references later, we found everybody in the castle's dungeon. Well, almost everybody. Twister, Reggie, and Sam were taken by that king somewhere. Izzy went to search for them while I helped everybody escape.
Two songs and a ton of special effects later, everybody got to safety. I stayed behind and went to look for Twister and the others. I hope you're safe, Twist, wherever you are.
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The Runaway Ch 12: The Prophecy
"Reggie?" Izzy asked as he approached the girl. "Are you ok?" The candles in the chandeliers above flickered on as he looked her over. She seemed to be normal. She was wearing her skating gear and her blades.
"Whew. You were able to escape." He grasped her left arm. "Come on. We gotta find Twister & Sam and get you outta here." He pulled on her arm and started to walk, but they didn't move. Izzy stopped and turned to her.
"Reggie?" His eyes widened. Reggie's body was glowing with a dark aura. He gasped and let go of her. He stood back as her eyes glowed purple. She held up a hand and a huge gust of wind blew Izzy off his feet. He landed on the floor and struggled to his feet.
"Ugh… What's wrong with you, Reggie!? For that matter, how'd you get that power?!" He was answered with a whirlwind being launched at him. Izzy quickly dodged it and started skating. He got a little further when something rammed into him. He skidded on the floor.
"Ugh… What happened?" He stood up in time to dodge a lightning bolt. Izzy gasped as he saw the attacker.
"Sam?" The blond teenager was glowing the same way Reggie was. He shot another bolt at Izzy, who quickly rose up a Lightning Shield. The attack was blocked and the brunet prepared to retaliate. He would've attacked, but he saw a fire attack out of the corner of his eye and dodged it. He started skating again. He didn't need to see who did that last one.
"Man! Reggie, Sam, AND Twister?! What's going on?" He increased his speed as he skated around the room. The other three teens quickly caught up to him. Twister and Sam were in their blades as well. Twister was on Izzy's left, Sam was on his right, and Reggie was bringing up the rear. Izzy was surrounded on all sides! He was coming up to a wall. Thinking fast, he skated up to it, jumped, kicked off the wall, and took flight. He flew up until he was nearly at the ceiling, dodging attacks along the way.
"Whew. I'm safe." He sighed as he took in sharp breaths. "Now that you can't get to me, would someone PLEASE tell me why you're attacking me!?!" He put up a Power Shield as they started attacking again.
"You mean you haven't figured it out yet?" Claudius' voice rang throughout the room. Izzy scowled and looked around for the king. The king soon walked into the center of the room. The young wizard growled.
"What did you do to them?" He hissed. He noticed that the king looked a little weaker than when he saw him in the hall. Claudius gave a chilling laugh.
"It's quite simple, my boy." Izzy scowled harder at that one. "Using my dark magic, I'm controlling your human friends. Furthermore, I transferred a quarter of my power into each of them." Claudius gave another laugh and Izzy looked at him like he was a complete idiot.
"So let me get this straight. You transferred your OWN power into these humans?" He asked.
"Yep. A quarter of my full strength is in each of them." Claudius confirmed with a sly expression. Izzy blew on his nails.
"So what's to stop me from killing you at my FULL strength?" Claudius got a nervous expression.
"W-well…"
"Thought so. AHHHH!!!!" Izzy yelled as he charged head on at the king. He was about to punch the king hard when a column of fire came down between them. Both wizards jumped back from the attack.
'Sorry Izzy.' Adrian, who was still in his Sight Shield, thought as he lowered his wand. 'I can't let you harm my master. At least not too badly.'
"Hey! What are you trying to do!?" Claudius yelled at Twister, who was in a conversation with Sam & Reggie.
"Wasn't me, Master." He replied in a demonic tone.
"Then who—" Claudius didn't have time to finish his question as Izzy delivered a devastating punch to his face. Claudius stumbled back and fired a bolt of dark energy at him. Izzy easily evaded the attack and came back with a Power Beam. Claudius dodged it.
"Shadow Rush!" He ran at an intense speed, surprising Izzy for a few seconds before he remembered what Adrian told him about the king's speed. The teen scoffed.
"That's his speed up spell? Sounds like some move a possessed monster would use. At least my spell has class and originality. Rocket Accel!" He took off as well, practically becoming invisible. He and Claudius went at it, generating small flashes of light whenever a punch was made. This went on for a few minutes before the two jumped away from each other panting.
"What the hell am I doing!?" Claudius said, slapping his head. "Minions, deal with this pest!" The three humans turned from their game of Twister (pun intended) and skated towards Izzy, who scoffed at the king.
"Duh! You really think I'm gonna go through that skating again?" He floated up. "Your so-called 'slaves' can't fly. Now fight already!" Izzy then felt a finger poking his shoulder.
"Quit it. I'm gloating." He felt another poke. "Cut it out!" He turned around and saw the poker, Sam.
"Sam! Fancy meeting you up here!" Izzy turned around only to turn around again real fast. "SAM!?!" He looked behind the blond teen to see the other two humans. He gulped.
"Heh heh…"
::BZZZZZZZTPT!::
"Ok… No more Mr. Nice Wizard." The now-charred Izzy growled.
Elsewhere…
"Aw man! Where can they be?!" Otto yelled. He was flying through a corridor. He started to think.
'Why am I going through all this?' His mind went back to about two months ago when he met Izzy. He almost crashed into the boy and skated on without even apologizing. His mind drifted to the race. Izzy humiliated Otto by toying with him. He then remembered how badly injured the wizard was and hearing his story. He sighed.
'Man. It's been a weird couple of months.' He chuckled to himself. 'I found out I'm in love with my best friend and I'm helping this kid who I've only known for two months save the world. Life's funny sometimes.' He then went down another hall and saw a small wizard. This wizard struck Otto as somewhat familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it… He went towards the young boy and prepared to attack.
"Wait!" The wizard yelled. Otto stopped. "I saw you help the humans escape earlier. Are you looking for Izzy?"
"Uhh yeah. Do you know where he is?" Otto asked. The boy nodded.
"Yes. He's fighting the king and some humans." Otto raised an eyebrow.
"What humans?"
"I don't know. They seemed to be kinda old. About your age, I think." The wizard replied. Otto got a thoughtful look.
'Other humans. My age? What if…' He gasped. "Quick! Take me to them!"
"Right. Follow me!" The wizard started to walk.
"Uhhh… Why don't I help you there?" Otto brought out the power block and hit it, making a feather pop out. The little boy grabbed it and got a yellow cape.
"What's this?" He asked, eyeing the cape.
"That cape will allow you to fly." Otto replied. The boy jumped up and floated.
"Wow! Cool! Ok. Let's go." They flew off.
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"AHHHH!!!" Izzy yelled as he got tossed to the wall by Reggie. He fell and stopped himself before hitting the ground face first. He righted himself and dusted himself off. He panted while looking at his opponents, waiting for them to make a move.
'How can I possibly beat them without badly hurting them?' He thought. He shook his head and glared at them. 'I can't. I'm sorry, Otto, but I have to do this. If I don't, I'll probably get killed.' He flew up until he was level with his friends.
'Hopefully, I can knock some sense into them.' He charged towards Sam, who started charging electricity. Izzy quickly dove down to avoid the attack. Reggie and Twister used their respective attacks as well. Izzy just went around them and flew up. He got in front of Reggie.
"Gust attack!"
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Otto and the wizard boy stood outside the huge double doors. Sounds of fighting can clearly be heard.
"This is it." The boy said. "I cannot go any further for I may get charged with treason." He started backing up. "Good luck."
"Thanks." Otto said, but the boy was gone. Scratching his head in confusion, he turned back to the door and opened it. He stepped inside. He gasped as he saw what the wizard boy meant. Izzy was floating in the air, evading the attacks of his friends and sister.
"This is crazy!" The wizard yelled as he avoided a lightning bolt and a stream of fire.
'What if I tried making them attack each other?' He thought. He then flew in between Sam & Reggie. He started moving towards Reggie, who conjured up a tornado and tossed it at him. He got out of the way and Sam got struck. After the spin cycle, Sam fell to the floor and collapsed. Izzy gave a smirk.
"Heh. One down, two to go." He moved out of another tornado's path and got behind Reggie. "Gust attack!" He tossed a whirlwind, knocking Reggie down as well. Otto gasped.
"What the hell!?" He yelled. Everybody else in the air turned towards him.
"Uhhh hi, Otto." Izzy said nervously. Otto crossed his arms. "Aw come on! These guys woulda killed me if I didn't defend myself!"
"What happened to them?" Otto asked.
"Well, you see—" Izzy started before he was struck by Twister. He crashed in front of Otto. He growled and stood up. "Why you—!" He put down Otto's backpack and charged for Twister. The possessed boy held his hands in Izzy's direction and a stream of fire launched out.
"Fire Shield!" Izzy called as he took the attack head on. He got through Twister's attack and landed a punch, knocking him back. Twister quickly came back at Izzy with a punch of his own and flew away. Izzy chased after him. Twister was about to turn around and use an attack when the wizard grabbed his foot, swung him around, and tossed him towards the ground.
"And to make sure you stay down…" Izzy started charging energy into his finger. "Power Beam!" He fired the orange energy and hit Twister, speeding up his descent. The orange haired boy hit the ground a few feet away from Otto with a sickening thud.
"Twister!" Otto ran over to his crush as Izzy floated down and panted. He had used up a large amount of his energy.
"Don't you ever make me do that again." He growled at Claudius.
"Please! I wouldn't even try it." Claudius scoffed. "I think you've had enough fun anyway." His body glowed with the same dark aura as Izzy's friends. The darkness left Sam and went towards Claudius. The king embraced the aura as his own grew.
"Ahh… Much better." Izzy's eyes widened as he realized what was happening.
'He's getting back his strength.' He numbly stumbled towards Otto, who had the backpack full of potions.
"Twister. Are you alright bro?" Otto asked. He had Twister in his arms. The boy was unconscious. "Don't worry bro. I'll give you a healing potion." He dug into the backpack and pulled out the thermos by accident. "The love potion? What's this doing here?" Otto looked at Twister and then at the potion.
"Maybe it'll wake you up." He put a finger up to Twister's lips and gently opened them. He opened the thermos and held it to the other boy's lips. Otto poured the remainder of the potion and held Twister's head up. The boy swallowed the potion and his body glowed brightly.
"Uh… Wha?" Twister groaned. His eyes fluttered open as the light faded. His body still had the dark aura of Claudius' power, but his eyes weren't glowing purple anymore. They were their normal color. He looked at Otto. "Ottoman… What's going on?" Otto had tears in his eyes and he embraced the other boy tightly.
"I thought I had lost you forever." He sobbed.
"Uhhh Otto? Could ya let me go!?" Twister croaked. Otto quickly pulled away blushing.
"Sorry about that." They both stared at each other.
"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!" That laugh quickly brought the two boys back to reality. They looked up and noticed Claudius get back his power from Reggie. "I'm at seventy-five percent strength now, Izzy! You're no match for me!" Claudius laughed again as Otto & Twister looked towards Izzy. The wizard was dangerously close to collapsing as he made it to them.
"Are you ok?" They asked as their friend kneeled beside them.
"Yeah. I'm having the time of my life. Of course I'm not alright!" Izzy replied with sarcasm. "I just need a healing potion." He reached in the bag without looking and pulled out the bottle of Kerokero Cola he and Otto won earlier.
"Now what was it that Kerokero Cola did again?" He snapped his fingers as he remembered the item's healing properties.
(A/N: In Super Mario RPG, Kerokero Cola fully recovers your party's HP and FP [which is needed for your magic attacks].)
"Oh yeah!" Izzy shakily held the bottle to his lips and drank. He then handed the frog-shaped bottle to Twister.
"Drink up. Sorry about knocking you down like that." He apologized as Twister sipped the soda. The cameraman then handed it to Otto, who was still panting from the battles he fought. Otto was blushing furiously as he took the bottle and drank. Almost instantly, he, Twister, and Izzy glowed with a bright green aura. The light soon dissipated. All three of them were fully healed. They all stood up, Otto holding Twister's hand unconsciously. Izzy started charging energy.
"Power Beam!" He fired at Claudius, who got knocked down and fell. After waiting a few minutes to see if the king would retaliate, the three boys made their way to Reggie & Sam. They were knocked out as well. Otto quickly administered two healing potions and they stirred awake.
"What happened to us?" Reggie asked after she and Sam got to their feet.
"You were under the king's control, but now you're free. Otto'll take you guys out of here." Izzy replied. None of them noticed Twister's aura leave his body.
"What about you?" Otto asked.
"I've got some unfinished business to take care of." Izzy turned his back on them and started walking further into the room. "Go now."
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Sam yelled as he ran for the door. He was almost there when it slammed in his face. He grasped the handle and tried to pull it open, but it wouldn't budge.
"The door's locked!" The others gasped as a low laughing was heard. Out of the rubble floated Claudius. His clothes and cape were slightly ripped.
"None of you will leave this room alive." He said in a cold voice. Izzy surrounded Otto & the others in a Power Shield and floated up to glare at Claudius.
"Leave them out of this. They did nothing to you." He said.
"They're humans. They've done enough to our kind." Claudius sneered.
"That had to have been a few centuries ago! Get with the times, man!" Izzy yelled.
"What are they talking about?" Twister asked.
"They must be referring to the Salem witch trials and the superstitions people made up about witches." Sam replied.
"And another thing," Reggie said as she turned towards Otto & Twister. "Why are you two holding hands?"
"Huh?" The two boys asked. The held up their arms and noticed that their hands were indeed linked. They quickly let go. "Uhh… No reason." They both blushed. Reggie giggled and turned back to the argument in the air.
"I will destroy all humans and that is that. All that is left to do is get rid of you." Claudius said.
"Hmph!" Izzy crossed his arms. "You're very old fashioned, you know that? Why, if I was king, I would want all wizards to live peacefully with the humans instead of wanting destruction like you!"
"Funny you should mention that." Claudius suddenly said. Izzy narrowed his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"Have you ever wondered why I have been chasing you these past six years? Why I had your parents executed? Why I had your wand taken away?" The king asked. Izzy glared and growled at him.
"I've been asking myself all that since that day." Claudius laughed at his response.
"It's simple. I believe you have heard the prophecy when you were a little kid."
"What prophecy?" Izzy asked with confusion.
"Foolish boy. I'm talking about Merlin's prophecy!"
"Merlin? The strongest wizard ever born? That Merlin?"
"¬ ¬ Yeah… THAT Merlin." Claudius answered. "Anyway, the prophecy states that the hundredth descendent of Merlin will overthrow the current king and rule over all wizards and witches as the most powerful wizard."
"And this has to do with me how?" Izzy asked.
"The wizard would get a golden wand when he touches his first stick."
"Pfft!" Izzy scoffed.
"The wizard would also be able to run at fast speeds." Claudius challenged. Izzy looked at him.
"You can run fast too."
"But my wand's not gold, is it?" Claudius replied. "Also, the strongest wizard is unable to have kids." Izzy slapped his head at that one.
"Well, I guess I'm out." He put on a defeated expression. He then shook it off. "Hold it! Merlin was English. I'm Puerto Rican. We're not related! Now what, huh!?"
"Idiot." Claudius started. "Everybody in Merlin's bloodline slept around a lot. It shouldn't be a surprise if somebody somewhere in the bloodline slept with a Hispanic person."
"Ok. If all this is true, why'd ya kill my parents?!"
"They committed treason by giving birth to the one who would overthrow me." Claudius answered simply.
"Like they knew they would give birth to the strongest wizard." Izzy said, glaring daggers.
"I had wanted to take you under my wing and train you so that you can help me destroy all humans." Claudius started. "But noooo! You had to escape and lead me on this chase across the country for six years!"
"Gee, I wonder why!" Izzy shot back. "Could it be that I didn't want to get killed, ya dumb jerk!?"
"What did you call me?!" Claudius boomed. Izzy gave a smirk.
"You're right. I shouldn't have called you that." He glanced down at Otto and the others. He looked back at the king. "You're a SHOOBIE!"
"Yeah! You tell him!" Reggie yelled. Everybody else started to cheer as well. The king was getting more and more mad.
"Shut UP!!!" He shot a beam of dark energy at Izzy, who dodged and punched him. He didn't seem to be affected. Izzy tossed lightning at him. Claudius got struck, but he didn't even flinch.
"Uh-oh…" Izzy said. He got hit by a wave of dark energy and started to lose altitude. He quickly righted himself and floated back up.
'I don't know where he got this whole "I'm the strongest wizard" thing from, but I'm gonna beat him and get revenge for my parents!' He thought as he charged towards Claudius. The battle of Izzy's life has begun.
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A/N:
Who will win this battle of strength? Will the world be saved or will it be destroyed? Will Otto and the others have any impact on the battle? Find out next time! While we're waiting, I guess I'll answer a review or two.
To mike2000: Thanks a lot for your input on the sky's color. It sounds like a sensible theory and it helped me understand that aspect of the show a little more. I honestly wasn't expecting any response to that, but thanks all the same. And about your question on Izzy's curse, the way it works is that he can't leave the continental U.S., so Hawaii is out of bounds for him. The same goes for Alaska since he has to go through Canada to get there.
I guess that's it, so see ya Monday!