AN: Hello and welcome back to ROTLON! I really do hope you guys are enjoying reading this so far and I'd just like to apologize once again for how long it takes to get these chapters written and uploaded.
But without further ado, let the chapter...begin! (If you live in the UK, you'll get this reference)
"Not again!" I groan as Nick beats me at our new video game. Again. "How about best of five?"
"Sure," he agrees, shrugging. "Though you know I'm going to beat you every time, right?"
"Fat chance!" I grin as I use the controller to return to the main menu of the game. Just as I'm about to select the Continue option, Mom and Dad walk in, carrying several empty cardboard boxes.
"Ah, there you are, boys!" Mom says, walking over and placing a box each in front of us. "There's no time for video games - today we're clearing out the garage for a yard sale!"
Before either of us can say anything, Dad says, "And the two of you will be helping out too!"
Nick and I look at each other and shrug. I guess our video game would have to be put on hold for now. We pick up our boxes which I notice have "SALE" written on with black pen.
We follow Mom and Dad to the garage and place our boxes down on the ground. A lot of the stuff in here brings back memories, old toys and things like that. "Alright, the boxes are labelled keep and sale!" Mom tells us. "Anything you want to keep, you put it in the keep box. Anything you don't want anymore, you put in the sale box, okay."
"But don't just put everything in the keep box!" Dad says, looking at me in particular. "We need to have things to actually sell."
With that, we begin rifling through a huge box of items we haven't seen or used for years. Nick and I begin tossing things in our boxes. Surprisingly we have a pretty even amount of items in both boxes.
Suddenly Dad lets out a gasp. "Hey, would you look at that? I bet we can fetch a pretty penny for these!"
Nick and I walk over to see what he's talking about and we see our old Captain Gecko action figure collection. I gasp. "Whoa, Dad, not Captain Gecko!" I exclaim, putting my hands on my head.
"You can't sell that!" Nick agrees, taking one of the figures dressed as a soldier out of Dad's hands while I take the other soldier and cowboy figures.
"Really?" Mom asks, raising an eyebrow at us.
I back away, clutching the figures to my chest. "Really, truly, really!" I insist. "No, really!"
"Tell you what," Mom suggests. "If you boys help with the sale, you can keep your toys!" I bite down my indignant gasp - I can't believe Mom just called our action figures toys!
Apparently Nick can't either as he whines, "Mom! They're not toys - they're priceless action figures!"
Mom smiles as she says, "Of course! And if you don't help out, we get to sell them! Deal?"
Nick and I nod our heads in agreement. We don't seem to have any other choice and we are not losing Captain Gecko. So I guess our morning is going to be spent sorting through all this stuff. This could take hours!
"Well, we've got to make a start on lunch so we'll leave you to it!" Dad says as he and Mom walk back into the house.
We begin sorting through the old items. It's boring but the thought of losing Captain Gecko motivates us to work harder. After a while, I sigh. "There's no way we can get this done ourselves! What do you say we get some help?"
Nick nods in agreement so I pull out my phone and send a text to Lucas and Jessica. It shouldn't take them too long to get here.
Sure enough, about ten minutes later, we hear panting and running footsteps as our friends appear in the entrance to the garage.
"What's the big emergency?" Lucas asks, gasping for breath.
"Yeah," Jessica adds. "I canceled a judo lesson! Is there trouble in Gorm?"
I hold out one of the Captain Gecko figurines and tell them, "Our parents were totally gonna sell our mint-condition series one Captain Gecko - complete with discontinued solar glider!" I push a button on the back of the figure and plastic wings fold out. I make a shooming noise as I run around with the figure, making it appear to be gliding.
As I run, the figure says Captain Gecko's catchphrase: "Time to get cold-blooded!"
I come to a stop. "We can't abandon our little hero!" I say mournfully.
Jessica rolls her eyes, throwing her arms up in the air. "Right..." she says. "And when was the last time Captain Gecko saved the day? When you were six?"
I blink, unable to come up with a response because it really has been that long. I barely notice Lucas taking the figure out of my hand to examine it.
"Solar glider - awesome!" he exclaims. "Environmentally-conscious toys!"
"Don't ruin it, dude!" I complain as he runs around, making the same noise I had.
"What's up, guys?"
The familiar voice causes us all to scream and, in surprise, Lucas accidentally loses his grip on Captain Gecko! The two of us cry out as the figure sails into the air, only to descend back to Earth. We dive for it to catch it before it hits the ground and luckily Lucas manages it. "Time to get cold-blooded!" the figure says.
Nick lets out a sigh of relief. "This definitely goes in the keep pile!" he says wearily.
Razzle pops his head out of a box filled with our old toys. "I don't know if I mentioned but there's trouble in Gorm!" he tells us.
"No worries!" I say, standing up. "If we hurry, we can get back in time to finish up!"
"But, uh, how are we gonna get past Dad?" Nick asks as we approach the house. "He said he was gonna be making sandwiches and you know that once Dad's in the kitchen, it's near enough impossible to get him out again!"
"I may just have a plan!" Jessica says before whispering it to us. We allow ourselves a small laughing fit due to how genius it is. As we reach the doorway to the kitchen, we poke our heads around it, watching as Dad busies himself with sandwich-making. Jessica turns her head and winks at us before stepping forward while the three of us remain out of sight. "Oh, hi, Mr. Tripp!" she says cheerfully.
Meanwhile I sneak around the other side of the kitchen, making sure to stay light on my feet. I reach the pantry and quietly open the door as Dad responds, "Hi, Jessica!"
"Nice shirt, Dad!" Nick tells him as he walks up to him, allowing Jessica to run into the pantry unnoticed.
"Bet anchovies would be good on that sandwich!" Lucas suggests as Nick joins us.
"Ooh, anchovies!" Dad exclaims as Lucas runs into the pantry, closing the doors behind him. We have to stifle our laughter as we hear him ask if anyone else wants a sandwich, only for Mom to reply that she'd love one, thanks.
After we gain access to the Primal Pad, we run down the steps and stand in front of the control panel. An image appears on the screen of a familiar Sea Gormiti battling against a troop of Lava soldiers. "Apparently our friend Quarry was chasing off some Fire Gormiti when he disappeared!" Razzle informs us. "His entire Water Gormiti tribe fears for his safety!"
"With good reason!" Jessica murmurs. "We know how the flame-heads like to wreak havoc!"
"I've heard the sea levels are rising in Venture Falls! I'll bet the two are connected somehow!" Lucas suggests.
"Let's get this search-and-rescue underway, shall we?" Razzle says and the four of us run to stand around the Gorm Gate.
"Elementals!" we shout.
"Earth!" Nick begins.
"Water!" I yell.
"Forest!" Lucas calls.
"Air!" Jessica 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 announces as the chair slows to a stop, revealing an orange icon with the Earth symbol on the back, "...Earth!"
"Knew it!" Nick exclaims happily as he does some kind of celebratory dance before running towards the control panel.
"Remember - Captain Gecko is counting on you!" I remind him as he runs past me.
He jumps into the chair which brings him level with the control panel before opening the Travel Tome, checking its pages, and manipulating the crystals on the panel to activate the Gorm Gate. "Pedal to the metal!" he exclaims as the three of us jump in, cheering as we do so.
"And...touchdown!" Nick says as we land somewhere in the Lava Nation. "Let's get your powers to full glow!" He then adds, "Okay, Travel Tome says you should be in Lava territory!"
We look around and spot a huge figure nearby. Whoever it is, it doesn't seem like they're moving to greet or attack us. But it does look awfully familiar.
"Uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but that looks like Quarry right there!" Jessica says to us. I can definitely see the resemblance. It really does look like Quarry so why isn't he approaching us?
"Hmm, that's weird! I'm not picking him up over here!" Nick says. "You're good to glow!" he confirms a couple of seconds later and adds a warning of, "But be careful out there!"
"Elemental powers flow, Lords of Nature, go, go, go!" we chant.
"Powers of the Sea!" I yell as I undergo the transformation from human to Super Gormiti.
As soon as we've all transformed, we move towards the Quarry-like figure, only for its head to fall off!? It's just a statue which means...
"It's a trap!"
"Guys," Nick says nervously as he projects his image near us. "I'm reading a power signature with you but it looks too hot to be Water Gormiti!"
"Lava Gormiti!" Razzle gasps.
"Ouch!" Jessica exclaims. I turn to see her holding her arm out in front of her. "I just got stung!"
A second later, there is a bright flash of light and Jessica... completely disappears! Lucas and I rush over to where she had been standing and yell out her name.
"Nick!" I exclaim as Lucas and I look around. "Jessica just disappeared!"
To my surprise, as he projects his image near us, he responds, "No, she's there! I can detect her glow signature but it's really faint - almost non-existent!"
I hope that doesn't mean...no, she's fine, right? Lucas and I begin calling out for her. She has to be around here somewhere!
As I'm trying to shout to her, an insect of some kind starts zooming around my head. I swat at the air with my hand. "Get away!" I say irritatedly. Can't it see I'm trying to find Jessica? "Stupid bug!" Eventually it gives up and flies away. Thank the orbs for that!
I glance at Razzle and shrug before Lucas suddenly exclaims, "Toby, it's Jess!" I let out a gasp as I run over to him. Sure enough, hovering at eye-level, is Jessica...except she's tiny!
"I was hit by a spell from an ugly fire-bug thing!" she explains in a tiny and squeaky voice that we have to strain to hear. "Then - poof! - I'm shopping in the petite section!" Suddenly she lets out a cry as something smacks into her from behind, knocking her to the ground.
"Who are you calling ugly?" An insect-like Lava Gormiti snaps angrily.
"Insecticus!" Razzle exclaims worriedly. Insecticus? Well, I guess the name fits.
I fire a water globe at the bug-sized Lava Gormiti but he easily swerves around it. Unfortunately this means the globe hits Lucas instead...sorry, Lucas! "Uh, my bad!" I say apologetically.
Out of nowhere, Razzle sticks out his tongue. Well, he is a lizard and lizards do eat insects so he should have the advantage! Insecticus, however, grabs hold of it and sends Razzle flying with a pained cry so...maybe not!
"Don't embarrass yourself, lizard!" he snaps. "You don't belong in this battle!" He swoops up into the air before diving down.
"There he is!" I exclaim.
"I see him!" Lucas shouts.
We both start charging towards him and, at the last possible second, Insecticus flies upwards. Unable to stop, Lucas and I crash directly into each other, crying out as we roll onto the ground.
I rub my head as I sit up. "Who would've thought it'd be so tough to fight a bug-sized enemy with a super-sized body?" I ask rhetorically.
"Let me make it easier on you!" Insecticus exclaims, swooping down towards me.
"Ow!" I yell as I feel a sharp pain in my head. The next thing, I know, the world around suddenly looks a lot bigger than it was about two seconds earlier!
"Toby?" Lucas calls out. I watch as he stretches out his vines, yelling out, "Jungle Attack!" Insecticus, however, fires some flaming black dart-like things out of his hand. When they make contact with the vines, Lucas is surrounded by the same light as he gets shrunk down to the same size.
I run over to him as Jessica also rejoins us. "Nick, you've got to gate us back right now!" she exclaims.
"Yeah, we got a little problem there!" Nick says, projecting his image - which now looks massive, by the way - near us. "Rift travel works through mass equilization, meaning only the identical volumetric mass can return once it's been gated out!"
"Mass equili - what?" I ask, not understanding a word of what Nick just said.
Jessica groans. "Could this get any worse?"
"Actually, yes!" Nick responds, almost cheerfully. "Your powers are equally diminished!"
"Well, don't break it to us gently!" I say through gritted teeth. Suddenly a shadow looms over us and I let out a cry as Insecticus swoops down.
"That was almost too easy!" he boasts, flying towards us.
Now that we're teeny-tiny, there really doesn't seem to be much we can do. We're helpless right now. But Razzle seems to have taken a level in courage or something because he steps forward, saying determinedly, "We'll see about that!" The moment gets ruined, though, when Insecticus grabs us and he lets out a fearful scream.
Immediately I begin to struggle in the Lava Gormiti's grip, feeling the others attempting to do the same. His grip tightens and I soon find it hard to breathe. Is it just me or is everything going blurry? All I can hear is laughing but I don't see what the joke is.
I wake up and groan, clutching my head. Judging from our surroundings, we're not where we started. As I try to get my bearings, Jessica exclaims, "Quarry!"
Sure enough, Quarry is also in this - what I have just realised is some kind of dome cage - prison. He looks at us with regret in his eyes, having also been shrunk down. "Lords of Nature, I regret that you were lured here by my capture!" he says ruefully.
"No worries! It's what we do!" I tell him as I stand up. Wait a minute...that's not right... "I mean not get captured - that's not what we do! Although if you think about it..." I realize that I am starting to ramble - I always ramble when in stressful situations because it's distracting.
"I am at your disposal!" Quarry says to us earnestly. "Any assistance I can give, I will!"
"Isn't that generous?" A familiar laughter fills the air and we look up to see none other than Magmion peering at us through the dome case. "Well done, Insecticus!" he congratulates his fellow Gormiti who, in a flash of light, returns to a normal size.
"It was worth the effort just to see you wack that silly lizard halfway across Lava territory!" Insecticus brags, also peering at us. The two of them start laughing again. Jerks. I find myself wondering if Razzle is alright.
Jessica looks worried. "Poor Razzle!" she exclaims. "I hope he's okay!"
"Are you kidding me?" Lucas says, not sounding too concerned. "Razzle's as tough as they come!" Well, that's debatable.
Magmion continues laughing. "Not very threatening now, are you?" he says almost gleefully. "You see, with Insecticus, I can shrink and capture the leaders of every Gormiti territory! Then not only will I have all my enemies to keep as trophies, I'll also be able to spread my liquid fire across Gorm without anyone to stand in my way!" He finishes his monologue with more evil laughter.
Without warning, he lifts the lid off the case and puts his hand inside. Before I have a chance to react, I feel him picking me up. "Hey!" I cry out. "Hands off!" He lifts me out of the case and begins to swing his arm around. I've never suffered from motion sickness before but there's always a first time for everything as I start to feel a little woozy.
In desperation, I transform my right hand into a claw and pinch Magmion. He lets out a pained cry and loosens his grip, sending me flying. "Toby!" Lucas and Jessica yell. I hit a rock wall and slide to the floor, slightly stunned, before noticing that I am right next to some steps leading up and out of the cavern. If I can get out, I can go and get help.
I start running up the steps which, considering my size, is exhausting work as they are quite large and I can't cover as much distance in as much time as I could if I were my normal size. I've barely reached the fourth step - or was it the fifth? - when Magmion walks over, laughing mockingly at me. He blocks my path with his foot before scooping me back up again, causing me to cry out.
"Enough playing!" he snaps. "I've got a world to conquer!" He unceremoniously drops me back inside the case before covering it with the lid and leaving with Insecticus who returns to insect-size.
Lucas holds his hand out, perhaps to help me up. "I'm fine," I insist, a little breathlessly as I get to my feet.
"I don't get it!" he exclaims. "What does shrinking Gormiti have to do with rising ocean levels?"
Nick projects his image above us. "Glad you asked!" he says. "With reports of entire coastal regions vanishing across the globe, I did a little analysis of my own! The ocean levels aren't rising - the land is shrinking!"
I think for a moment before guessing, "So the more adversaries Magmion shrinks, the smaller the continents become!"
"If we don't stop him soon, the whole planet will be submerged!" Lucas adds.
Nick grins suddenly. "Before we break out our scuba gear, I do have a bit of good news!" he tells us. "It seems Insecticus' miniaturization spell is tied to geography. If you can escape the Lava territory, the effects of the spell will wear off!"
Well, that can't be too hard! "Rocking!" I exclaim happily. "What is it, like a mile to the border? Easy peasy!"
"Not when we're the size of action figures!" Jessica points out.
Wait a minute...action figures?
"Bro!" I address Nick as I remember Captain Gecko. "Our action figures! You gotta stall Mom and Dad!"
"Uh, yeah, priorities..." Nick says nervously.
"Dude, yeah, priorities!" I retort.
"Now's not the time, Toby!" Nick tells me firmly.
My voice starts to get higher as I start to panic at the thought of losing our childhood hero. "It'll be too late if you wait!" I protest. "Think about it - Captain Gecko...gone! Is that what you want!?"
Nick shakes his head, looking slightly alarmed, before groaning and holding up his hand. "Okay, okay, give me a second!" he says before his image disappears from view.
"Well, while Nick plays 'Rescue the Action Figures', we should try and find a way out of here!" Lucas suggests. As one, we all glance up at the top of the case.
"This one's a job for me!" Jessica says, pointing a finger to herself, before flying up and beginning to push against the lid with her hands. Unfortunately she soon begins to struggle with the difference in size between her and the lid. "Nick wasn't kidding!" she gasps, still attempting to push the lid off. "My powers aren't what they used to be!"
Lucas stretches out his vines, helping to push against the lid. With a lot of exertion, the lid is finally pushed aside, revealing the outside world once more.
Jessica flies back down, grabbing hold of Lucas and I before putting us down on the ground away from the case. Quarry has somehow managed to reach the top of the case on his own and stands on the rim.
Just as we think we're safe, Insecticus flies through the mouth of the cave and spots us. "Halt! Escapees!" he shouts. He starts to fly towards us when Quarry leaps off the case, tackling him to the ground, causing us to gasp.
"Go!" he insists as he holds Insecticus down. "You must return to your normal size so you can stop Magmion!"
I hate the thought of leaving him behind like this. And, as I look at Jessica for a moment, the frown on her face tells me she feels the same. "We'll be back for you!" Lucas tells him. "I promise!"
With that, we start heading towards the stairs. Jessica flies up while Lucas and I pull ourselves up using the jagged rocks hanging down from the roof. In no time at all, we reach the top and start running around the upper level, searching for an exit.
It doesn't take us long before all three of us are panting with exhaustion but we can see the exit just up ahead. When we reach it, however, we are forced to come to a stop as the path ends, a huge flow of lava beneath us. And it's a long way down.
"Okay, that totally puts a crimp in our escape!" Jessica complains, deciding to state the obvious. For a moment, I want to remind her that she could easily just fly us all to safety but I remember what Nick said about our powers being as tiny as we are and hold my tongue.
Laughter fills the air and we spin around as Magmion starts to approach us, judging from the shadow we can see creeping around on the wall. "Who's up for a little summertime blues?" Lucas asks as he casually fires a bark-like fist at a ledge. "Blast of Bark!"
The impact causes part of the ledge to break off and fall onto the lava. "Let's do this!" he yells. Seeing our chance, Lucas and I leap onto the makeshift surfboard while Jessica flies above our heads. Guess it's time to go lava surfing!
We sail down the flow of lava, cheering happily. It might be a thousand times more dangerous than normal surfing but, hey, it's fun!
Eventually we start to reach a point where there is a wall in our path. And this thing didn't come equipped with brakes! "Hang on!" Lucas yells as he grabs me with one arm, transforms his other arm into a vine, and uses it to pull us both to safety. Just in the nick of time too, as our makeshift surfboard crashes into the wall and shatters.
"So, uh, which way do we go now?" I ask. Being this small is so disorienting, I don't remember which way is the way out of Lava territory!
"I'll use that ledge to get a better view!" Jessica says, flying up to the bigger ledge in front of us and running up to the edge of it. Meanwhile Lucas and I carefully climb our way up, knowing that one false move meant that we would be done for As we join her, she groans, glancing out at the ocean of lava which seems huge to us. "If I hadn't burnt so much orb to escape our display case, I might have been able to fly all of us across!"
I move up alongside her. "So if things were different, things might have been...different?" I ask before turning to face the sea of lava. "Thanks. That's helpful."
"Time to get cold-blooded!"
Wait... is it? I turn around along with the others and see none other than Captain Gecko standing in all his twelve inch high glory. I cannot stop myself from grinning as I exclaim, "Dude, brilliant!" Nick really has the best ideas... well, sometimes.
We walk over to the figure and Jessica flies up to it, pushing the red button on its back that activates the glider feature. "I have a whole new admiration for action figures!" she says admiringly.
"All we have to do is catch a draft of hot lava air and then ride out on the current!" I say to the others. The three of us climb onto Captain Gecko, holding on tightly before moving to the edge of the ledge and waiting.
A few moments later, there is a huge blast followed by a large plume of hot lava air. With no time to lose, we push ourselves off, the hot air keeping us airborne. I'm pretty sure I can hear Magmion yelling angrily in the background, too, but that won't matter much once we're finally out of Lava territory.
We glide across the lava flow and end up heading towards a canyon - a canyon with some kind of...cattle? I didn't know Gorm had these sorts of creatures! Not that it's important. What is important is making sure they don't trample us!
As we head straight towards the stampeding herd, all three of us cry out fearfully. "Go left!" Jessica yells and we swoop in that direction, avoiding the creatures.
I notice a particularly big specimen in our path - probably the leader - and quickly shout, "Go right!" We swerve in the opposite direction this time and, after a few moments, we've finally broken free of the herd. No need to write my will just yet.
"Alright!" Lucas says happily once we're safely out of the herd's way. "Hard part over with!"
We continue to glide over Lava territory. Everything looks different when you're small. I mean I'm not the biggest fan of bugs but to, say, an ant, we must look like giants! Great, I'm comparing myself to an ant now!
Eventually Nick projects his image near us. "How much further?" I ask him, my limbs stiff from sitting in the same position for so long.
"Almost there, guys!" he responds. "As soon as you fly over Precipice Bridge, you're out of Lava territory!"
Suddenly a blast of fire almost hits us from behind. "Complications!" I yell, glancing over my shoulder to see Insecticus fire another blast that hits its mark - the right wing - causing us to crash land just short of Precipice Bridge.
Luckily none of us appear to be injured in any way as we hear booming footsteps. "Prepare for destruction!" Magmion shouts as he walks up the bridge, blocking our path. "Looks like you have a little problem!" He laughs at his own joke.
That was a terrible joke! And, as much as I hate to admit it, I know a lot about terrible jokes. Heck, I've probably told a few myself!
"We'll prepare for destruction!" Lucas says bravely. "But it won't be ours - it'll be..." Before he has a chance to finish his sentence, Magmion swings his tail at him, forcing him to duck. However he is a little too slow and ends up getting hit, falling backwards.
"Man, we are so not intimidating right now!" I exclaim, looking up at Magmion. The sheer size difference between us and our attempts to get the upper hand will be laughable but we have to try.
Lucas and I charge forward. I stretch out my tentacles and wrap them around Magmion's ankle. When I try to pull, however, I find myself straining. Magmion laughs at my efforts. "Stop it!" he says. I redouble my efforts but it only seems to make him angrier as he yells, "Stop!" before raising his leg in a kicking motion, causing me to cry out as I fly through the air and hit the ground hard.
I notice Lucas approaching them while they are distracted by me. He uses his vines to swing himself up to Magmion by wrapping it around his blade arm. "Nighty-night, Lord of Mediocrity!" He then yells out, "Sleep Spores!"
He creates a cloud of green spores from his mouth which blow right into Magmion's face. Lucas swings himself to safety which is a good thing too because Magmion looks like he's about to blow. By blow, I mean sneeze, of course.
"Uh-oh..." Insecticus mutters, having flown up close, right before Magmion lets rip with a massive sneeze that sends the insect-like Lava Gormiti flying.
Jessica flies up and creates a miniature purple tornado with her hands, aiming it at Magmion. "Wind Attack!" she cries. The wind blows the spores away, causing Magmion who was on the verge of another sneeze to sigh with relief.
"Refreshing!" he says. Jessica ceases her attack and flies towards him, trying to get closer. "Okay, now annoying!" he frowns.
"Energy Bla-" Magmion raises his blade arm, striking Jessica in the back before she can attack once more. She crashes straight into Lucas who had moved forward, probably to try and catch her. The impact sends them backwards until they end up sprawled out at my feet.
I glance up at Magmion who starts laughing with his arms in the air while the others pick themselves up. "He's much better at battling tiny foes than we were!" I say.
Jessica lets out a happy sounding gasp. "Toby!" she exclaims, turning to face me. "You're a genius!"
I can't keep the grin off my face as I respond, "I know!" Nobody's ever told me I'm a genius before - that's usually the sort of compliment Nick gets, not me! Hold on... "What did I say?" I ask, confused.
"Keep Magmion busy!" she tells Lucas and I before flying off into the air.
"Like I have a choice!" I call after her. Magmion then swings his large tail into Lucas and I, knocking us off our feet.
As I lay on the ground, attempting to stand up, I hear Jessica taunting Insecticus. And judging from the angry growl he lets out after a few seconds, it appears to be working.
Lucas and I continue to do our best to battle-slash-distract Magmion, but I think it's less battle distraction and more plain annoyance. "Blast of Bark!" Lucas shouts, firing his wooden fist. It hits Magmion right in the eye, causing him to cry out in pain.
He rubs his eye before snapping, "I'm tiring of your games!" Lucas cries out as Magmion scoops him up.
"Hang on, Lucas!" I yell, trying to help him out by firing water globes at Magmion. "Aqua Blast!" Magmion turns his head and glares at me, causing me to whimper fearfully.
I hear Insecticus say mockingly, "Nice knowing you!" Turning around, I see Jessica flying straight towards Magmion with some of Insecticus' fiery shards behind her. At the last possible second, she swoops upward and the shards collide with Magmion.
In a flash of light, he shrinks down to the same size as us, Lucas dropping out of his hand and landing on the ground. Magmion falls between us, grumbling angrily. "Guess you'll have to pick on someone your own size, Magmion!" Jessica tells him cheekily.
He continues to grumble as we approach. "Get...off...me!" He holds his arm up, Insecticus flying down and picking him up, before flying them both away. "You're an utter waste, Insecticus!" he complains.
"I was thinking the same thing, Lord Magmion!" Insecticus responds. Do Lava Gormiti take insults as compliments or something? Eh, wouldn't surprise me!
"Sloppy!" Magmion snaps.
"Oh, sloppy - that's a new one!" Insecticus sounds impressed. "Thank you, your Mightyness!"
As they disappear from sight, Jessica declares, "Tiny is the new huge!"
"Size is a frame of mind!" I add.
"We rock!" Lucas cheers.
Suddenly we hear the sound of something approaching. I turn my head and exclaim, "Razzle!" in surprise.
Razzle walks towards us, Quarry riding on his back. "I'm unstoppable! Do you hear me?" he says confidently before asking, "Where's Insecticus? I could use a bite-sized snack!"
Wow, I've never seen Razzle act like this before! It's kinda cool!
"Sorry, Razz!" Jessica says, sounding apologetically amused. "He and Magmion just hightailed it outta here!
Razzle lets out a huge sigh of relief as he stands up on his hind legs, Quarry sliding down his back onto the ground. "Thank goodness! All this super-heroing is exhausting! I think I'll leave it to you from now on!"
No, wait, never mind. He's back to normal. I join the others in laughing for a few moments before we turn and start walking towards Precipice Bridge. Lucas leads the way across. As soon as we've reached the other side, there is a flash of light and we all return to our normal size.
"Thank you for all you've done!" Quarry says gratefully. He bows his head, adding, "Once again, I find myself indebted to the Lords of Nature!"
We wish him well as he turns and walks away, heading back home to the Sea Nation. A portal forms above our heads and we grip each other's hands tightly, realizing that Nick must be gating us home.
"By the orbs of Gorm!" we say as we rise up out of the Gorm Gate.
"We'd better get up there!" I tell the others. "Mom and Dad are gonna kill Nick and I for not helping with the sale!" We start running up the stairs when I notice Nick heading towards the Gorm Gate. "Uh, Nick, you coming?"
"Be there in a second!" he calls back. We reach the kitchen, Nick joining us a few moments later and closing the pantry doors behind him.
We walk into the hall and out of the front door to see Mom and Dad standing by a table that had held the items we planned on selling. The sale was most definitely over. "Ah, you're finally here!" Mom says, not looking at all happy. "You're a little late, though - the sale finished fifteen minutes ago!"
"Responsibility!" Dad adds firmly. "A promise is a promise after all!" He doesn't look happy either!
Nick and I both lower our heads. "You're right," Nick says shamefully. "We're sorry. It won't ever happen again."
Mom and Dad frown at us for a few seconds before looking at each other and smiling. We got lucky this time - they could have grounded us!
"Well, you still have Captain Gecko!" Jessica points out before lowering her voice and adding, "You were able to gate him back, right?"
Nick looks awkwardly at his pocket, responding, "Uh, sort of." He pulls Captain Gecko or rather the charred remains of Captain Gecko out of his pocket. Its left foot, right hand and one wing are missing. The remaining wing is bent and burnt beyond repair. "At least he went out a hero!" he says, giving the figure a fond smile.
When it says its catchphrase, it comes out jerky and garbled. I think it's safe to say that Captain Gecko's days as a hero are officially over. We had some good times with him, Nick and I, but I guess we can't hold onto everything, right?
AN: I have to apologize once again for the sporadic updates. Unfortunately they will be commonplace so if you're a reader of my fanfics, be prepared for sporadic updates because I can only write when I have the time and I have limited time on my hands.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry if it seems shorter than usual and I'll see you next time!