AN: Welcome to another chapter. I hope you've been enjoying this story so far. If so, let me know in a review! :-)
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I smirk delightedly at my latest prank. It was bound to give me something to laugh about. All I had to do was persuade one of the others to walk into it. I head inside the house and see the others standing in front of the TV, each of them wearing a pair of boxing gloves.
"Guys!" I yell, waving my arms to get their attention. They look at me in confusion so I add, "You've gotta see this! Weird stuff is falling from the sky!"
To my bemusement, they simply look back to the TV screen, avidly watching the boxing match taking place. As one of the competitors is knocked out, I figure that maybe the others just didn't hear me so I try again. "Guys?"
"Come on, Toby," Jessica, who was wearing red boxing gloves, says. "We all know this is just a set-up for another one of your pranks!" She pretends to throw punches at an invisible opponent.
"What is it this time?" Lucas asks, also throwing punches. "Door knob shocker? Automatic wedgie?" I narrow my eyes at his suggestions. My pranks aren't that bad! Right? He turns and gives me a sympathetic look as he places his hands on my shoulders. "Don't tell me it's another fish in the pants? You've gotta get new material!"
"No, seriously!" I exclaim, as I grab his arm. I have to get one of them to trip my prank or it'll be completely worthless! "This isn't a prank! You've gotta come outside right now!"
Nick smirks at Lucas. "Maybe one of us should go look!" he suggests as he and Jessica look at Lucas. I grin and rush out to the front door and wait impatiently. This is going to be good!
Lucas reaches me and I gesture to the door. "After you!" I say, grinning.
"Okay," he begins as he opens the door, "so where's the-" he cuts himself off with a scream as the bowls I had balanced on top of the door falls and empty their contents all over him. Two of the bowls land on the floor but the third remains on his head like a hat.
"Tag, you're it!" I declare before I swipe some of the mixture off of him with my finger and taste it. "Canadian maple!"
Nick, Jessica and I walk out onto the porch laughing. See, my pranks are funny! However Lucas doesn't seem to share our amusement, saying, "Oh, you think this is funny?"
Jessica manages to compose herself enough to say, "You would, too, if it wasn't you wearing the food!"
Nick and I continue to laugh as Lucas responds, "Yeah, of course, but it is me!" while Jessica lifts the bowl off his head. He then addresses me with, "You said this wasn't a prank!"
"It isn't!" I insist, grinning widely. "It's a work of art - the Human Pancake!" I give him a side glance before saying, "Come on, don't you have any appreciation for art?" as I walk down the steps of the porch and stand on the path while Nick laughs.
"Well, it is more impressive than fish pants!" Lucas admits begrudgingly.
"Exactly," I declare as I hit my fist against my open palm, "and just wait until my masterpiece is ready - and the ducky's quack shall be the sound of your doom!"
"This masterpiece is going to be pulled on Lucas again...right?" Jessica asks me nervously. I smirk slightly. The beauty of being a prankster is that you can target anybody and they may not even know until the prank has actually happened.
This, of course, prompts Lucas to protest with an indignant, "Hey!" but we soon find ourselves distracted by something happening across the street.
We gasp as we see a young man is complaining to a police officer about his car which looks like it's seen better days - in fact, it looks like it's been completely flattened. "There, you see," he says, gesturing to the flattened vehicle. "It fell out of the sky onto my baby's hood!" The officer looks rather bemused as he takes notes while the man continues, "I want somebody arrested - jet pilots, moon men - I don't care! Somebody's gotta pay!"
"Weird stuff falling from the sky?" Nick wonders aloud.
Hey, so I was right! Weird stuff did fall from the sky! "Ooh, maybe I'm a psychic!" I say before holding up my hands and waggling my fingers. "Fear my powers!"
"It could just be a coincidence," Lucas says. Yeesh, way to rain on my parade, dude!
"I'm gonna say no!"
I turn around and scream, along with the others, as I see Razzle holding one of the bowls over his head. He must have been hiding underneath it. "Why do you do that?" Nick says, once he's recovered from the shock.
"What? You don't like the drama?" Razzle says before his face turns thoughtful. "Speaking of which, is that normal in your world?" he asks, looking at the flattened car.
"Shirtless guys with gold chains?" Jessica responds, with clear disdain in her voice. "Unfortunately, ick, yes!" Somehow I don't think questionable fashion statements are what Razzle meant.
"I meant the falling meteorite!" the lizard says impatiently.
"Not usually," Lucas tells him. "Trouble in the Gorm?"
"Wouldn't be here if there wasn't," Razzle confirms before narrowing his eyes as he peers more closely at Lucas. "You lose a fight with breakfast?" This question causes Lucas to groan before we head inside to go down to the Primal Pad.
Once inside, we gather in front of the screen as Razzle stands on the control panel and begins his explanation. "Something weird's going on with the Air Gormiti's floating fortresses!" The image on the screen shows several floating rocks in the sky surrounding a bird-shaped mountain. "Not sure what's up but it's opened another dimensional rift!" the lizard continues as the image shifts to show Volcano Mountain. "Now your world's got falling meteorites and who knows what else?" The image on the screen changes once more to show the previously mentioned falling meteorites.
"Yeah, because meteorites isn't enough," Jessica says once we've run to stand around the Gorm Gate.
Razzle shrugs. "You know these dimensional rifts - they don't stop at half an apocalypse! So go find out what's going down in Air Gormiti town!"
"Elementals!" we cry out together.
"Air!" Jessica begins.
"Water!" I yell.
"Forest!" Lucas calls.
"Earth!" Nick finishes.
"Reveal to us the Keeper and give to them your chair!" we chant as the chair begins to spin around.
"And the Keeper is..." Razzle begins as the spinning chair slows to a stop, a green icon with the forest symbol on the back "...Forest!"
I see Nick who had been eagerly rubbing his hands together, looking forward to being the Keeper, raise his hand in excitement before slumping over when he realizes he hasn't been chosen. "Tag, you're not it!" I say gleefully, pointing at him as he looks disappointed.
Lucas walks over to the Keeper's chair and sits down before it rises, bringing him level with the control panel. He waves his hand over the crystals and exclaims, "Man, I love the part with the light show!"
Nick jumps into the Gorm Gate first with Jessica, Razzle and I following close behind. We land on what I assume to be one of the floating fortresses. After all, as I stand up, all I can see around me is sky and clouds. Lots of sky and lots of clouds.
"Alright," Lucas says as he projects his image near us. "The Travel Tome says you're smack on top of one of the Air Gormiti's flying fortresses!"
"Yeah," Jessica says, still kneeling, as she looks down. "Pretty sure the Tome's right on that one!" I start to wonder how high up we are and decide to test it out like any rational person would - by spitting over the edge. I hear Jessica gasp before she says "Toby!" in a scandalized tone.
I lean out over the edge and cup my hand over my ear. "I didn't hear it hit bottom yet. You guys hear anything?"
Apparently, they hadn't but suddenly we all hear grunts as two Gormiti appear out of nowhere, locked in a fierce brawl.
The first had a bird-like face and white feathered wings so I guess they must be an Air Gormiti. The second, I can tell immediately, is a Lava Gormiti but he doesn't look like one we've ever encountered before. As he and the Air Gormiti land on some jagged rocks, he opens his mouth and speaks with the weirdest sounding voice I've ever heard.
"The stone is mine! Your people are doomed, Solitary Eagle!" He then adds, "You know, even if I wasn't so good at it, I'd still love evil!" before letting out an evil laugh. Seriously what is it with these guys and their evil laughs?
"That's Spider the Cruel, chief stooge to the Volcano Lord Magmion!" Razzle informs us, looking nervous. "They don't even have a word for how bad he is!"
"Super-mega-evil-istic-psycho-banana-vicious!" Nick says immediately, looking rather proud of himself before accidentally dropping Razzle as he shrugs. I groan - that had to be his worst made-up word yet!
The Air Gormiti - or Solitary Eagle, I think Spider called him - suddenly lets out a fierce cry before taking off into the sky and flying towards Spider who jumps away from the rock at the last second, causing Solitary Eagle to crash into it, sending chunks of rock flying everywhere.
Spider then releases some kind of green fluid from his mouth and fires it at Solitary Eagle who flies up to avoid it.
Lucas projects his image in front of us and I declare, "I bet that one's the bad guy! Lucas?"
"Already working on the glow, bro!" he tells me as he winks.
We turn our attention back to the fight as Solitary Eagle lands on top of Spider, knocking him to the ground. Spider, however, raises one of his arms - which has a hook on the end - before kicking Solitary Eagle away with one of his feet.
"By the law of nature," Solitary Eagle declares as he recovers. "I command you to return the stone!" He lets out a bird-like screech as he flies towards Spider, crashing into him and knocking him to the ground.
"How close are we to tagging in?" I ask Lucas. Watching the action is fun and all but I want in on the action!
"You've got glow!" Lucas confirms.
"Elemental powers flow, Gormiti - Lords of Nature, go!" the three of us cry out together.
"Powers of the Sea!" I yell as I transform and let out a roar. "Alright! About time!" I say once our transformations are complete.
Nick and Jessica run forwards and I make to follow them when Lucas projects his image in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. "I'm sorry," he says sarcastically, "but maybe I could move quicker if I didn't still have maple syrup stuck in my armpits!"
"Hey, sometimes you gotta suffer for your art!" I tell him as I wink. Lucas doesn't seem too pleased about this, though.
"Suffer for my art?" he snaps, looking irate. "Did I ask to be living breakfast food?"
I shrug and run forward, releasing a blast of water from my stomach. It hits Spider who cries out as he flies backward. Solitary Eagle turns around. "Who are-" he asks in confusion upon seeing us.
"Don't worry," I say confidently as we run past him. "We're professionals!"
I watch as Nick drills into a rock wall with his right hand which is shaped like a drill, holding the rocks that fall from the wall in his left. "Jessica!" he calls. "Serve's up!" He throws the rocks at Jessica who creates a gust of wind to blow them towards Spider. However, Spider jumps up, avoiding them completely and the rocks crash harmlessly to the ground of the fortress.
Lucas projects his image in front of me again which gives me an idea. "You know what'd cheer you up?" I say happily. "Somebody else getting pranked!" I wink at him.
"Is it really a good time?" he asks, looking doubtful. Hey, when is there ever a bad time for a prank? Now I just need to figure out who to prank!
"It's always a good time!" I respond before running forwards. Spider laughs as he starts crawling away while Nick and Jessica give chase.
Jessica prepares to fire an attack before suddenly crying out as I wrap my tentacles around her eyes, completely obscuring her vision. "Toby!" Nick yells disapprovingly. Hey, who doesn't enjoy the blindfold trick?
"Guess who?" I say as I wave and wink. However, it seems I might have been slightly wrong about the whole 'no bad time to pull a prank' thing.
Jessica, despite being unable to see, fires off an attack anyway which hits some pointed rocks, causing them to crumble apart. Nick and I gasp as chunks of rock rain down, forming a huge dust cloud.
When it clears, we see Jessica partially trapped under the debris. Okay, that wasn't supposed to happen! What's worse is that Spider is looming menacingly over her, causing her to let out a startled scream. "Jessica!" Nick, Razzle and I yell in horror. Mental note: don't pull any more pranks that could potentially get someone crushed under falling rocks!
"You know, I could melt you out of there," Spider says casually. "Smile for the acid, sweetie!" Acid? Did he say acid? He is not actually going to melt her out of there...is he?
Just then, we hear a voice yell, "Taste the hammer...of Fiery Hammer!" A second Lava Gormiti with a massive right hand seems to have appeared out of nowhere, which confuses all of us, even Spider apparently. However, he doesn't really have time to be confused because the mysterious Gormiti punches him away from Jessica as he says the last part of his declaration. He then leaps forwards and sends himself and Spider tumbling off of the edge of the fortress.
Nick and I run towards Jessica who is still laid beneath the rocks. "Jessica," I say, crouching down to the side and silently checking her over for any injuries. Luckily she seems to be unhurt but she looks incredibly confused and, after what just happened, I don't really blame her.
"Did I just get rescued by a fire guy?" she asks as Nick begins moving the rocks away. She narrows her eyes and mutters, "I am so never gonna get this world!"
"No sign of 'em!" Razzle pipes up, peering over the edge. "I guess the danger's over for now." Just then, we feel the fortress shake rather violently and Razzle repeats in alarm, "I said I guess the danger's over for now!"
"No," Solitary Eagle says suddenly. "It's just the beginning." The three of us gasp and turn to face him as he explains. "The jewel Spider stole was one of our Falcon Stones!"
Nick lets out a surprised gasp. "The mystic gems that keep the Air Gormiti's flying fortresses in the air!" he says quickly. I look at Jessica - who looks just as confused as I am - before we both stare blankly at Nick. "I read, okay," he says in explanation. Well, that explains it.
"So no Falcon Stone means..." Jessica begins nervously.
"...crashy-crashy ouch boom!" I finish for her.
Suddenly the fortress begins falling at an incredible speed, causing us all to scream as we cling on for dear life. "You - female!" Solitary Eagle, who is flying near the fortress, shouts. Wow, I don't think Jessica's gonna appreciate that somehow.
"You - right, the name's Jessica," she responds.
Giving no sign that he had heard her, he continues, "You can fly. We can carry your friends to safety."
"What about your people?" she asks him as she passes Razzle to Nick by the tail. "We can't save them all!" Suddenly she gasps. "Wait, maybe I can! Eagle, come with me!" She then calls to Nick, Razzle and I. "Guys, hang on!" What else does she expect us to do?
Nick and I cling on to the rock tightly as Jessica and Solitary Eagle fly beneath the falling fortress. We can't see what's happening but after a while, the sensation that my stomach has dropped out of my body starts to calm down somewhat. "She's slowing it down!" Nick yells over the roar of the wind.
Sure enough, we aren't falling as fast as before, which certainly explains why I no longer feel like I'm on a ride at a theme park. We find ourselves able to kneel down, no longer having our legs dangling towards the sky. "Way to go, Jessic- ow!" I cut myself off mid-sentence and yank my hand away, rubbing it slightly. "The rock - it just got super hot!"
Nick peers closely at the rock which is glowing red and has steam rising from it. "It must be the wind resistance," he deduces. "Like a space shuttle re-entry!"
"So our choices are being crushed or fried?" Razzle says nervously. "Can I get a third option?"
"Actually, yeah," I tell him as I've just had an idea. If water can cool down lava, it'll be able to cool down the heated rock. Razzle, looking hopeful, nods his head, and I stand up before releasing blast after blast of water to cool the rock down.
After a while, I begin to feel quite worn out. Suddenly the fortress starts falling at an increased speed, causing us to scream as it plummets straight down. We hold on tightly as it hits the ground with a crash before finally being able to set foot on solid ground again by jumping down from the fallen fortress.
Jessica runs to stand in front of us, now back in human form. "She - she did it!" Nick says.
"And just in time," Lucas informs us. "She's out of glow!"
We watch as Solitary Eagle peers closely at Jessica. "And now she turns into a strange small girl-creature again?" he says, puzzled.
"Yes," Jessica answers, pointing to herself. "And the creature's name...is still Jessica!"
Solitary Eagle looks even more confused as he asks, "What kind of bizarre magic is this?"
Nick and I start moving forward as Jessica marches towards us before we stop. "Magic that wouldn't have been necessary if somebody" here she shoots me a disapproving glare "hadn't done that tentacle blindfold thing on me," her glare gets more intense and, despite the fact that I tower above her right now, I find myself involuntarily wanting to take a step back - an angry Jessica is not fun to deal with "letting Spider get away with the Falcon Stone!"
"No harm, no foul, right?" I say casually, rubbing the back of my head and grinning. Nobody's been hurt so what's the problem?
"I am very confused about your combat technique," Solitary Eagle addresses me directly. "How does covering an ally's eyes help win the battle?"
"No, see, it's not a combat technique!" I try to explain. "It's a joke! You know - like pull my finger!" As I speak, I stick out my index finger and grin.
"Certainly," Solitary Eagle accepts as he reaches for my finger with his hand and adding, "although I fail to see what purpose-" He pulls my finger and I let out a loud burp. Classic! I double over, laughing. "Why would you do this?" he asks, sounding completely baffled. Guess this guy doesn't really have a sense of humor, huh?
"Alright," Razzle says from atop my head, cutting me off mid-laugh. "The immediate crisis is over. Now we've got to track down Spider and find out why he wants the Falcon Stones!"
"Bonus mystery," Nick adds, walking up beside me. "Maybe discover who the heck that Hammer guy was!"
Lucas suddenly projects his image in front of us. "Jessica's got to have an orb recharge before we do anything," he informs us. "Toby could use one too!"
Razzle jumps down from my head to my shoulder. "Guess that means it's you sticking around here, kid!" he says to Nick.
"So what you're saying is - I'm being...chosen for something?" Nick says, the eagerness in his voice evident.
"Nick, it's no big deal," I say, holding my hand up and he frustratedly growls at me.
"Would you let me have my moment?" he demands.
"You guys ready?" Lucas asks us as he prepares to gate Jessica and I back to Earth. We both nod and move away from Nick. I reach for Jessica's hands as we stand opposite each other.
The portal forms over our heads and we rise up into it. I feel myself change back into human form, seconds before we rise through the Gorm Gate.
We walk towards Lucas who lowers the chair, turning to face us. "Tentacle guess who blindfold? Pull my finger?"
"What?" I say, coming to a stop in front of him. "They can't all be masterpieces!"
I fold my arms as Lucas adds, "I mean I like practical jokes as much as the next guy. I'm just saying maybe it's started going too far like..." he pauses suddenly before asking, "...is your house quacking?"
Quacking? I can hear it distantly but then that means... "The quack of doom!" I exclaim after I gasp and hold my head with both hands. "My masterpiece! But nobody's there to trip it! It's all gonna go to waste!"
I dash out of the Primal Pad before anyone can say another word and run out into the garden.
Immediately I spot the toy boat being blown towards a yellow balloon by a rubber duck being hit repeatedly by a spatula that was attached to a water wheel. The pointed tip of the boat's mast gleams tauntingly as it gets pushed closer and closer to the balloon.
"No!" I yell, holding my head in my hands before frantically running over to the pipe that has water rushing out of it and pushing it so it tilts to the side.
The water wheel stops spinning and I watch as the boat stops moving, mere inches from the balloon. I slump over and gasp with relief. That had been too close!
"So," I hear Jessica's voice say and I look up at her. When did she get here? "Is that your masterpiece?"
"I don't know," I answer as I walk over to her. "Why don't you come out and see for yourself?"
She glares at me and exclaims, "Yeah, like anybody's gonna be dumb enough to trip your prank now!" I glare right back at her, noting that her hands have balled into fists. Despite the fact that I'm kinda mad at her right now, I can't help thinking that when she's mad, she's pretty - no, no, stop.
I had put down the weird thoughts I had about her during the judo tournament and the raffle down to the heat of the competition. Yet, even now with no competition occurring, I'm still having them! It's frustrating because I have no idea why. It must be because...because... the grass is too green! Yeah, that's definitely it. What else could it be?
As we continue to stare each other down, I ready myself for a comeback, unwilling to let her have the last word again. Suddenly we look up in surprise as Dad exclaims, "Eh-di-oh, Toby, my man!" I look behind me to see Dad holding two paper bags in his hands as well as Geo sniffing around the water wheel. "Thought I heard you back here! Hey, you wanna give me a hand? Papa's got a new cookbook!" I watch his gaze fall on the water wheel and see his confused expression. He moves one of his shopping bags to his other hand and asks, "Since when did we get a water wheel?" He reaches out with his free hand. Uh-oh...
"Dad, no!" I yell, holding my hand out to stop him but he pokes the water wheel slightly. This causes the spatula to hit the rubber duck whose quack releases air that pushes the toy boat the last couple of inches towards the balloon. The resulting bang can be heard through the megaphone, causing Geo - who was stood right in front of it - to whimper. "Everybody get down!" I exclaim before I duck for cover.
I glance sideways at Jessica as she crouches down next to me, a frown on her face as she watches what is happening in front of us. For some reason, it reminds me of what she said before about not feeling important. However, she hasn't yet done or said anything else to indicate what the problem is if there is one. I know that the absolute last thing I should do is confront her about it. Not straight away, at least. For one thing, I don't know what the problem is. Another thing is that, if she somehow works out that I'm concerned about her, she might clam up altogether - or worse still, try too hard to convince me that she's fine. She's done it before. I know her too well...
I don't really have the time to dwell on these thoughts, though. Geo is barking frantically and rushing around while Dad wobbles about in an attempt to avoid being knocked over. "Hey, Geo!" he exclaims, hopping from one foot to the other as Geo rushes around, knocking things over, including the water wheel.
I wince as Dad's foot slips on a bar of soap which flies up into the air and lands on a spring, sending a rubber fish straight onto his face. He cries out and blindly stumbles away before grunting as he collides with the greenhouse. The impact causes the paddling pool on the roof to empty the water I had filled it with onto him, knocking him off his feet.
Jessica gives me a disapproving glance as we stand up. For a split second, though, her face twitches as though she wants to smile. Hey, if my prank stops her from thinking those pessimistic thoughts, then how can it be a bad thing?
I walk over to Dad and pull a deflated inflatable off his face and he spits water out of his mouth, looking rather worse for wear. He is completely soaked - hair, clothes, and shopping - and he looks rather stunned. "It's art?" I say nervously as Jessica and I pull him to his feet. "Here, Dad, let me get the water off you!" I look around for something I can use. "Um, I don't have a towel or anything but-" I walk away as I remember the rubber duck - it might not be as effective as a towel but it's all I can think of. I return with the duck and place it on his shirt, squeezing it as it sucks some of the water off his clothes.
"Hey, Mr. Tripp," Lucas says and we all turn our heads to face him. I move the duck - which is now filled with water - away from Dad's shirt as he continues, "I found out something about... the thing, t-that place that we have to go," I smile to myself as I place the rubber duck in my jeans pocket - who knows, it may come in handy! - "to now! Like, right now!" Lucas finishes, grinning nervously as he points towards the house.
I blink at him before looking at Dad. "Sorry, Dad," I say. "You know how Lucas is about saving the manatees!" I add as Lucas starts walking inside the house and I cling onto Jessica's arms as she follows him, trying to ignore the tingling that occurs in my fingers as they make contact with her skin. Great, at this rate, I won't even be able to touch her without something weird happening! I stop for a moment to tell Dad, "I'll clean up later! Bye!" before rushing to catch up with the others. My fingers are still tingling and I wriggle them continuously as we head back down to the Primal Pad, much to the others' confusion. What is this girl doing to me?
Lucas leads us to the bookshelves and opens one of the books to a page that has pictures of bird-shaped stones - the Falcon Stones, I'm guessing. "So I looked up those Falcon Stones in the tomes," he begins before turning the page. "Turns out they're not just good for the Air Gormiti's citadels! They can be used to lift any big landmass into the sky!" Wow, who would've thought a couple of stones could do that?
"And if Spider's been stealing them for Lord Magmion," Razzle adds before looking nervous. "I've got a bad feeling I know what they're gonna raise with the stones!"
Lucas walks back over to the control panel and sits down in the chair while Jessica and I run over to the Gorm Gate and jump in, Razzle jumping in after us.
We land somewhere in Lava territory and see Nick and Solitary Eagle standing nearby, looking out at Volcano Mountain, and walk over to join them. Jessica repeats to them what Lucas had told us. Solitary Eagle looks thoughtful before saying, "Volcanoes!" So that's what they're planning on raising? Should've guessed, huh?
"Lots of 'em!" Jessica confirms. "Magmion uses the Falcon Stones to lift them up in the sky then down comes fiery lava rain to burn the whole world!"
Lucas projects his image in front of us. "Tell 'em what else we found, kid!" Razzle says.
"Huge lightning storms in Australia," he informs us. "More meteorites hitting North America and trees melting in South Africa!" He sniffles, "Poor...trees!", looking distraught.
"The planet's gone nuts!" Razzle tells us, looking frantic. "It's getting worse and that means the rift's widening. You've gotta stop Spider and Magmion before both our worlds get torn apart!"
"I just have one question," Nick says.
"Uh, shoot?" Razzle tells him.
I watch as Nick walks over to me, looking pretty mad and I think I know why. "You pranked Dad?" he snaps, poking me with his finger. "Can you say way too far?"
"It was an accident!" I protest as he glares at me before Lucas projects his image near us again.
"Hold on," he says, holding his hands up and we look up at him. "If we're going into Magmion's home turf, we're gonna want all the help we can get!" I don't get what he means. We already have Solitary Eagle. What other help could we need? "We still haven't found that Magma Gormiti who saved Jessica from Spider!" Oh, yeah, that guy! To be honest, I'd completely forgotten about him. "Somebody should track him down - see if he's on our side!"
Well, it isn't going to be me! "Track down a Magma Gormiti when there's a volcano to storm?" I say, unimpressed. "That's lameoid work! Who'd wanna get stuck with that job?"
"I nominate the pull my finger child," Solitary Eagle announces suddenly. Pull my fin- wait! He means me!
"What? Guys!" I protest, looking at Nick and Jessica as they smirk at me. Clearly, they both agree with Solitary Eagle. Well, that's just great!
"I've already charged the orbs," Lucas says before addressing me directly. "You should go Super Gormiti now, Toby, in case you run into trouble!"
At the moment, all I can think about is how they get to save the world and I have to miss out! Nick slaps me on the back, causing the rubber duck in my pocket to squeak. "Sorry, Toby, but maybe a solo mission will give you some time to think!"
I frown. "Think!" I exclaim, narrowing my eyes. "About what? I don't think!" I walk away from them to the edge of the cliff and yell, "Powers of the Sea!" as I transform before walking away.
As I wander through the forest, I start to wonder what Nick meant by 'giving me some time to think'. All I can think about is how unfair this is. "I think I don't like being left out. That's what I think," I say to myself before sighing as I sit down, cross-legged. "I guess I should probably learn something from this!"
"For one thing, you should learn to watch your surroundings!"
I look up and see that the speaker is none other than the Lava Gormiti I am looking for. I immediately back-flip onto my feet before transforming my right hand into a giant claw. I rush at this Hammer guy and attempt to hit him with my claw then my other hand but he deflects each of my blows with his massive hand, catching my other hand afterward. I manage to grab his left hand, which is considerably smaller than his right, in my claw and we struggle against each other. "I thought you were only supposed to look for me, not pound me silly!" he says suddenly.
Wait, what?
"Wait," I say, puzzled. "How did you know-" Then I frown. "You were spying on us back there? Then how come you didn't come out and talk to all of us?"
"Oh, I planned to," he tells me, to my surprise. "But when I saw how your friends treated you, I knew you would be the one to understand my...situation."
As he says this last part, he finally lets go of me and takes a step back before continuing, "You see I, too, am an outcast. The details are...unpleasant but the day Lord Magmion banished me, he made a powerful enemy!" I listen to him, silently wondering what he could have done to make Magmion banish him but I don't bother asking - it's not really my business and I wanna keep him on side. "One who could be a powerful friend to your cause!"
I smirk. "Friends are good!" I say. "I like friends!" For a moment, I think of Nick and Jessica, knowing neither of them would approve of what I was about to say. "So what do you have in mind?"
The Lava Gormiti looks momentarily surprised but recovers quickly. "I couldn't stop Spider from taking the Falcon Stones to Magmion," he tells me, regret in his tone as he points in the direction of Volcano Mountain. "But I do know a secret entrance to his volcano. Who knows? We may defeat Magmion before your friends even show up!" he smirks.
Now that's an idea I like! If I defeat Magmion single-handedly - well, with this guy's help too, I guess - it'll prove to the others how good I am. "A couple of outcasts save the day, huh?" I say before smiling. "I like it!" I hold my claw arm out to him. "I'm Toby, Lord of the Sea!" I introduce myself.
"Fiery Hammer," he says, shaking my claw with his massive hand. He gestures for me to follow him and I do so, walking behind him as he leads the way through the forest.
Eventually, we reach the Lava territory and I see a narrow elevated pathway that winds its way to a blocked cave entrance. When we get to the end of the path, I watch Fiery Hammer push aside the boulder blocking the entrance with ease.
"Is there anything cooler than a secret entrance?" I ask myself as I secretly attach the rubber duck to his back. I have a feeling it may just come in handy. "No, there is not," I conclude as Fiery Hammer leads the way inside the volcano. After a second, I follow.
We reach a room that's large and unbearably hot. I see Magmion and Spider. This is awesome! I'm totally gonna save the day!
"Spider, I'm bored," Magmion complains as his fellow Lava Gormiti places two Falcon Stones on a small perch. "Why does fiery vengeance from the sky always take so long?"
"The Falcon Stones are nearly in place, y-your greatness!" Spider says eagerly.
"Good," Fiery Hammer says. "We're not too late!" He then turns and asks me, "Have we beaten your friends here?"
I glance around before pointing and whispering, "There! They found a way in!" I see Solitary Eagle standing on one ledge while helping Jessica down to the next ledge where Nick was standing. I'm glad they're okay, at least. "Come on!" I say excitedly. "If we're gonna be the heroes, we gotta hurry!"
"I couldn't agree more!" Fiery Hammer says but something about his tone seems...different. His right hand begins to glow a bright yellow before he jumps down to a lower ledge and slams his fist into some lava. I watch in horror as burning rocks fly through the air falling not only into the lava beneath Magmion and Spider but also hitting the rock wall behind Nick and Jessica. I hear their screams as part of the wall crumbles, trapping them as well as Solitary Eagle.
"What the- what are you doing?" I yell, moving forwards. Suddenly Fiery Hammer picks me up before tossing me to the ground.
"Never trust your enemies, boy!" he says. I really am the stupidest person on the planet. Why couldn't I see his act was all just that...an act? I should've known Fiery Hammer didn't really want to help save the day. Well, it's a good thing I do! Right before I lose consciousness, I think I understand now why I was sent on this solo mission. It was to help me remember where my priorities lie and right now, my main priority is to help save the Gorm!
When I wake up, I see that I am in a room with bars made out of lava. I fire a couple of water blasts at them but they evaporate upon contact. I look down at Nick, Jessica and Solitary Eagle who are sprawled near me. Thankfully none of them seem hurt.
Eventually, Solitary Eagle raises his head and looks at me with confusion, evidently wondering why I'm there. As I stand up, I gasp, "Guys, you're alive," watching as they sit up and stare at me, looking equally confused. "And I'm alive! These are all good things!"
"Toby, what are you doing here?" Nick asks, rubbing the back of his head.
Before I even get a chance to explain - not that I'm sure I would have been able to - we gasp as we hear Magmion's voice and listen in.
"Did the word banished mean nothing to you, Fiery Hammer?" he asks.
"Banished is such an ugly word," Fiery Hammer protests. "I belong here...among the flames!"
Spider cuts in suddenly. "Don't listen to him, Master! We don't need him!"
"Maybe," Fiery Hammer admits. "But I'm sure you'd love to unwrap the presents I brought!"
It doesn't take too long for me to realize that we are the presents he's referring to. Why did I even trust this guy?
"Did I say banished?" Magmion says after a short while. "I believe I meant...welcome home, brother!"
Fiery Hammer chuckles and Spider voices his displeasure by making some kind of hissy-growly sound. I guess he doesn't like Fiery Hammer all that much.
I turn to the others. "Guys, come on! You've gotta transform already" I say. "This magma cage is too hot for my water powers but maybe Nick's earth powers..." On the last part of my sentence, I turn and point at Nick as I speak.
Lucas projects his image in front of us. "Orbs are still full and ready!" he informs us.
"No," Solitary says suddenly, stepping forward. "We can't risk a fight around the Falcon Stones!"
"It'll be okay. Just trust me," I assure him before addressing the others. " You guys were right - I needed some time to think. And from now on, my powers will only be used for good!"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Nick demands as he and Jessica frown at me, their arms folded.
"It means I've got the stones covered, okay?" I reply, grinning at them. They glance at each other before they both wink and a glow surrounds them as they start to transform.
When they've finished transforming, Nick raises his fist and turns into a giant hammer before smashing a hole in the wall. "Looks like your presents are about to open up on you!" I call as we see the shocked faces of Fiery Hammer, Spider, and Magmion.
"Get them!" Magmion commands, pointing at us. "I'll take care of the Falcon Stones!"
Spider and Fiery Hammer obey, jumping forward to engage us in battle with the latter yelling, "You've been a great ally, Toby, Lord of the Sea! But now it's time to dissolve our partnership!"
His massive right-hand starts glowing yellow and he punches it into the ground. Once again, dozens of burning rocks start flying through the air. I let out a cry as they hit me and send me flying backward. I wince as I lay on the ground, pain running through my body. That hurt.
I feel somebody gently place their hand on my chest. My heart starts beating that tiny bit faster and the tingling feeling I had felt earlier returns, except this time it's a lot more intense. "Hey, that's my brother!" I hear Nick yell suddenly.
Opening my eyes, I see Nick raise his hammer arm before charging towards Fiery Hammer. I also see Jessica kneeling in front of me, a concerned expression on her face. As soon as she sees that I'm awake, concern turns to relief before she pulls her hand away. Much to my confusion, for a moment, she looks a little flustered but it disappears so quickly I figure I must be imagining things again.
As she helps me up, I glance at her, silently apologizing for everything I put her through today. All she does, however, is smile slightly and shake her head. If anybody else had been in my position, they wouldn't have understood what she meant but I understand perfectly.
She's telling me that there's nothing to apologize for. She's already forgiven me.
The moment is broken when we hear Spider yell, "But Solitary Eagle, you're missing the fun!" Jessica runs over in their direction as Spider jumps onto Solitary Eagle's back and drags him back down to the ground.
I run up to watch what's going on. Jessica runs up to Spider in an attempt to help Solitary Eagle but Spider kicks her away, causing her to yell, "Nick, trade your bad guys?"
Nick raises his fists which are both shaped like hammers and slams them into the ground while Jessica knocks Fiery Hammer off his feet with a wind attack.
I watch as Solitary Eagle manages to throw Spider off of himself. Unfortunately, Spider recovers quickly and pins Nick to the ground. To my horror, he then raises one of his arms above Nick and begins to rotate the black claws on the end at blinding speed.
Acting quickly, I wrap my tentacles around Spider. "And that's my brother!" I yell angrily before tossing him away. He hits the rock wall with a thump. He'll definitely be feeling that one in the morning! I grin at Nick, knowing that I must have, at least, slightly made up for being a complete and utter idiot today.
Just then, we hear Magmion start laughing. The next thing, we know is that the volcano starts shaking as it starts to rise up into the air. We watch as he continues to laugh, standing in front of a blue glow that seems to be coming from the Falcon Stones.
"You take him high, I'll take low," Solitary Eagle tells Jessica.
"Ew!" Jessica exclaims in disgust. "I don't wanna be anywhere near that face! I call low!" They take off from the ledge, leaving Nick and I alone.
"And now begins Lord Magmion's reign of fire!" Magmion declares before crying out as Jessica and Solitary Eagle swoop towards him and carry him away from the stones.
Solitary Eagle looks back at Nick and I. "Get the stones!" he yells. However, before we even have a chance to move, we find ourselves being pushed to the ground.
Fiery Hammer jumps onto the platform, yelling, "Too late!" As he raises his arms, causing the blue glow to reappear again, he declares, "Now Fiery Hammer controls the Falcon Stones! And once I flood this world with molten fire, Lord Magmion himself will kneel at my feet!" He laughs as we see Jessica and Solitary Eagle struggling to keep hold of a very angry Magmion.
Lucas projects his image between Nick and I. "Guys, you're almost out of orb," he tells us. "I don't think you can beat him again!"
I think I understand now. For Fiery Hammer, this was only ever about revenge, for what Magmion did to him. The whole saving the world thing was just a joke to him. Well, Hammer guy, I'm afraid this time the joke is on you!
Fiery Hammer continues to laugh when suddenly the duck I had attached to his back begins to squeak repeatedly. "Where is that infernal noise coming from?" he asks, looking confused.
"Better check all your quacks!" I call to him. This is going to be my best prank of the day!
Fiery Hammer reaches behind him and holds the rubber duck out in his massive right hand. "You think this is funny?" he yells.
Well, it is, sort of. "No," I reply, holding my hand up so that I can take control of the water inside the duck. "I think it's still full of water! And I control water!" I manipulate the water into a ball before hurling it at Fiery Hammer who lets out a cry as it hits him, knocking him to the ground as steam rises from him. "Never trust a prankster!" I say, as the blue glowing rings emitting from my hand begin to fade.
Suddenly Magmion manages to break of free of Solitary Eagle and Jessica's grip. The volcano begins to shake as he lets out a furious roar. I guess Magmy isn't too happy right now. The Falcon Stones fall off the perch right into Jessica's hands. "Thank you!" she says.
Seeing that the stones are now safe, Nick and I start running for the exit. We jump through one of the eye holes with Jessica and Solitary Eagle flying through after us.
We head back over to the crashed fortress and stand on it. Jessica hands the Falcon Stones to Solitary Eagle and we watch as he places them in a small room inside the fortress.
Immediately the stones begin to glow and the fortress slowly rises up until it's back in the sky where it belongs.
You have the thanks of my people!" Solitary Eagle tells us, as the other Air Gormiti stand behind him. "That was impressive strategy with the waterfowl hidden in Fiery Hammer's...quacks..." A look of dawning comprehension passes over his face before he says, "Oh, I get it now!" He starts laughing heartily. Well, what do you know? Maybe this guy does have a slight sense of humor after all!
"Time to go, guys!" Lucas says as he projects his image near us. "You're all almost out of glow!"
The three of us grip each other's hands as we rise up through the portal, yelling, "By the orbs of Gorm!" as we come out of the Gorm Gate into the Primal Pad.
I start walking towards the stairs. "I should go check on Dad," I tell the others before slumping over. "Gotta take my punishment sooner or later!"
I lead the way up the stairs, my shoulders slumped. I just want to get this over and done with. "You know, Toby," Lucas tells me as I open the pantry doors and step into the kitchen, "when you use your pranking powers for good, it's a pretty awesome sight to behold!"
"Yeah, but I think I'm cutting the pranks for a while," I announce. "I've gotten in enough trouble for my art!"
"You call that art?" I hear Dad's voice call. Suddenly I feel something tighten around my ankle and I yelp as I get knocked off my feet. Next thing I know I'm being dragged out of the back door by a rope. I let out a cry as I get dragged through a puddle of mud before a bowl of porridge hits me in the face. Then a piece of cheese flies into my mouth. When it's all over, I find myself dangling upside down from a tree.
"Now that's art!" Dad declares.
"Yep!" Jessica agrees. I watch as Paula Pinkney's cat walks over to me and starts licking the porridge off my head as Lucas says, "Beautiful!" Nick finishes up by adding, "Definitely!"
I can't believe I just got pranked by my own dad! I had no idea he could even pull pranks like that! Just think of all the new things I could learn - all of the new pranks I'll be able to pull! "Teach me, master!" I say as the cat sits down next to me, mewing happily.
I don't exactly know when they'll let me down. I kind of get the feeling they want to enjoy it a bit longer. Do I blame them?
Not really.
AN: Wow, I'm so sorry about the sporadic updates, guys! Having week-long migraines are not fun, let me tell you. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and see you next time!
It would also help me out a lot if you guys would vote on the poll in my profile - it could potentially help me out with the next chapter. I will keep it open for a week and close it on Tuesday 6th February. Thank you all for your support :-)