A/N: Finally... feels great to get this out! This was both frustrating and fun to write. I hate that I took so long on this but writer's block can be a pain in the tailfeathers.

A lot of the block came from struggles with dialogue and pacing, and then how to incorporate all the research I did and still balance it with the fantasy/artistic license. That said, if Disney managed to do it, then so can I. But please let me know if I make any mistakes that could be considered offensive, and I'll do my best to fix them.

This is another high-octane chapter, and you may wonder what the HECK is going on. I'll just say this for now... buckle up, 'cause it's about to be a wild ride, for the readers and characters alike.


The impact caused a massive explosion that re-lit the region from the mountains surrounding the palace to the village foothills. The blast blew out chunks of the mountain that was struck and sent a giant mushroom-shaped cloud billowing into the sky.

"Chaca!" Hearing her name called jerked the young girl out of her trance and she glanced back to see Tipo running downhill towards her.

"Tipo!" She shot to her feet and raced uphill, reaching for the hand he held out to her.

"There you are!" Tipo immediately started pulling her uphill towards their house. "Come on! We need to get out of here—"

But before they could take one step farther, the ground started to tremble violently, and it was suddenly all they could do to stay upright.

"D-don't let go!" Chaca cried as she tightly clenched Tipo's hand.

"R-right!" Tipo's hand squeezed back just as hard.

Chaca's gut lurched with the earth as the sounds of huts collapsing and panicked screams of villagers resounded up from the valley. Loose rocks tumbled down past the children, barely missing their feet as they fought their way forward. The rumbling ground continued to make every step an unsteady struggle.

The land their family lived on was no stranger to earthquakes. Although Chaca and Tipo were still very young and had only experienced small quakes till now, their parents had made sure to regularly warn about them. Since the terraces were more stable against erosion and landslides, Pacha and Chicha had even held mass evacuation drills so that their children and the village knew where to go just in case.

Chaca's mind clicked in a sudden realization, and she changed directions to guide herself and her brother around the hillside. She didn't dare look uphill, focusing on the ground directly in front of her, taking step by careful step. "Tipo, where d-did Mom, Dad, and Yupi g-go?"

"T-they came out in front of the h-house, but I d-don't see them now!"

"We need to g-get to the terraces! They m-might already be there!"

"R-right! …Hey, w-wait! Doesn't t-that mean they j-just left us here alone!?"

Chaca's heart dropped like a stone at Tipo's question. Their parents wouldn't do that… right? Or what if they didn't know where they were? What if they were hurt?

As if in answer to the children's fears, a deep voice rang out above the rumbling chaos. "Chaca! Tipo! Where are you!?"

"Dad?" Chaca's head shot up to look farther ahead, and to her surprise, partially lit by the distant explosion, she could see they were close to the terraces… and she could see a familiar tall, burly figure racing towards her and Tipo.

The sight of their father Pacha lifted Chaca's spirits, and with a sudden extra burst of energy, Chaca managed to clamber up on to a terrace step. She turned and pulled Tipo up after her, making sure they were far enough away from the edge so they wouldn't fall. By now the rumbling had lessened a bit, making it easier to keep their footing. After they both managed to steady themselves fully on the terrace, they raced as fast as they dared, hoping to reach their father ahead. But just as they approached within ten paces from each other…

KA-BOOM!

"Aaahhh!" Chaca shrieked in pure terror as the sudden earsplitting sound ripped through the air like a shockwave and knocked her to the ground. For several moments she lay there dazed, trying to catch her breath. Her eyes blinked up at the sky, only to widen at the strangely fast-moving cloud that slid into view. The next thing she knew a flurry of dust and pebbles hailed down towards her, and with another startled cry she quickly rolled over onto her belly and covered her head with her arms.

She jolted at the sensation of a hand grabbing her arm.

"Chaca what's going on!? I'm scared!" Tipo hollered, clinging tightly to his sister's arm and torso.

"I don't know!" Chaca yelled back, partly out of fear and partly to make sure to be heard over the continuous rumbling and intermittent booms that followed. She sat up and wrapped an arm around Tipo, huddling them together against the terrace step wall as they covered their heads once more.

"Kids!?" Another voice shouted, before a big strong pair of arms scooped around them both.

"Dad!" The children's voices rang out in relieved unison, recognizing their father Pacha's call and his comforting embrace. Pacha leaned and hovered over Chaca and Tipo, shielding them with his own body until minutes later the fallout began to settle.

"Your mother's with Yupi in the middle of the terrace," Pacha revealed, solving an unspoken worry before Chaca or Tipo had the chance to ask. Chaca felt as if a weight lifted off her shoulders at the knowledge while Tipo visibly relaxed next to her.

Taking his children by each of their hands, Pacha began to lead them along the platform, where ahead Chaca and Tipo recognized the figure of their mother Chicha and the tinier figure of their youngest brother Yupi secured on her back.

"Mom!"

"Yupi!"

Chicha seemed to be struggling to calm Yupi's sobs and whimpers. Chaca couldn't blame him; after all, he was only three years old and was probably scared the most of all because he couldn't understand what was going on (not that she knew either).

Despite Yupi's fussing, Chicha immediately noticed the rest of her family's approach and started to hurry toward them.

"Chaca! Tipo! Thank goodness!" In just seconds Chicha's warm, soft arms joined the strength of Pacha's, and the whole family embraced, glad to be together. Chaca's eyes started to sting, but she knew full well it wasn't just because of the lingering dust in the air. She blinked at the feeling of water building behind her eyelids.

"Are you two all right?" Chicha asked, trying to examine the kids for injuries as best she could in the dark.

"I think I scraped my knee when I fell, but other than that I'm fine." Chaca rubbed her kneecap, her voice slightly shaky.

Tipo gingerly cradled his left arm. "I think I banged my elbow."

Chicha shook her head and sighed. "We'll have to take a better look at you two when the sun comes up. But thank goodness your father found you in all this calamity!"

"Speaking of which…. What's going on!? This as all so crazy!" Tipo exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Chaca piped in. "First a red moon, then all these shooting stars, and then—"

"And then BAM! That huge fireball hits the mountains!" Tipo pointed with his good hand in the direction of the blast. "What was that thing? Was that a real star that fell over there?"

"It was almost like when Tutupaca erupted!" Chaca turned to look in the direction of the blast. "But I've never seen an eruption that was brighter than the SUN!" Then she gasped, a terrifying thought popping to mind. "What if that WAS the sun that fell!? Then it'll never rise again, and we'll all be doomed—"

"Enough!" Chicha firmly chided. "You two are scaring Yupi."

Chaca and Tipo immediately quieted, realizing that Yupi's cries had grown more agitated in response to their shouting.

"Sorry, Yupi." Chaca gently squeezed Yupi's hand.

"Yeah, we're sorry." Tipo patted Yupi's head.

Yupi was an easygoing child, usually of calmer temperament than his more excitable siblings, and so even though the night's commotion had made him very restless, it only took a minute or two for him to settle back down. His whimpers slowly quieted into curious babbling.

"Besides," Pacha added, "I think things are settling down. The ground's not shaking anymore."

To Chaca's surprise, he was right. Looking around, she noticed the dust in the air had mostly cleared. "Over there—" she pointed in the direction of the earlier blast. "It's stopping."

From where they stood, their home hilltop blocked partially blocked their view. Based on what they could see, however, the light from the explosion had all but faded out.

"And look—" Tipo pointed up at the sky. "The moon's turning white again." Sure enough, a silvery white crescent had appeared on the edge of the moon, slowly beginning to replace the deep red glow.

"The shooting stars are almost gone," Chicha noted; some still zipped by occasionally, but they were few and far between. The sky was mostly dark again, dotted with twinkling fixed stars.

Chaca glanced up furtively. "So that's it? Is it over?"

Before anyone could answer, another voice called out from below, drawing the family's attention to the man hurrying up the terrace steps. The indistinct chatter of the rest of the villagers could now be heard more clearly, though in the now calmer environment, their voices had also simmered down to confused murmurs. Chaca winced at the occasional pained grunts and moans mixed in.

"Pacha!" The man called out again as he finally reached the family, slightly out of breath.

"Tunupa." Pacha turned and placed a hand on the village healer's shoulder. "How is everyone? Anyone badly hurt?"

"Several people with cuts and scrapes, plus a few bruises and a couple of sprains. But so far, no broken bones or worse."

"Hmm. They'll certainly need to be tended to, but I'm glad not to hear of anything life-threatening." Pacha then turned and led Healer Tunupa aside to exchange a few more words in private.

A minute later Pacha returned to Chicha's side and gestured for her and the kids to follow. "Come on. I'll walk you guys home." To Tunupa he added, "I'll be back to help in a bit. If you see Shaman Rumi, tell him to come see me at noon later today… oh, and look for messenger Killiku too."

"Will do." And with that, Healer Tunupa hurried off, calling orders to other healers who worked with him.

Pacha gently ushered his family together and set off for their house on the hilltop. The whole time they walked, Chaca and Tipo shot furtive glances in the direction of the blast. When they reached the top, Pacha gestured for everyone else to wait.

"I'll go in first, see if its's safe." He circled the house once, carefully inspecting the outside before disappearing inside. Several minutes later he came out, carrying two torches. Handing one to Chicha he said, "Seems stable, but you guys may want to sleep downstairs for now, just in case. I've lit the fireplace and set out some blankets in front of it."

"Right." Chicha nodded at her husband as she led the children to the door.

Chaca paused to see something she glimpsed out of the corner of her eye. Turning towards the mountains again she gasped.

"Look!" She pointed to the random bursts of orange light dotting the lopes of the mountains near where the fireball had crashed. Dark plumes rose from the lit areas.

Chicha gasped in horror. "Oh, no." She covered her mouth with her hand.

Pacha grimly shook his head. "Forest fires."

"What tha'?" Yupi babbled curiously.

Chaca almost jumped when Tipo grabbed and squeezed her hand. She squeezed back. Her heart threatened to leap out of her throat, the sight suddenly reminding her of her nightmare. "Is— is it—?" She swallowed painfully, her mouth suddenly dry.

"Is it coming this way?" Tipo finished quietly for her.

A tense moment of silence passed before Pacha answered. "No, I don't think so… unless the wind suddenly shifts. On the off chance it does, we'll evacuate across the river."

"Oh, dear… those villages, they—" Chicha bit out in alarm, but Pacha held a finger to his lips, shooting a glance at the children.

Chaca's eyes widened, already knowing exactly what her mother was talking about. She recalled some of her Kuzco Primary schoolmates saying that their families were from villages near those mountains. School would start soon, and those from far corners of the empire would send their children early to arrive on time. If she didn't see them this year… Chaca clasped her hands together, silently praying that those villages and her friends from there made it through in one piece.

'Urpi… Ayara… please be okay...'

"What about Emperor Kuzco!?" Tipo cried. "That fireball hit close to the palace too!"

Pacha stared out towards the Imperial City. Though it was still dark, the moonlight illuminated part of the palace, much of it hidden by dust and fog. "From what I can see, it doesn't seem to be damaged. I would assume that Kuzco's all right."

At this, Tipo nodded and relaxed a bit, though he kept shooting nervous glances towards the palace.

Chaca puffed out her breath as some of the tension in her chest drained away, only for another worry to nag at her mind. "Where's Mr. Kronk and Mrs. Birdwell? Are they okay?"

"Tunupa told me they're fine," Pacha assured. "Kronk's checking for damage at Mudka's Meat Hut and Mrs. Birdwell's checking on the village kids and their families."

Chaca smiled a little at hearing that, only to swallow nervously again at the mention of other children, which reminded her of her faraway friends to the northwest. "I know people in my class who are from there—" she pointed at the mountainous region now dotted by spreading fires. "What if—what if those fires—?" She couldn't finish, the terrifying possibilities causing a thick lump to clog her throat.

"Hey, hey." A heavy but gentle warmth settled on Chaca's shoulders as Pacha gathered her into a hug. "It's going to be all right, sweetheart. Listen, I'll see if I can send a messenger to check on the mountainside villages. I'd be willing to bet that someone saw everything that was going on earlier and managed to wake their neighbors and evacuate to somewhere safe."

"Do you really think so?" Chaca's voice shook with cautious optimism.

"I believe so. But to be extra sure, I'll send a messenger as soon as possible to find out."

Seeing her father's gentle, confident smile rarely failed to put Chaca at ease. With a watery smile she threw her arms around his neck.

"Thanks, Dad."

She reveled in the brief warmth of her father hugging her back before he pulled away a few moments later.

"Now…" Pacha glanced out towards the west again, where the white moon had begun to set behind the mountains. "It's almost dawn. I'm going to check on the villagers, make sure everyone's accounted for. In the afternoon, I'll hold a village council meeting."

"I'll go too." Tipo stepped forward to follow.

"Count me in." Chaca too was ready to help. She couldn't ignore those people who clearly sounded like they were hurting.

"Oh, no you don't." Chicha stepped up and took both children by the shoulder. "You're going to get some rest."

Chaca and Tipo immediately began to protest.

"But—"

"We can—"

"Your mother's right," Pacha agreed, his tone firm, leaving no room for argument. "You've had a long night. Stay together, get some sleep. I'll be back after sunrise." And before Chaca and Tipo even had the chance to use their puppy-eyed pouts, he set off.

Chaca could only blink in surprise at their father's sudden departure for a moment before she crossed her arms tightly. She tried to keep her breathing even, but a frustrated huff managed to escape her lips, followed by a sniffle and a tell-tale sting behind her eyes. She fixed her watery glare on the slowly brightening dawn sky.

A gentle hand prodded Chaca's shoulder again, turning her around. "Come on," whispered her mother as she guided her and Tipo towards the house. Yupi stayed mostly quiet as he rested his head on Chicha's shoulder.

Chaca wanted to resist, but after all that happened, she was no match for her mother's comforting presence. She sighed and slowly padded along with the others, suddenly exhausted from all the night's excitement.

Once they were inside, Chicha walked over to grab a torch from above the hearth. Lighting it in the fireplace, she then crossed to the bathroom and hung it inside on the wall.

"All right, you two," She clapped her hands. "Time to wash up before you go back to bed. Who wants to go first?"

Immediately Chaca raced off towards the bathroom, ignoring her mother's surprised cry as she brushed past her before slamming the door. After quickly answering nature's call, she washed her hands and face, the cool water perking her up a bit. As she grabbed a cloth and cleaned the dust off her knees, her mind buzzed with so many questions that it was a wonder she hadn't gone crazy at this point. Why did the moon turn red? Where did all those shooting stars come from? And what the heck was that fireball that hit the mountains!?

A couple of knocks at the door forced Chaca back to the present.

"Chaca?" Her mother called. "Are you all right?"

"Fine! I'm coming!" Chaca called back. She drained the water and opened the door.

She barely had time to step out before Tipo barreled past her. "Finally!"

Chaca merely shot back a half-hearted "Hey!" before making her way over to one of the pallets in front of the hearth. She plopped down and hugged her knees to her chest. She closed her eyes, not wanting to stare at the flames too long; they remind her too much of the fire in her dreams, the fireball that hit the mountains, and the resulting fires in the distance.

Chaca heard the bathroom door open and shut, and moments later a set of quick footsteps pattered over to where she sat. She opened her eyes and turned to see Tipo settling in his pallet. He then aimed his gaze out the front window. Chaca looked outside too; from this direction they could see the white full moon setting behind the mountaintops. No more shooting stars whizzed by, but the fixed stars twinkled peacefully.

For a few moments neither child said a word. The hearth fire crackled softly and cast a gentle golden glow throughout the room.

Tipo broke the silence first. "Do you think the gods are really mad at us?"

Chaca untied and re-tied her ponytail, her thoughts jumping back to the old legends they'd mentioned while they were outside. Though Pacha and Chicha often reassured their kids that most of the stories were probably just stories, they'd also reminded them that they stemmed from a kernel of truth that no one should ever forget: The great gods were always in charge of the universe and everything in it. Finally, she answered, "I don't know. Maybe." She scratched her head. "But then what did we do that was so bad that even the gods want to punish us?"

"Nothing," a third voice interjected firmly. "You did nothing wrong."

Chaca and Tipo both sat up and turned to see their mother, with Yupi still on her back, stepping into the room carrying a tray with a pot and four cups on top. She set the tray down on a small table, then picked up the pot and hung it on a hook over the fire. Turning back to face her children, Chicha added wryly, "Nothing that I believe would be worth the wrath of gods, anyway. Now sneaking out the house at night can bring on the wrath of a mom or dad." Here Chicha folded her arms and arched one brow. "Your father and I were worried sick looking for you two."

Chaca and Tipo cringed; they may have escaped the anger of the gods, but they'd forgotten about the danger of parental anger. To their surprise, however, their mother's eyes softened, and she simply turned to stir the liquid in the pot. Sighing, she said "we'll discuss that later. You kids have had enough excitement for one night. For now, just promise me you won't ever sneak off at night without permission again. It's dangerous enough on a normal night."

"We promise," Chaca and Tipo chorused in relief.

"Good." Chicha nodded before retrieving a ladle off the tray and scooping out hot acai berry tea into the cups. "Just one question: Why were you two outside this late at night in the first place?"

"I couldn't sleep," Chaca blurted out, "because I had a nightmare. So I went outside to look at the moon and stars." Part of her winced at how silly it sounded now, but she figured she may as well tell the truth. "Looking at the sky makes me feel better."

"I hand a weird dream too," Tipo piped up. "I woke up and saw Chaca going outside and followed her. We just wanted to look at the sky together. We didn't know it was going to get all crazy like that."

"Yes, well…" Chicha tested the cups to make sure they'd cooled enough to hold. "The next time you have nightmares, remember you can always come talk to me or your dad. And if you want to see the sky, the window offers a great view. "Now—" she held out a cup to Chaca and Tipo, who eagerly accepted. "This should help you relax and seep peacefully—hopefully no more nightmares."

Chaca sipped her tea, its liquid warmth flowing down to her belly and easing the tension from her body. Her mind, however, wasn't so quick to settle, and she mulled over everything that had happened overnight, eventually thinking back to the old legends.

"Mom," Chaca started timidly, "What if the gods are mad? If they're not mad at us, then why did the moon and stars go haywire?"

"Yeah!" Tipo sat up, nearly dropping his cup yet catching it just in time. "And what about that huge fireball?"

"We always learned from you and Dad that the stars tell us the future," Chaca continued. "We even learned it in school. So, if something crazy happens up there, then doesn't that mean something crazy will happen down here?" She shivered, vividly remembering her nightmare of running through the burning forest.

Chicha remained quiet for a few moments, taking a sip of her own tea. Finally, she spoke. "I can't say I know what the great gods were thinking. But when I was little, the elders usually told us that when strange or bizarre things like this happen, it meant the gods were trying to send a message."

"Really?" Chaca set her half-finished cut on the tray and settled back on her pallet, her curiosity fighting a losing battle against a fresh bout of sleepiness.

Tipo wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and set his own cup down. "I wonder what the gods were trying to tell us."

Chicha unfastened Yupi from her back and placed him on his pallet. She held his cup to his lips as he drank a few sips of his tea. Moments later she set Yupi's cup back on the tray and turned back to her older children.

"I've never seen so many shooting stars at once before, and I've never ever seen one fall and hit the earth like that, but I have seen a red moon twice."

Chaca and Tipo blinked and sat up straighter in shocked interest.

"Wow!"

"You have?"

"I have." Chicha nodded with a wistful smile. "Once when I was around thirteen years old and again right after your father and I got married."

Tipo leaned forward, the golden firelight reflecting off his widened eyes. "Were you scared?"

"Yes," Chicha answered. "And I was asking the same question you did: 'Why?' Both times it happened, people were afraid it was a bad sign, so the Imperial City held a special divining ceremony afterwards to try to find answers."

Chaca clenched the edge of her mat tightly in her fingers. "Did they ever figure it out?"

"Did other bad or weird things happen then?" Tipo crawled closer, eager to hear more.

Chicha opened her mouth to answer, but then briefly held a finger to her lips and pointed to Yupi, who now lay on his pallet fast asleep. "I'll tell you all about it later… after you've all gotten some sleep." Even as a whisper Chicha's tone left no room for argument.

With disappointed sighs of "aw," Chaca and Tipo said good night to their mother and lay down on their own pallets.

A tap on Chaca's shoulder made her turn over to see Tipo staring back with his brow scrunched in confusion. "Shouldn't we say, 'good morning' now?"

Chaca turned back to face the window, where now the sky glowed awash in layers of indigo, pink, and orange—the colors of the coming sunrise. Technically, Tipo was right.

"Yeah," she whispered. "Good, er, morning, Tipo."

"…Morning, Chaca."

For a moment Chaca scrunched her own brow at how backwards it sounded, then she rolled her eyes. Then again, that was nothing compared to how bizarre the entire night had been, and what her mother had revealed and hinted at only raised more questions. Chaca had a feeling that things weren't going back to normal for a good while.

Ironically, the energy it took thinking about it, combined with the soothing effect of her mother's acai berry tea, made her sleepy. As she drifted off, one last question poked at the back of her overwhelmed mind: 'What's going to happen next?'

The blinding image of the massive fireball burned bright as ever behind Chaca's closed eyelids.


A/N: I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. I've got more planned!

For those who are curious: INFO DUMP Ahead! If it's TL:DR, please feel free to stop here.

Although this story is strongly fantasy-themed, the things happening here so far are loosely based on real events:

Lunar eclipse- Eclipses, both lunar and solar, were rare and unpredictable and thus feared by the Incas as they saw it as either the anger of their moon goddess Killa or a jaguar attacking the moon. Whenever they saw one they'd make lots of noise and hurl weapons to the sky in an attempt to ward off the celestial jaguar.

Meteor storm- Based on the 1833 Leonid meteor storm. The Leonids are an annual meteor shower visible during November in the constellation Leo and originating as a particle trail from Comet Tempel-Tuttle. When Tempel Tuttle passes close to the sun (every 33 years) Earth could pass through the thicker fresh trail of debris that year, meaning a chance to see a much higher number (thousands visible per hour) of shooting stars than usual (5-8 visible per hour). Shooting stars were seen by the Inca as foretelling illness, death, or thievery. Comets were seen as a warning of great disaster. Reportedly, a comet was sighted by Incan Emperor Atahualpa a short time before the arrival and conquest of the Inca Empire by the Spanish in the 1830s.

Meteorite crash- Inspired by several events:

The Tunguska event of 1908- Theorized to have been caused by an airburst of an asteroid or small comet. The blast completely vaporized the object several km up in the air, leaving no crater, but it flattened 80 million trees and killed thousands of reindeer in the region of the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in central Russia. The sparsely populated eyewitnesses who were living there reported seeing a massive fireball, a large explosion followed by a shockwave that knocked people to the ground and shattered windows. A strange glow lingered in the air above much of Asia and Europe for days afterward.

The Chelyabinsk meteor sighting of 2013- Because car dashcams are super-common in Russia, lots of people caught this on film and there are videos of it all over the internet. This was a meteor that whizzed through the atmosphere before bursting in midair similar to Tunguska. Some surviving meteorite fragments were later found on the shore and fished out of nearby Lake Chebarkul. There were no reported deaths, but ~1,500 people were injured by broken glass when the shockwave from the blast shattered windows.

The impact that created the Barringer Meteor Crater- A meteor theorized to have been about 160 feet or 50 meters across slammed into the Earth here about 50,000 years ago. The meteor was mostly vaporized on impact, though fragments were found and are preserved in the crater visitor center owned and run by the Barringer company.

Astronomy and the history of it fascinates me, and seeing that recent lunar eclipse only continues to fuel my interest.
Chapter 4 is in the works now, so stay tuned! To be continued...