AN: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to ROTLON! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter and I'm sorry it takes me so long to update but I hope it's worth it.
Well, I'm sure you don't want to read my babbling so let's get on with the chapter, shall we?
"Where should we go next?" Jessica asks, her head swiveling in both directions as she looked at the shops surrounding us. The four of us had decided to take a trip to the mall to see what we could spend our pocket money on.
"Anywhere - as long as it's not a shoe store!" I say jokingly. "Or else we won't be able to get you out of there!"
Lucas starts laughing. "You can talk, Toby. If I remember rightly, you spent nearly an hour in the joke shop!"
Well, a master prankster needs to stock up on joke items every now and then!
Nick suddenly taps me on the shoulder. "Look who it is," he whispers and I look at where he is pointing before all the color drains from my face.
"You guys can't let her see me!" I exclaim as I dive behind them, attempting to hide from Madison. Unfortunately she turns around at the exact time I was moving. The resulting squeal is so high pitched it was only just possible for us to hear it.
"I can't believe you're here!" she cries, running over to me and grabbing my arms. "Now we can go on a date and-"
"W-wait a minute..." I protest as she starts to drag me away from the others but she ignores me.
"My knight in shining armor! You showed up at the perfect time! It's almost like we were destined for each other!"
I manage to turn my head to look at the others so I can beg them for help escaping from this crazy girl. Nick and Lucas are laughing at my predicament - they wouldn't be laughing if it was them! - and I honestly can't tell if Jessica looks angry or sad, which is weird.
As Madison drags me past a photo booth, I feel something grab my free arm and the familiar tingling feeling returns, meaning I don't even have to look to know who it is.
Madison drops my arm - finally - and turns around. "Problem?" she asks in an acid tone.
"You could say that!" Jessica snaps, glaring at her.
I feel kind of wary standing between them but if I move, I have a feeling they might start fighting. They seriously dislike each other - and that's putting it mildly.
"I happen to be spending some quality time with my boyfriend so if you'd just go and run back to your little friends and leave us alone, that would be great!" Madison says in a sugary sweet tone, contrasting with the glare on her face.
Wait a minute...
"He is not your boyfriend!" Jessica shrieks suddenly before turning to me and saying, "Right?"
I honestly have no words right now. I must look like a fish, opening and closing my mouth over and over again.
Madison is smirking. "Jealous? I'm not surprised. Nobody would look twice at you when they see me." She flicks her hair over her shoulder before sauntering away, blowing me a kiss as she leaves.
To my surprise, Jessica doesn't say anything in retaliation. She simply stares at the ground. I don't understand it at first - she's never been the type to take something like that lying down.
Then again, maybe it makes her think of...Of course! Why didn't I realize sooner? Comments like that must remind her of all the bad things her mom says to her, even if they're not true.
"You know she's talking rubbish, right?" I say to her and she lifts her head up to look at me.
"W-what?" she stutters, confused.
I look around and see Nick and Lucas approaching. I lean in close and whisper in her ear, "I mean you're ten times prettier than Madison Verne could ever hope to be."
Wow, did I just say that? And why is my heart beating so fast?
"You got rid of Madison then?" Nick asks as he and Lucas reach us.
"For now," I say, moving away from Jessica and sighing with relief. My heart is still pounding, however, and I notice that Jessica is once again having a staring contest, this time with the photo booth behind us.
After a few moments, she turns to us and suggests brightly, "Hey, guys, why don't we get our picture taken? It'll be fun!"
"Sure, why not?" we agree and the four of us squash into the booth. We have about five seconds to position ourselves and grin widely before there is a flash, indicating that a picture has just been taken.
We file out of the booth and wait for the photo to slide out of the slot. Finally there is a beeping noise and the photo appears in the slot, Jessica pulling it out and holding it up to examine it. "Aw, we look great!" she exclaims.
She holds up the photo for us to see. The four of us are squashed together, grinning widely. My hand is held up in a peace sign. "See!" Jessica continues as I spot somebody very familiar snooping around the corner, obviously hoping she won't get spotted. "Me and the boys all together and-"
"Psst!" I interrupt and she raises an eyebrow, letting out a noise of confusion. "Over there!" I say in a hushed tone. "It's aula-Pay! Watch this!
I clear my throat before putting on a fake voice and saying, "And so our mission of global domination is nearly complete! Secrecy is key! Are you sure the humans remain unaware of our plans?"
As I say this last part, I move to stand beside Nick and elbow him. "Hey!" he exclaims indignantly before sheepishly adding, "Huh? Oh, right!" He then speaks in the same tone as I am. "Yes, O Supreme one!" Jessica and Lucas start chuckling as he adds, "Although I fear we may have a problem with the one they call...Paula!"
"Fear not!" I say. "By this time tomorrow, the Paula issue will be solved permanently." I hold up my fists for emphasis and add, "And then - the world!"
"I knew it!" she exclaims, marching out from her hiding place just as I knew she would. She can't resist the opportunity to bug us. "Aliens - bent on world domination!" She walks right up to us, pointing at me.
The others start laughing and I exclaim, "Paula! She heard?" I try to act like I don't have any idea what she's talking about. I hold my hands up and question "I mean who's an alien? Me! Says who?"
She frowns at me. "Oh, don't try to play innocent!" she says, pointing at me once again. "I heard your slimy extraterrestrial scheme - sort of!" A crowd of people appears to be gathering around as she continues. "You're here to destroy Earth with your weirdness and your abnormality!"
Conscious of the gathering crowd, I grab her arm. "Take it easy, will ya?" I say awkwardly.
She snatches her arm away. "Don't touch me!" she yells and the crowd looks in our direction. "I'm on to you, Tripp!" she continues with narrowed eyes. "On you like dots on dice! Whatever it is, you'll never get away with it!"
I've had it today! First I had Madison bugging me and now Paula? I've had just about as much as I can take! "We're not up to anything!" I snap, losing my cool, as I step forward. "Go ahead, follow us. You know what you'll find? You're the weirdo! We are normal - n-o-r-m-a-l!"
Just then, there are screams behind us. I turn my head and let out a cry as I see dirt pouring out of washing machines. Paula laughs sarcastically. "You call that normal?" she questions.
"No, but I'd call it a mess!"
"Razzle!" Jessica and Nick exclaim.
"What's a crazzle?" Paula demands to know.
No, there is no way that Paula is finding out about Gorm. I whimper before grabbing her and, as Nick pulls the curtain open, pushing her into the photo booth. Nick slides the curtain shut and stands in front of it.
"Let me out! Help!" she yells and continues to do, occasionally yelling my name to.
"Oh, sorry!" Razzle, who is perching on the edge of the photo slot, says apologetically. "Didn't realize you had company!"
"Lemme guess - something to do with dirt, right?" I ask him.
"Yes!" he says in an I can't believe you knew that! tone. "How'd you know?"
"I could have told you that!" Nick points out. We run away from the photo booth while Razzle sort of takes his own route, I guess.
"We better hurry!" I say to the others. "Last thing we need is Paula trailing us!"
In about ten minutes, we finally get home and head straight down to the Primal Pad. We stand in front of the control panel as usual, waiting for Razzle to fill us in.
"Magmion is attacking the Rock Gormiti's number one gold mine!" he tells us.
"Interesting," Nick says as the image on the screen shows Magmion astride Drakkon. The Lava Gormiti laughs as the Ancient Guardian fires a stream of fire out of its mouth. "He doesn't strike me as a big collector of precious metals!"
"He's not," Razzle says, "but, to a Rock Gormiti, gold is a nutritious delicacy!" Wait, they eat gold? Why am I not surprised by this?
"I don't get it," Jessica says, confused. "He's stealing their munchies?"
"Well, essentially, yes!" Razzle replies. "Only he's not stealing!" The image shows Drakkon attacking the Rock Gormiti with its fiery breath. "His purpose seems to be maximum destruction!" Well, what else is new? "Cave-ins, landslides, collapses! Warriors need food - this could sway the tide of the war in Magmion's favor!"
With this said, the four of us run to stand around the Gorm Gate. "And every collapse in Gorm is another landslide here!" Lucas adds.
"Good old cause and effect!" I say as I shrug. "Gotta love it!"
"Your mission," Razzle tells us, looking serious, "is to stop Magmion!"
"Elementals!" we cry out.
"Air!" Jessica begins.
"Water!" I yell.
"Forest!" Lucas shouts.
"Earth!" Nick finishes.
As one, we chant, "Reveal to us the Keeper and give to them your chair!"
The chair starts to slowly stop spinning with Razzle announcing, "And the Keeper is..." The chair comes to a stop, displaying a light-blue icon with the Air symbol on the back. "...Air!" He dashes over to Jessica and says, "That's you, kid!"
Jessica runs over and jumps into the chair which rises up until she can reach the control panel. "Alright, boys!" she calls out as she props up the picture against one of the crystals. "Let's get Gorm-al and go for the gold!"
When the Gorm Gate is activated, the three of us, along with Razzle, jump in. "And...touchdown!" Jessica says as we finally land. "We're looking good! Travel Tome confirms a bulls-eye!"
Well, we are in the Earth Nation which is where we're supposed to be. It's just that... "Yeah," Razzle says nervously. "I'll say!"
"Attack!" Magmion yells from Drakkon's back. Flying alongside them is a winged Lava Gormiti we've never seen before. They head away from us, towards a few Earth Gormiti who we recognize from previous encounters, one of them being Bullrock.
Drakkon releases a stream of fire from his mouth causing the two Earth Gormiti to cry out as they run in opposite directions to try and avoid being hit with the worst of the flames. They both fall painfully to the ground but they could have been hurt a lot worse.
Meanwhile Magmion's companion fires several small flames out of his hands at a third Earth Gormiti - Steelback - who turns and defends himself with his, uh, steel back? Well, it's like a shell, isn't it?
We wait patiently for our chance to strike. After a while, Jessica finally announces, "You're good to glow!"
"Elemental powers flow, Gormiti - Lords of Nature, go!" the three of us yell together.
"Powers of the Sea!" I cry out as I transform.
"Ah," Magmion says once we've all transformed. "The Lords of Nature!"
"The Lords of Nature are back in town!" I tell him as I frown while pointing at him. Magmion laughs and Drakkon roars as he swoops down towards us. "Aqua Blast!" I yell, releasing a stream of water from my stomach.
Lucas fires off a bark-like fist, crying out, "Blast of Bark!"
"Rock Storm!" Nick shouts, shooting several small and sharp rocks out of his hand.
Drakkon moves to the side slightly, avoiding most of our attacks. "I wondered how long it would take you to show up!" Magmion says before letting out a pained cry and clutching his arm as one of Nick's rocks hits him. "Fire, Drakkon!"
We are forced to dive out of the way as Drakkon obediently fires a stream of fire at us. I turn so I am laying on my back. "Lava loser!" I yell. "Take that!" I release a steady stream of water globes that hit Drakkon dead-on. However he recovers quickly and flies with Magmion past us into a cave entrance, causing us to cry out with surprise.
The three of us exchange glances before we follow them in. If they're trying to make a getaway, we won't let them. Jessica projects her image alongside us as we run. "Whoa, guys!" she exclaims. "I don't know what's up but you're using up a lot of power just being in there!" Suddenly her image starts to flicker and glitch. We can barely make out what she is saying, though it sounds like, "Can you guys even hear me?"
As her image flickers worse than before, Nick yells, "Jess, you're not coming through! There's heavy signal interference!" Suddenly her image disappears altogether as he finishes with, "We can't even hear you!"
There is no response. Jessica is nowhere to be seen or heard. "There's something weird about this place..." I mutter as we try to keep track of Magmion and Drakkon.
Eventually, we stop as we come across a fork in our path. We look around for any sign of Magmion or Drakkon, refusing to believe we had lost sight of them.
My eyes dart across from one tunnel to the other. I turn towards the others to ask which direction we should go when I feel searing pain. I cry out as a fireball slams into me, sending me flying backwards into a wall.
The impact causes small chunks of rock from the roof to fall down amongst us. I look up and glare at Magmion who declares, "Time for the flame game!"
Drakkon opens his mouth and releases a stream of fire, forcing Nick and Lucas to run in order to avoid being burnt. Lucas doesn't escape entirely unharmed, however, as the lava dragon swings his tail right into him, knocking him to the ground.
Magmion then points at me and Drakkon once again fires his fiery breath but I am ready, retaliating with ice-cold water globes. They hit Drakkon, causing his attack to cease. However, as he flies past, he swings his tail out and sends me crashing back into the wall for a second time.
The crumbling is starting to get worse. As I struggle to get to my feet, for a moment, I think I hear Jessica's voice calling out my name fearfully. "Magmion..." I say through gritted teeth as I fire as many water globes as I can at him.
His laughter continues as the number of water globes I am able to produce starts to lessen. I have the awful feeling I know what's coming and sure enough I feel myself returning to normal. My powers must have run down!
"Oh no!" I exclaim as I look down at my now-human hands. "I'm out!" Drakkon, apparently not caring that I now have no way of defending myself, roars and fires a stream of fire. I cry out as I dive out of the way.
As the roof continues to crumble, I call out, "Nick!"
"I'm on it!" he calls back. A moment later, the rocks start to float upwards, sealing the hole in the roof.
Before we have time to do anything else, Magmion hits Nick from behind with a blast of fire, causing him to collide heavily with the wooden support keeping the cave stable.
As the crumbling and shaking begins again, Magmion says, "And now to finish the job!" He fires a blast directly at the support which breaks immediately. I cry out as the roof loses support and starts to crumble even more.
"Cave-in!" Nick yells as I whimper and make myself as small as possible while he uses his rock-hard body to protect me. I can hear the sounds of the rocks falling around us and, judging from the volume of the thuds they make as they hit the ground, they're getting bigger.
Once the worst of it is over, we stand up. "Watch out!" Nick yells in warning before letting out a cry. I turn my head and watch in horror as he powers down too. This is not good. Not good at all!
"Lucas!" Okay, this time I know that was Jessica's voice I just heard, especially since Nick seems to have heard it too.
"Jungle Attack!" we hear him yell before he adds, "I can't hold it for long!"
"Come, Drakkon!" Magmion shouts. "Our work has only just begun!" What does he mean by that?
Nick and I watch as he and Drakkon go further into the cave, Magmion laughing triumphantly. The roof is coming down without a doubt and neither of us want to risk being trapped in here without our powers.
"Lucas, come on!" Nick yells as we head for the exit.
"Go on!" he calls after us. "I'm right behind you!"
We run, panting heavily, as more and more rocks start to fall. The entire cavern is shaking as we finally see the exit and dash towards it.
There are loud thuds behind us. Nick and I turn around and gasp. Blocking the entrance are several boulders which means only one thing - Lucas is trapped!
"Lucas!" we yell together, backing away slightly. I feel Razzle climb up onto my shoulder as we stare at the blocked entrance in disbelief.
"The Lord is buried! Dig! Dig!" Steelback says urgently.
We get to work right away. The Earth Gormiti take on the heavier rocks - with Bullrock punching through them with his fists - while Nick and I move the smaller rocks. Even Razzle is doing his bit to try and free Lucas!
Eventually, it becomes apparent that we cannot move any more rocks. "This would be so much easier if we still had our powers!" I complain.
Jessica projects her image beside us. "Are you guys alright?" she asks worriedly.
"We're fine," Nick says, "but Lucas..."
"Can't you gate him out of there?" I ask.
After a couple of moments, she shakes her head and looks apologetic. "No can do, Toby! There's some sort of magic - or something - in there that's preventing me from being able to gate him back home! I could barely communicate with you guys while you were in there!"
"So he's stuck in there?" I say incredulously.
"For now," she replies. "At least...until we figure out a way to get him out of there!"
Nick looks around. "At least the attack seems to be over!" he says with relief before wondering aloud, "But where's Magmion?"
Suddenly I hear a strange noise. It sounds like muffled yelling. "Hey!" I exclaim, getting everyone's attention. "Listen!"
Everybody presses an ear to the rock and the yelling becomes clearer. "I'm here! Here!" Nick and I exchange excited glances as we immediately recognize the voice.
"Lucas!" we yell. I look around and pick up a small pebble before tapping against the rock with it.
"Lucas!" I call, continuing to tap.
"Toby!" he calls back, sounding relieved.
"Lucas, Lucas, we're coming for ya! Hang on!" I tell him.
"I'm okay!" he says before suggesting, "Hey, just get Jessica to pull me back home!"
Of course, Lucas doesn't know that that isn't possible. "It's a no-go, buddy!" I inform him. "She's got interference causing some kind of...signal block on ya!"
When Lucas replies, he speaks with a foe that suggests he's trying to act calmer than he feels. "Alright, alright, no biggie! I think I can find another way out of here!"
Jessica projects her image beside us again. "Tell him I'll keep trying!" she says before letting out a groan and adding worriedly, "Something's wrong! I'm bringing you two back!"
Nick and I look up as the portal forms above our heads. We rise up into it, coming out of the Gorm Gate. "By the orbs of Gorm!" we say together.
When we look around at the Keeper's chair, we see, to our surprise, that it's empty. "Jessica?" we ask as we run over to the chair, wondering where she could have gone.
"Up here!" she calls and we both gasp as we see a wave of dirt coming down the stairs. "A little help, please? Help!"
We run up the stairs as quickly and as carefully as we can. Neither of us want to slip and fall on the dirt.
I reach the top of the stairs before Nick does and see Jessica struggling to close the washing machine door, which is where all the dirt is flowing from. I head over and push both my hands against it and it finally closes. I lower myself down onto one knee, letting out a sigh of relief, as Jessica and I continue to hold the door shut.
"Kids, hello?" we all hear Dad call and we gasp before screaming in unison. "You at home?"
I leap to my feet as Nick cries, "Oh, no!"
"It's Dad!" I exclaim.
"Shut the stairs! Shut the stairs!" Jessica says frantically.
Quickly I wave my hand across the panel which slides shut and we all watch the stairs disappear and the floor returns to normal.
"Hello?" Dad calls again. "Boys?"
Razzle lets out a gasp and dives into the clothes basket, hiding within the clothes. It's a good thing, too, as Dad opens the door a moment later and exclaims, "Where'd all this dirt come from? My kitchen is a no-spill zone!"
"We know, Dad!" I say quickly. How are we meant to explain this? "This is a... a science project for school!" I invent.
Jessica catches on immediately. "We're...making a worm farm!" she adds, walking over to us.
Suddenly the doorbell rings. I didn't think we were expecting any visitors today! "Door, Dad!" I say. Dad looks at us suspiciously before leaving to go and answer the door.
We breathe a sigh of relief. Razzle pokes his head out of the clothes. "That was close!" he states.
Before we get the chance to do anything, though, Dad comes back. Razzle quickly dives back underneath the clothes. "Guess who it was?" he says excitedly. "Paula!"
I groan. "Tell her we're not here!" I say irritatedly, only to let out an "oh" when she steps out from behind Dad. Is today the day when every person who annoys me - Madison and Paula, mainly - show up to, well, annoy me?
"Thisis not a science project for school!" she says, frowning as she steps forward. "It's soil! Soil from your evil alien homeworld brought here in that!" She points to our washing machine and exclaims, "Your spaceship! Disguised as a normal Planet Earth washing machine!"
Okay, she's officially lost it! How does that even make sense? Dad doesn't seem to know what to make of it either as he says awkwardly, "Well, uh, I'll just leave you to your little games!" before leaving.
We wait until Dad has gone before all three of us frown at Paula who turns to look at us. I put on my alien commander voice and say, "I'm sorry but I'm afraid you know way too much! You've become a risk to me, my crew and the success of our mission!" I walk towards her and she backs away fearfully until she has stepped out of the pantry. "As such, I have to remove you from the equation!"
"W-wait! S-stay back!" she stutters. "What does that mean?
In reply, I slam the doors shut. As we head back down to the Primal Pad, we hear her let out a frustrated scream.
Once we reach the bottom of the stairs, Jessica goes to sit in the Keeper's chair while Nick and I begin pacing impatiently.
"Don't push it, Toby!" Jessica says after a while. "She's wrong about the aliens but we don't want her finding out about the Gormiti!"
"Never mind her!" I say as we stop by our orbs to check on their progress. "Get us back to Lucas!"
Nick shakes his head, glancing at my orb.
"No can do!" he tells me. "Still charging!" I let out a frustrated growl. Lucas is stuck in that mine and we're stuck here doing nothing.
We both look at Jessica who seems to be focusing on making some sort of contact with Lucas. Judging by the way she slams her fist against the control panel after a while, it's pretty obvious that her attempts haven't been very successful.
"Not having any luck?" Nick asks her and she gives him a what do you think? look.
"I'd have an easier time getting a date for the Spring Fling I never went to, that's for sure!" she complains. "I don't see a way around this signal block!"
My head snaps up as soon as I hear the word 'date'. Realizing that I need to say something before they start to get suspicious, I ask, "You think there's something other than gold in that mine?"
"What makes you say that?" Jessica asks in reply.
"Well, think about it," I say. "If all Magmion wanted to do was destroy the mine, then..."
"Why go deeper in instead of trying to get out?" Nick finishes for me.
We go silent as we think about it for a moment. Eventually, Nick breaks the silence by saying, "Well, whatever it is, it must be pretty powerful!"
"Which explains why Magmion's after it!" I add. Magmion's the type to destroy stuff just to get his hands on something powerful.
"And it could also explain why your signals were being blocked from reaching the Primal Pad!" Jessica states.
"Whoa!" Nick cries out suddenly and I open my eyes, having closed them briefly. The screen shows a group of pyramids but that's not the strange thing. The glowing blue symbol, on the other hand... "Either our dimensional rift has escalated..."
"...or Lucas is in some kind of new trouble!" Jessica finishes worriedly. We watch her wave her hands over the crystals as she calls out, "Lucas, can you hear me?" All that happens is the image on the screen being replaced with static.
Undeterred, she continues moving the crystals around, trying different movements and slotting them into different slots. Nothing seems to work, though.
I glance at our orbs. They've charged up a fair bit since we last checked but not fully. How long is it going to take?
Suddenly Jessica lets out a startled cry. "Lucas!" she exclaims. "Can you hear me?" The static on the screen has been replaced with an image of Lucas crouching inside a fallen tree trunk. "Lucas? Lucas!"
"Jess!" Lucas says frantically. "I found Magmion! Quick - look up Undernet and Skeleton Key!"
Jessica picks up a book and quickly flicks through the pages. "Way ahead of you! The Skeleton Key can only be destroyed with mega Gormiti force!" she tells him.
Lucas looks worried. "Believe me, I would if I could!" he says before his face looks fearful and he backs away slightly.
"You can't win a war with would's and could's!" Magmion sneers as Drakkon peers down one end of the tree trunk Lucas is hidden inside.
Suddenly Troncalion pushes them aside and we see Lucas' expression brighten. "Troncalion, yes!" he exclaims before jumping onto the Ancient Guardian's head. "Go, go!" he says, pointing the way towards the exit.
Troncalion starts running but Magmion isn't one to give up easily. "Fly, my lava steed, fly!" he commands Drakkon who takes off into the sky, chasing Lucas and Troncalion down.
We watch them clear the river and enter the Undernet once more before the screen starts to go all static-y again. It alternates between static and working images. From what we can see and hear, Magmion is firing attacks at Lucas and Troncalion who are avoiding them.
"We've got rift! Major rift! Worldwide!" Jessica exclaims worriedly.
I've had it with standing around here and waiting so I grab Nick's arm. "Come on! We're getting Lucas!"
He looks at me, his eyes wide in surprise. "But we're still not charged!" he protests.
"'But we're still not charged!'" I say, mocking him. "Come on!"
"Good to glow!" Jessica confirms as we jump through the Gorm Gate. "We're looking good!"
The two of us land, transformed, outside the mine where the Earth Gormiti are standing. Now, all we have to do is wait for Lucas to get out.
We watch the entrance for what seems like forever when suddenly the rocks blocking it begin flying in all directions and there is a huge bang. Two huge shapes rush out of the dust cloud and as we turn to look at them, we see that they are Magmion and Drakkon chasing after...Lucas and Troncalion!
"He's clear!" Nick calls out. "Good to glow! Good to glow!"
"Ah! No!" Magmion yells as Lucas transforms before tackling him off of Drakkon. They hit the ground with a thud, landing separately. Drakkon flies off - I'm not sure if he's noticed that he no longer has a rider.
We all start running over as Magmion starts to get up and try to escape. "Jungle Attack!" Lucas yells as his arm transforms into a strong, brown vine. He wraps it around Magmion and flings him to the ground in front of us.
Magmion looks up at us as we step forward. "The Lords of Nature!" he exclaims as we all glare at him. I hear Troncalion growling in the background.
Razzle seems to get a little over-enthusiastic as he says eagerly, "Get him! Use your left! Your left!" Judging by the groan and the thud that follows, I'm pretty sure he just accidentally knocked himself out!
I reach my hand out and try to grab Magmion but he leaps back before jumping above our heads and landing behind us. "Fools!" he shouts as he turns to face us. "You can't stop me! I'll be back and you'll never know where or when I'll strike because..." He holds up the blue thing he is wearing around his neck. "...I have the key!"
"Key?" Lucas says innocently. "What key?" He fires off a bark-like fist which hits the - what is apparently a key - out of Magmion's hand, causing him to gasp.
"No!" he yells, lunging forward to try and reach it. As he runs towards it, Troncalion raises his leg before bringing his...hoof down on it, shattering it into many tiny pieces. "The key!"
"Oh, that key!" Lucas says as he walks up beside Troncalion who is growling. "Troncalion says 'No key for you!'" he translates.
Jessica projects her image beside him. "Alright, Troncalion!" she cheers.
Magmion doesn't seem to share her enthusiasm. "Idiots!" he shouts, getting to his feet. "You have no idea what you've done!" He jumps up high and lands on Drakkon's back.
As we watch them fly away, I say, "Uh, yeah..."
"We do!" Nick finishes for me as we look at each other.
We walk over to Lucas and Troncalion. "Guess we'd better be going now, right?" Nick says.
"Um, guys, do you think we could head to the Forest Nation first?" Lucas asks us. "I want to thank Troncalion there. It's where we both feel at home!"
We nod and, after the Earth Gormiti thank us for our help, walk to the Forest Nation, Troncalion lumbering alongside us.
When we arrive, Nick and I stand back while Lucas steps forward to thank Troncalion. "Thank you, Troncalion!" he says gratefully. "You really saved my butt!"
Troncalion lets out a growl and Lucas turns his head towards us as he tells us, "He says he's only returning the favour!"
"Well, you don't have to worry anymore!" Nick points out. "Now that the key has been destroyed, the Undernet can't be used for evil!"
"Come on!" I say. "Last one home is a rotten orb!"
The portal begins to form above our heads. As we rise into it, Troncalion lets out a growl. I'm pretty sure we don't need Lucas translating to know that he's saying goodbye.
"By the orbs of Gorm!" we say together as we come up through the Gorm Gate. We notice that Jessica is not in the Keeper's chair and look around to see her tiptoeing towards the stairs.
As we run towards her, she turns to face us, holding her hand up to stop us as she hisses, "Shhh! Paula's back!" Great.
"By the orbs of Gorm!" I whisper.
We stand at the bottom of the stairs waiting for her to leave. We can't leave the Primal Pad until she's gone!
When we can no longer hear her footsteps above us, we quickly take the opportunity to head back up to the pantry. As we busy ourselves with the washing, I pull the door closed.
"A-ha!" Paula says as she opens the doors. She makes a noise of confusion as we continue to work.
I turn around. "Oh, hey there, Paula!" I say. "I guess we didn't hear you come in! Say, did you ever get that problem fixed with your washing machine?"
"My washing machine?" she shrieks. "No! It was yours that went all glooey!"
I smirk at her as Nick says innocently, "Don't know what you're talking about! It's working fine!" as he gestures to our now-working washing machine.
Paula lets out a frustrated noise before turning on her heel and marching away. We watch her leave, laughing as we do so. The four of us exchange smirks. Hopefully she wouldn't bother us as much - oh, wait, what am I saying? It's Paula. She'll never give up on this fascination of proving we're not normal, will she?
After we've calmed ourselves, I say to the others, "Well, I don't know about any of you but I fancy a trip to Mabel's! Anyone coming?"
Nick and Lucas both decline, saying they have stuff to do, but Jessica's face lights up. "Ooh, I will!" she says excitedly. "I could do with a slice of her chocolate cake!"
"Jess, you say that every time we go!" I point out as I grin at her.
She pouts and mutters, "I don't say it that often!" causing me to burst out laughing. This causes her to frown as she says, "Are we actually going or are you just going to laugh about my liking for chocolate?"
Liking? She loves chocolate! In fact, if I were to look up 'chocoholic' in the dictionary, I could imagine her picture being the definition! I don't say this, though, instead nodding and saying, "Sure."
We leave after saying goodbye to Nick and Lucas and start to walk towards Mabel's. Neither of us say anything which is weird for me because I have plenty of thoughts in my head. None of them are ones I wish to vocalize, though - I'd be permanently embarrassed if I did.
I feel something soft hesitantly touching my hand. When I look down, I see Jessica's hand slipping into mine. I smile as I look over at her but she seems determined not to make eye contact with me. The blush on her face is obvious, though.
Equally determined to get her to look at me, I entwine our fingers together and rub my thumb over the back of her hand. Almost immediately, she turns her head to face me, her eyes wide with surprise. "Hey," I say softly.
"H-Hi," she squeaks, her face redder than ever. She looks so adorable! And yes, I did just think that. I figure that, since I end up thinking them anyway, there's no longer any point in denying the thoughts I have about her. If she only knew, she'd be blushing a lot more. She has an effect on me, that - I can admit, but I genuinely had no idea that I had any effect on her.
My mouth feeling dry all of a sudden, I decide to tease her. "Not very eloquent right now, huh?"
She pouts again and stutters, "S-shut up!" For a moment, we are both silent before we start laughing.
We are still laughing when we finally arrive at Mabel's. The bell on the door tingles as we step inside. "Oh, hello there, dearies!" Mabel says warmly. "No Nick and Lucas today?"
I shake my head and Mabel smiles, "Not to worry! So what will it be today?"
"A bacon sandwich and a soda for me, please!" I say eagerly.
"And I'll have a hot chocolate and a slice of chocolate cake, please!" Jessica says and Mabel writes our order down on a notepad.
"I'll have it ready in a jiffy, dearies!" she tells us.
"Thanks, Granny Mabel!" we say together.
I turn to Jessica and say, "Why don't you go get us a table? I'll wait here and pay for the food." She starts to protest but eventually nods and walks away.
As I watch her, I seem to go into a trance. For some reason, she's all I can think about and I don't really want to think about anything else. Geez, even when she isn't near me, she still manages to turn my brain into mush! I seriously need help!
"Are you alright, dearie?" I notice a hand being waved in front of my face and snap out of my trance to see Granny Mabel standing in front of me holding a tray with our food on it.
"S-sorry, Granny Mabel!" I say apologetically as I pay for the food. "I don't know what happened!"
She gives me a knowing smile which confuses me as I walk over to the table Jessica is sitting at and sit down, placing everything down on the table.
As we start to eat, Jessica asks with concern, "Are you okay, Toby?"
Hearing her voice almost makes me fall out of my chair...almost. "I'm fine," I say in what I hope is a reassuring tone.
Apparently, it doesn't work as she frowns and says, "Are you sure? It looks like something's really bothering you!"
Not just something - a lot of things. I sigh, realizing she won't let this drop. I put down my sandwich, take a gulp of soda and say, "Well, have you ever wanted something that could be so amazing and wonderful yet you're afraid to take the risk because it could ruin something amazing and wonderful you already have?"
"I don't think so," she replies honestly. "It'd help if you told me what it was really about."
My eyes go wide. Telling Jessica that I might actually li- okay, we're stopping there - is the epitome of a bad idea. "Um, I can't explain it right now!" Or ever!
"That, or you just don't want to!" she points out and my eyes go wide. How can she know? Sometimes I swear she knows me better than I do which is ironic because she has told me on various occasions that I seem to know her better than she does!
"So, anyway," I laugh nervously before growing serious. I look her straight in the eyes as I speak. "Jess, I want you to promise me something. Promise me that if you're ever hurt, if you feel like you're alone and everything's overwhelming you, promise that you'll talk to me. Don't bottle everything up - it's not healthy. Promise me."
Her expression is unreadable at first and I worry that my request had been too bold. Then she gives me a small but radiant smile as she says, "Okay, but only if you promise to do the same!"
I smile back at her as I nod my head. I feel kind of worried about promising to burden her with my troubles when she already has enough to deal with herself. However I know that she would feel incredibly hurt if I was hiding something and didn't tell her because I didn't think she could handle it.
We finish eating while chatting about random things, including whether our Math and English teachers are dating - apparently, she heard that rumor from Gina.
We stand up to leave and walk towards the exit, remembering to thank Granny Mabel. As we approach the door, I place my hand on Jessica's shoulder. To my slight amusement, she jumps. "You go on ahead," I tell her. "I need to ask Granny Mabel about something."
She takes the hint and pulls me into a hug which I didn't expect. I'm certainly not complaining, though. We stand for a few moments just holding each other tightly before she pulls away and walks out the door.
As I walk over to the counter, I feel relieved that nobody else is here. This conversation is gonna be awkward enough without other people listening in.
"Anything I can help you with, dearie?" Granny Mabel asks.
I take a deep breath. "When you said you'd seen that look before, what did you mean?" I question.
She smiles and says only one word. "Lovestruck!" Upon seeing what mùst have been a confused expression on my face, she adds, "The way you were looking at Jessica reminded me of the way I used to look at the boy I once loved. It was as though, in that moment, she was the most important person in the world to you."
I stare at her, completely speechless. How can she have known that Jessica was indeed all I was thinking about at that time? I didn't think I was being that obvious!
"Tell me one thing," Granny Mabel says. "Do you care about her?"
My head snaps up as I blurt out, "Of course I do! She means everything to me!" As soon as the words leave my mouth, my heart starts to beat faster. I really messed up this time!
"Let me tell you a story," Granny Mabel says and I look at her as she begins her tale.
"When I was around your age, perhaps a little older, I had a best friend named Geoffrey Midhurst. We were neighbors and our mothers practically raised us together. I don't remember exactly when it happened but over the years of us growing up together, I came to develop feelings for him. I never told him, though. I was too afraid of ruining our friendship."
She pauses to wipe her eyes before continuing, "Eventually, on my twenty-third birthday, I decided to tell him the truth about how I felt. I approached him at my party and we were talking when he suddenly gave me a card. When I read it, my heart broke."
"What was it?" I ask, even though I'm pretty sure I know the answer already.
She smiles sadly. "A wedding invitation," she says. "Turns out he was engaged to a classmate of ours - Felicity Taylor. I waited too long and I lost my chance. I remember fleeing from my own party. I ran home, went straight to my room, threw myself onto the bed and cried for hours."
"I'm sorry," I say, not knowing what else I can say.
"It's alright, dearie. It's all in the past now. We're still on good terms," she assures me.
I appreciate the story but I'm not really sure why she's telling me all this. "Now you said that you care for her, correct?" Granny Mabel asks and I nod, not seeing any point in denying it. "Your problem is that you're afraid to admit it. Not just to her but also to yourself. Admitting your feelings would mean having to accept that you can no longer see her as just a friend."
"But I don't..." I start to protest but she holds her hand up to stop me.
"You and I both know that you cannot deny that you hold her in high regard. Perhaps you don't know it yet but you care for her more than I think you even realize."
Suddenly she looks up at me. Her eyes, usually shining with joy, are filled with sorrow and regret. "Please...don't make the same mistake I made! Accept your own feelings and it will make things much easier. If you cannot accept them yourself, how can you expect her to accept them if you were ever to admit the truth? Don't let your fears get the better of you like I did or you'll live the rest of your life regretting it."
I thank her and leave. Jessica is standing outside waiting for me. It surprises me because I was under the impression she would have gone home. Still, I am happy to see her, even if my mind is a jumbled mess right now.
"You find out what you wanted to know?" she asks me curiously.
"Sort of," I reply, Mabel's words ringing in my brain. Talking to her had indeed helped but, at the same time, it had also made things worse.
As we start to head for home, she once again slips her hand into mine which I accept without complaint. My head is swimming, though. All I can think about is what Mabel told me and whether there could be any truth to it.
I care about Jessica, of course - there's no denying that! But could I really, actually have...?
This is all so confusing and complicated! I don't even think I can trust my own thoughts anymore. Granny Mabel was right - I am afraid! 'Accept your own feelings and it will make things much easier.'
The question is: what feelings am I supposed to accept?
AN: Hey, guys, sorry this took forever to write but hopefully you enjoy it all the same. Thank you all so much for sticking with me and being so patient with my uploads!
See you next time!