AN: Hello and welcome back to ROTLON! I hope you guys are still enjoying this as well as the blizzardstormshipping oneshots series!
I wander down the corridor of the school for my first lesson of the day - History. Nick and Lucas have English on the floor below me but I'll have Jessica for company at least.
It's been a week or two since that...moment between us and no matter how hard I've tried, I can't forget about it. She's more than likely cast it from her mind by now but I can't and worse, I don't know why.
With my mind wandering, it takes a few seconds for me to register the chanting coming from a group of students gathered outside my classroom.
Two people are in the middle of the crowd, the centre of attention. As I get closer, I see them and mentally groan. This is not happening!
Madison is standing in front of Jessica, her arms folded and a smirk on her face. I notice Jessica clenching her fists and, though she's facing away from me, I can picture the glare on her face quite clearly.
"It must be so wonderful to have a family like yours, Jessica! With a useless..."
She never gets to finish her sentence as Jessica lets out an angry scream and launches herself at the brunette. My eyes widen as I realize that, unless someone does something, there's going to be a major fight. There's no chance of anyone else helping out, though, so I guess it's up to me.
Moving quickly, I grab Jessica around the waist and pull her away from Madison, holding her closer to me. "Let me go!" she seethes, struggling violently against me.
"Shhh," I say, trying to soothe her. It's taking all of my strength to hold her back. Since when was she this strong? "Come on, Jess, you're better than this." Eventually her body relaxes and she stops attempting to break free. I let out a breath, knowing that the immediate crisis is over. For now.
Madison's attitude changes immediately, her expression moving from smug to flirtatious. "Toby!" she squeals in that earache-inducing high pitched voice. "You saved me! I knew you loved me!"
I shudder at this. She still can't take a hint! I planned on just ignoring her as usual but... "I didn't do this for you!" I snap, agitated. "I did it for Jessica!" As much as I would enjoy seeing Jessica taking Madison down a peg or two, I don't want her to get in trouble for it.
Before anything else can be said, the bell rings and the crowd disperses as everyone starts heading to their classes.
I remain where I am, still holding Jessica. She's still breathing too fast for my liking and I guess she must still be pretty angry. "So are you gonna tell me what that was all about then?" I ask, knowing that she more than likely won't want to tell me. At least, not right now.
She looks up at me and, for the first time I notice two things. First, she's blushing. Her cheeks are dusted a rosy pink and, though it could just be due to anger, something tells me it's not. Second - my heartbeat. It's beating faster and faster to the point where I feel it pounding against my ribcage.
Oh...
It's the first time I've ever hugged her and it's felt this...awkward. There's a part of me that wants to let go immediately so I can try to sort out the mess in my brain. But then there's another part - the dominant part - that just wants to hold her, no matter how awkward it feels.
How can one kiss - one accidental kiss - cause so much confusion?
We must be losing ourselves in the moment when a sharp voice yells, "Tripp! Herleins! Quit canoodling and get to class!"
I almost laugh as we spring apart. Who says canoodling nowadays? Anyway I thought canoodling meant...wait, probably best if I don't go there! Before we enter the classroom, I ask quietly, "Can we talk after?" She looks at me, an unreadable expression on her face before she nods and we walk in, taking our seats. Luckily our History teacher is pretty laidback and doesn't seem to notice that we're about five minutes late.
After the lesson ends, we head out of the classroom. We have a free period so we plan on meeting up with Nick and Lucas but first there are more pressing matters to attend to.
Jessica looks around, waiting for everyone else to leave, before grabbing my hand and darting into an empty classroom, pulling me along behind her. I manage to shut the door and watch as she starts pacing around in front of me.
"You, uh, you seemed pretty angry back there," I begin uncertainly. Now that I think about it, it couldn't be just Madison that had made her lose her temper. I mean, sure, the girl's annoying - I can attest to that - but normally Jessica can keep her cool around her. Something else is going on. "What were you fighting about?"
She lets out a heavy sigh as she sits down. "My dad," she admits after a while.
"Your dad?" This kind of threw me off a little. They'd been fighting over Jessica's dad? "How come?"
"You don't give up easily, do you?" she asks me and I shake my head cheerfully. "Well, you know how my dad works for Madison's dad's company? He, uh, he doesn't. At least not anymore."
I frown slightly as I ask, "He lost his job? Why? What happened?" I've always liked Jessica's dad and the thought of him going through such a hard time right now doesn't make me happy.
"Apparently he fell asleep at his desk," Jessica responds quietly. "One of the other workers noticed and told Madison's dad. He got sacked the same day."
I approach her, taking the seat next to her. "How long ago was this?"
She closes her eyes before replying, "Two weeks ago."
Two weeks... Now it makes sense. I thought that her abnormally withdrawn behaviour was because she was mad at me for what happened. It turns out it had absolutely nothing to do with that and I feel a little stupid for thinking that it did.
"I've been trying to help find him a new job just to get Mom off his case but it's hard, you know, to find one at such short notice! And all she does is yell at him... she doesn't help!" She cuts herself off abruptly and whispers, "Sorry. I didn't mean to go off on one like that."
I need to find a way to cheer her up somehow, a way to make her day better but I can't think of anything that will help.
"Toby?" My head snaps up and I look at Jessica who seems nervous all of a sudden. "Why did you kiss me?"
There it is - that question. I didn't expect her to ask it but at the same time, it's almost as if I knew she would. She looks at me, waiting for me to respond. I try to gather my thoughts together. I can't lie to her and I have no intention of doing so.
"I, well, it was an accident, really," I admit truthfully. "I meant to kiss your cheek, I swear, but you moved." I look down at the floor and add, "I'm sorry... I mean you probably just want to forget it ever happened, right?"
"No..." Did I just hear that right? She doesn't want to forget it happened? "It made me feel...well, I don't quite know how to describe it... warm, I guess? And remembering how it made me feel got me through these past couple of weeks. So you can forget about it if you want to but...I don't think I can."
Honestly I couldn't forget about it, even if I wanted to. "I'd have thought you'd have wanted a first kiss that was a bit more, you know, romantic?" I say awkwardly, rubbing the back of my head.
"I'm just glad it was with someone I care about and not with someone who's virtually a stranger to me," she tells me.
"Guess you have a point there!" I agree. I grin slightly before adding, "Tell you what? Next time I accidentally kiss you, I'll try to make it more romantic, okay?"
Why? Why did I just say that? I basically just told her I don't mind the idea of kissing her again! Luckily for me, she doesn't seem to notice. Besides it's hardly likely to happen again. Friends generally don't kiss each other.
Unable to help myself, I start laughing and find myself relieved when she joins in. At least it's taken her mind off Madison and her dad as well as everything else happening in her life. "So, uh, everything's okay between us, right?"
She looks at me, now smiling widely and nods before grabbing my hand and dragging me out of the classroom. "Come on, I've got to put my History book in my locker!" she exclaims.
"Nice to have you back, Jess!" I say to myself as we head down to the ground floor together.
As I push open the double doors, I hear Lucas yelling loudly, "Aaron Apple is coming to the school!"
I exchange a glance with Jessica who seems to be trying not to laugh as we approach him. "What's with the yelling?" she asks just as I notice Nick standing nearby, his nose in a game. Huh, relatable.
Lucas turns around to face us, brimming with excitement. "Aaron Apple's going to perform in the fundraiser's opening ceremony!" he tells us. The charity fundraiser - that's today? Wait...did he just say...
"Wow!" I say, impressed. "He's like the biggest teen star in the world! Even bigger than Murray Missouri!" How on earth did Lucas manage to book Aaron Apple?
Lucas, meanwhile, checks his phone as it had beeped while I was talking. "Who's it from?" Jessica asks.
He finishes reading the message and responds, "It's from his agent! It says that Aaron will take part in the opening ceremony!" He then adds, "But he wants a dressing room!"
I shrug. "That's easy enough to do!" I say. All we have to do is borrow one of the empty classrooms and make it look like a dressing room. The teachers probably won't mind.
"And a basket of delicious apples - with the stems removed!" Lucas reads out.
"Weird!" Jessica says. Who'd have thought that having your surname be a food would make you love said food?
"Not really!" Lucas protests. "After all, apples are his thing! And how hard is it to find apples?" That's a good point - apples are pretty easy to find. You can get them from the grocery, the school canteen, the orchard so it's not like we'll have any trouble with that demand.
All of a sudden, Nick exclaims, "Great game!" I don't think he's heard a word of what we've been saying. The three of us roll our eyes as he looks our way and asks, "Uh, what did I miss?"
On our lunch break, we head back home. Lucas insists that we watch the re-run of Aaron Apple's televised concert. I think he wants to prepare himself for when he meets him in person.
He seems nervous and excited at the prospect. I mean I had to reassure him three times on the way home that we definitely have green apples at home and we could easily remove the stems and put them in a basket.
Nick complies and switches the channel over. Immediately the image on the screen shows a man in his late teens with blonde hair and green eyes. He wears a leather jacket with green apples sewn into the back, collar and on the hems of his sleeves. A guitar styled like a half-eaten green apple is strapped over his shoulder.
"Hey, buddy!" he says, holding up a green apple. "How do you like them apples?" He then takes a bite out of the apple. It sure does make me feel hungry...I wonder if there are any blackberries around.
"Gee," Lucas comments. "He sure does like apples!"
Suddenly the screen flashes black before being replaced by a male newsreader. "We interrupt this programme to bring you breaking news!" The image on-screen shows a field that should be full of crops but, bizarrely, it's empty. "Scientists still can't explain the current food crisis! Foods that have been cooked or exposed to the sun are mysteriously disintegrating!" We watch in horror as we see shops closing down.
"But that only leaves raw fish and meat!" Nick exclaims. "And root vegetables like carrots and..." He and Jessica groan with disgust as he finishes with, "...turnips!"
"Ew!" Lucas and I say together, looking equally disgusted. Carrots are alright but turnips? Yuck.
Lucas stands up suddenly, much to our confusion, and starts running towards the kitchen. "Lucas?" Nick calls after him. Seconds later, we hear a startled cry.
"This is a disaster!" he says as we run in to join him, seeing the basket of now-disintegrated apples. Well, they're not going to be much use.
"Hey, guys!"
As one, we all scream and Razzle - because who else would show up out of nowhere and freak us all out? - screams too.
"Razzle! Don't sneak up on us like that!" Jessica scolds while we glare at him. Seriously I don't need any more shocks today!
"Technically you snuck up on me!" Razzle points out matter-of-factly.
"Trouble in Gorm?" Lucas asks.
Razzle looks worried as he replies, "Unfortunately, yes! The Rock Gormiti territory is under attack!"
"Well, in that case, there's no time to waste!" Nick says, leading the way over to the pantry. Once we're inside, we access the Primal Pad after sliding our hands over the panel until it glows green.
We run down the steps and into the Primal Pad, standing in front of the control panel while Razzle scurries onto it to give us the details.
"Wicked the Terrible has resurfaced!" he begins. The screen shows a Lava Gormiti with five large black spikes protruding from his head and a spiked tail. "And he's casting some really nasty spells! He unleashed lava then destroyed the Rock Gormiti's food crops!" We see the Rock Gormiti attempting to save their crops from the lava flow but ultimately being forced to abandon their efforts. "But that's not enough for him! He's now sent a lava flow towards the capital!" Now the screen shows the Rock Gormiti fearfully running away, heading to safety inside the Rock Fortress as the ground cracks open beneath their feet, revealing the lava below.
"Why's he doing this?" I ask. Yes, I know he's the bad guy but this seems like overkill...even for a Lava Gormiti!
"Wicked wants to show Magmion how strong he is!" Razzle answers. "Then maybe Magmion will make him his second-in-command!"
"So he's trying to starve them!" Lucas says. "No wonder the food on Earth is being destroyed!"
"Let's get down there - and fast!" Nick exclaims.
We run to stand around the Gorm Gate before crying out, "Elementals!"
"Earth!" Nick begins.
"Water!" I yell.
"Forest!" Lucas shouts.
"Air!" Jessica finishes.
"Reveal to us the Keeper and give to them your chair!" we say together as the chair begins spinning around.
"And the Keeper is..." Razzle announces as the chair slows to a stop, revealing a light-blue icon with the Air symbol on the back, "...Air!"
Jessica immediately runs over to the control panel and gets into the chair. "Okay," she says when she's level with the control panel. "Let's do this fast! We've got a show to put on at school!"
We wait for the Gorm Gate to activate before leaping in, Razzle following. Eventually we land and see the ground nearby has cracks with lava flowing.
"Nice landing!" Jessica tells us. "According to the Travel Tome, you should be just outside the capital of the Rock Nation!"
I chuckle slightly. "Hot enough for ya?" I joke. Nick immediately turns his head towards me and glares. Oh yeah... "I know," I say sheepishly. "Bad time for a joke."
We look at the flowing lava in the cracks once more before Nick declares, "Time to transform! The Rock Gormiti are going to need us at full strength!"
"Let's get you powered up - and fast!" Jessica says. Seconds later, she adds, "You're good to glow!"
"Elemental powers flow," we chant together. "Gormiti - Lords of Nature, go!"
"Powers of the Sea!" I yell as I transform.
"Now...where's Wicked?" Nick says to no one in particular once we've all transformed. Suddenly we hear an all too familiar sound - the sound of evil laughter. Wicked is standing on a cliff overlooking the Rock Nation.
"You're going to pay for this!" Nick tells him angrily but the Lava Gormiti doesn't seem fazed at all.
"Oh, will I?" he says mockingly. "The Rock Nation is doomed! Soon the few survivors will shudder when they hear the name Wicked the Terrible!" He then starts laughing again. Great, and I thought we had enough arrogant Lava Gormiti to deal with!
"I don't think reasoning with this guy is an option," Lucas points out quietly. We then see some Rock Gormiti running inside the fortress.
"Then let's change our focus for now!" Nick suggests, leading the way towards the fortress.
Once we're inside, we see an Earth Gormiti we've met before directing the others who are holding rocks. "Hurry, brothers!" he commands. "We must collect as much food as possible!" The Earth Gormiti soldiers put the rocks down, adding to the generous piles of rocks neatly placed around the building. Oh, yeah, they eat rocks. How could I have forgotten?
"I am honoured to see that the Lord of the Earth has joined our cause," he says, noticing us and walking over, clasping Nick's hand in his own.
"Wouldn't miss it!" Nick tells him.
"We must be quick!" the Earth Gormiti - I don't actually know his name - says worriedly. "There's just a few days worth of food in the storehouse!"
"And if we fail, the food crisis on Earth will get a lot worse!" Lucas points out.
Suddenly we nearly fall over as the building begins to shake and small pieces of rock crumble down. Hearing Wicked's laughter grow louder, the four of us run to the doorway of the fortress to investigate and see that the lava flow is worsening. It even looks as if more cracks have formed since we arrived.
Jessica projects her image in front of us. "Wicked shouldn't be able to cast long-distance spells!" she informs us. "Somehow he's become a lot stronger! I'll try to find out what's behind it!"
"So if he's getting stronger..." Lucas begins nervously.
"We'd better stop him right..." Nick continues before the ground begins shaking violently, causing us all to cry out, " ...now!"
He leads the way, leaping down from the ledge, the rest of us following closely behind. We then charge forward only to be stopped by a massive crack with lava flowing through it. We'd never be able to jump across it - it's too large. But maybe there's another way...
"We are trapped!" the Earth Gormiti says. Wicked laughs, clearly thinking the same thing. But I've just had an idea.
"Correction - we were trapped!" I point out before yelling, "Aqua Blast!" I blast the lava with a stream of water, creating a path for us. Once I'm done, I slump over slightly. That was tough! It had taken a lot out of me.
"Thanks, Toby!" Nick says gratefully.
"Don't...mention it!" I tell him, still a little breathless. Nick leads the way as we run across the path I had made.
"Fools! They make this so easy!" I hear Wicked say before he chants something. Another crack forms in front of us and a wave of lava rushes down the ground towards us.
Razzle whimpers and hides behind a nearby rock. "Incoming!" I warn. Right before the lava hits, we jump up, the others jumping a couple of seconds before I do, and land on a ledge below Wicked.
"Wicked, I demand that you stop the siege of the Rock Gormiti!" Nick says angrily.
"Never!" Wicked responds stubbornly. I had a feeling he was gonna say that. "Magmion will soon see how I can cause more destruction than Lavor or that Lavion loser! What kind of names are those, anyway? Wicked the Terrible - now there's a name that tells you who you're dealing with!"
Lightning flashes in the sky as more cracks form and the flow of lava increases. "I don't think we can negotiate with this guy..." I point out to the others.
"One...Two...Three...Seismic Smash!" Nick shouts suddenly as he and the Earth Gormiti slam their fists into the ground, causing it to crack open and shake. To my amusement, the shaking causes Wicked to lose his balance and fall over.
"I hope Magmion didn't see that!" he says, sitting up. "I've got a rep to protect!" He then yells at the Lava soldiers, "Now get up and destroy them!"
As the Lava soldiers leap down from the cliff, they start shooting fireballs at us but none of them actually hit us. Guess these guys aren't too good at aiming. "Like I always say, fight fire with...water!" As I finish my sentence, I send out a jet of water which hits a couple of fireballs, causing a small cloud of steam to form.
A couple of Lava soldiers come running. One of them gets punched by the Earth Gormiti, crying out as he hits the ground. Another Lava soldier throws a flaming rock towards Nick. "Rock Storm!" he yells, shooting several sharp rocks out of his hands which break the larger rock apart.
"Jungle Attack!" Lucas shouts, grabbing yet another Lava soldier with his strong, brown vines and swinging him into his companion.
"Aqua Blast!" I cry out, hitting a lone Lava soldier with a blast of water. He flies backwards with a cry.
I look around to see Lucas struggling against another Lava soldier. While he's momentarily distracted, the Lava soldier takes the opportunity to strike him with his fist. "I've had enough of you!" he snaps angrily before taking a deep breath. "Sleep Spores!" He releases green spores from his mouth that surround the Lava soldier who yawns before collapsing to the ground, sound asleep.
Immediately the Lava soldiers who are still standing at this point cry out with fear and run away. "Come back here!" Wicked shouts after them angrily. "You never would have abandoned Lavion!"
"Ready for a final attack?" Nick asks.
"The timing is not right!" Wicked responds. "But soon I will have full power! They will all see that my relic is better than Orrore's weapon! And then the city will be buried for eternity and Magmion will know that it was I, Wicked the Terrible, who caused it!" After that mini monologue, he leaves and the flow of lava dies down. I get the feeling that he'll be back, though - the guy seems obsessed with proving that he's the best.
"Awesome job, guys!" Jessica praises us as she projects her image near us. "Great to see Wicked run off like that!"
"Thanks, Jess!" I say. Suddenly Razzle runs up to us, panting. Where did he disappear to?
"Guys!" he says frantically as he scurries up onto a rock in front of us. "You've got to get back to the Primal Pad! Your energy is at a critical level!"
"And we've got a celebrity to care of!" Lucas reminds us excitedly.
"Let's get you guys back here asap!" Jessica tells us. A few moments later, a portal forms above our heads and we rise up into it, and out of the Gorm Gate.
"So, uh, we have the dressing room right?" Lucas asks anxiously. I think he's going over some kind of mental checklist or something.
"Yep," I confirm. "I asked one of the teachers if we could borrow the classroom next to theirs. As soon as I mentioned it was for Aaron Apple, they were all over the idea!"
We head back up to the house when Lucas suddenly cries out, "Wait! What about the apples?"
Nick looks thoughtful. "Maybe we still have some apples that haven't disintegrated yet?" he suggests, looking at me.
I nod in agreement as we both start looking. We comb every inch of the kitchen and even the pantry but, between us, we only find three.
"That's hardly a basketful..." Lucas complains, lowering his head.
"It's better than having no apples at all, though," Jessica points out, trying to cheer him up.
"But how do we keep these ones from disintegrating like the others?" he worries.
Nick smiles. "I might have had an idea on that front!" he says before holding up a case filled with...ew, are those turnips? "We can store them in here with these!"
Once the apples have been safely packed inside the case and the lid fastened tightly, we leave the house and walk back to school. We head straight for the dressing room and place the case on the table before leaving the room, closing the door behind us.
When we get back to the entrance of the school, we see Aaron Apple himself walking down the corridor, leaving behind the starstruck receptionist. Crowds of students cheer from inside their classrooms as he walks past while we try to catch up.
"Ten bucks or no autographs!" he says suddenly, seeming to have finally noticed our presence.
"No, I- I'm Lucas!" Lucas introduces himself, definitely sounding nervous. "I organized this concert and...I think we're running a tad late for the rehearsal!"
"Don't I have a dressing room around here?" Aaron asks, seemingly ignoring everything Lucas just said.
"After the rehearsal, I'd be happy to show you your..." Lucas begins.
"It's so cool you're helping us raise money for the environment!" Jessica interrupts him. I detect a hint of admiration in her voice and a familiar feeling - one I'd hoped to never experience again settles in my stomach. Don't tell me she has a crush on him, too! I mean how old is he again? Nineteen? Ick, way too old!
"Yeah, whatever!" Aaron responds dismissively. "I like trees and stuff!" Finally we arrive at the 'dressing room'. "Hey, Lonny, I'm hungry!" he complains. "Where are my apples?"
Jessica and I exchange amused smiles as Lucas says, annoyed, "Not Lonny - it's Lucas!"
"We could only find a couple," I inform Aaron before he walks over to the case and opens it, looking at the contents inside.
"Turnips!" he exclaims in disgust. "Get those things away from me!" Well, if even a high-maintenance celebrity hates them, turnips really must be disgusting.
Lucas walks over and takes one of the apples out of the case. "Maybe we could snack on the way to rehearsal?" he suggests, holding it up to Aaron who actually smiles for the first time as he takes it from him.
"How do you like them apples?" he asks, walking towards the door before taking a bite. He chews for a couple of seconds before letting out a cry and promptly spitting out the now disintegrated apple. "Is this some kind of joke?" he demands to know angrily. "Aaron Apple doesn't like jokes!"
"No joke, Aaron," Lucas tells him as he walks over. He puts his arm around him before explaining, "It's just that there's a bit of a food crisis going on and apples are hard to find!"
"Two things, Lewis!" Aaron snaps, looking thoroughly irritated. "One - never touch Aaron Apple!" As he says this, he bats Lucas' hand off his shoulder. "Especially his hair..." he turns and glares at Lucas, holding his hand protectively over his hair. "Don't mess my hair!"
I poke my own hair as I look at Nick and Jessica. They look back at me, bemused. I was definitely right when I mentally referred to this guy as high-maintenance. He's about as high-maintenance as you can get!
"Two - Aaron Apple doesn't do a gig without a basket of shiny, delicious apples!" he yells, taking what looks like a contract out of his jacket pocket and practically shoving it in Lucas' face. "Not turnips, not apple sauce, not apple pie - apples!" He turns and walks out of the room, the other students cheering loudly as he passes by.
Lucas lets out a weary sigh as Nick says sarcastically, "That went well!" Suddenly we hear something clanging and what sounds like a groan.
"What was that?" I ask as we walk further into the classroom, only to see Razzle coming out of the grate.
"Razzle!" Jessica exclaims. "We're in public!" Nick hastily shuts the door. We don't want anyone wandering in here, hoping to meet Aaron Apple, only to see a talking lizard instead!
"Well, duh!" he says. "But this is an emergency! Wicked is attacking the Rock Capital again!"
"Lucas, you stay here!" Jessica says. "You've got a fundraiser to run."
Lucas sighs again. "And apples to find!" he points out.
"Good luck on that!" she tells him. "If we need him, I'll send Razzle to bring you home!"
I open up the case and Razzle scurries up onto the table, peering inside. "Mmm, turnips!" he says before climbing inside. I shut the lid once he's inside, unable to believe he actually likes turnips but at least we'll be able to get rid of them now!
After wishing Lucas luck, Nick, Jessica and I head back home and straight into the Primal Pad. I had carried the case with Razzle inside it and opened it as soon as we got in the house.
As soon as we get to the Primal Pad, we watch Wicked on the screen, laughing away. "We're not going to have much time to stop that monster!" Nick points out.
"Judo!" Jessica exclaims suddenly, turning the chair around to face us and winking. I try to imagine Wicked doing judo - yeah, I can't see that going too well.
"No offense but I don't think a martial arts battle is a good idea!" I tell her.
"What I mean is that the best way to beat Wicked may be by using the principles of judo!" she explains.
"So we should turn our opponent's strength against him! Good idea!" Nick says but I notice something strange.
"Hey," I say, pointing at that screen. "Check out that thing in Wicked's hand!" I don't know what it is but it's glowing and if Wicked has it, it can't be a good thing.
"Weird," Jessica says, looking through the tome. "I'll see if I can get any info on it!"
Nick and I glance at the Gorm Gate, noticing that the orbs are glowing brightly once more. "Full power!" he exclaims. "We're outta here!" With that, we both run over to the Gorm Gate before jumping in.
"Powers of the Sea!" I yell as I transform once more.
We land just inside the entrance of the Earth Fortress and are greeted by the Earth Gormiti from earlier. Immediately noticeable is the rising lava - there's a lot more of it than there was when we were here before. "If the lava seals off the storehouse, everyone will starve!" I say before adding, "And who knows what'll happen on Earth?"
"Time for some judo!" Nick exclaims.
"Judo?" the Earth Gormiti questions, looking confused. I guess they don't have it here in Gorm.
"Just get us as many able-bodies as you can!" Nick tells him.
The Earth Gormiti lets out a sigh. "Some of us feel we should accept the Lava Gormiti's terms..." he says wearily.
We turn to face the crowd of Earth Gormiti as Nick speaks. "Hear me, my brothers of Earth!" he begins, taking a few steps forward. More Earth Gormiti step into the crowd, apparently eager to hear what he has to say. "If you give in to Wicked, he will demand more and more from you until you are his slaves! And you are not slaves - you are proud members of the Rock Nation and together we cannot be defeated!"
Nick's speech appears to do the trick as the crowd of Earth Gormiti begins cheering, their motivation and willingness to fight restored.
"Now we need to collect as many boulders as we can!" he commands.
"Follow me," the Earth Gormiti commands and the entire crowd follows him out of the fortress, Nick and I behind them. We watch as they pick up boulders and start hurling them into the lava. They continue to do this until a sizeable wall of boulders forms in front of the storehouse, protecting the precious food inside.
"Thanks to Wicked's lava flow..." I begin.
"...the food is protected. And no one will go hungry." Nick adds.
But the trouble isn't over yet.
"Soon you will have no need for food, for it's time to bury you all!" Wicked yells before holding up that weird thing and chanting the same thing he did earlier.
A massive wave of lava rushes towards the fortress, over the fields and boulders. "Today I am truly Wicked!" he brags, letting out another evil laugh. We turn our heads and cry out, seeing the lava wave rapidly approaching us. The ground begins shaking violently.
"We have to protect the city!" Nick exclaims, transforming both his hands into drills before leaping down from the ledge and drilling into the ground in front of us. The Earth Gormiti smashes a large boulder with his fists as he and Nick work to make a blockade.
"The lava!" the Earth Gormiti cries in horror, seeing the lava continue to flow, seemingly unaffected by the rock blockade. Reacting quickly, I stretch out two tentacles - one for each of them - and pull them up to safety. Then I blast at the lava with a stream of water, causing a large cloud of steam to form. When it clears, we see that the water has caused the lava to harden.
"It's holding...for now." I say, looking down at my work and wishing I could have done more.
"It's just a temporary solution," Nick points out. "The city won't be safe until we defeat Wicked!"
"So what are we waiting for?" I ask enthusiastically.
Jessica projects her image in front of us suddenly. "Hey, guys. Want the good news or the bad news?" she says.
"We're a bit busy for games, Jess!" Nick says impatiently.
"Right! The bad news is that the food crisis is getting worse!"
"And what's the good news?" I ask curiously.
"The glowing thing that Wicked's been waving around is a relic from an ancient temple of evil!" Jessica responds. "It represents the ancient demon of famine and gives destructive power to whoever holds it and recites certain spells!"
"Any way to neutralise its power?" Nick questions.
"That's the really good news!" Jessica says excitedly. "The relic loses its power when it's exposed to food!"
"Got it!" Nick says.
"Good luck, guys!" Jessica tells us before her image disappears.
"Thanks," Nick says as we run to the ledge's edge, observing Wicked laughing away on the cliff. "I have a feeling we're gonna need it!"
We watch him hold out the relic which glows before the ground cracks open. Several fire blasts hit the walls surrounding the fortress as the Earth Gormiti cry out in panic and horror, fleeing for their lives. Homes begin to crumble and fires begin to burn. A massive flaming boulder hits the steps leading up to the fortress, luckily avoiding hitting anyone.
"Goal!" Wicked cheers, doing some kind of celebratory dance with his arms. By this point, we've had enough of just watching him destroy innocent beings' lives for no real reason.
"I'm gonna enjoy this battle!" Nick declares before we all begin charging forward. Two Lava soldiers start shooting fire blasts at us. The Earth Gormiti punches one, knocking him out, while Nick attempts to take out Wicked by firing sharp rocks out of his hand, yelling, "Rock Storm!"
Unfortunately the attack seems to largely miss as Wicked says mockingly, "And they call a weakling like you the Lord of the Earth? Soon you will be the lord of nothing!" He chants once again and sends a beam from the relic into the ground in front of us which cracks open.
"So sick of lava..." I complain as the orange, hot stuff flows out from the crack.
"And now...to finish off the Rock Gormiti!" Wicked yells before chanting once again. Another beam is fired, this time hitting the ground where the rock blockade is. At once, it sinks into the lava and the ground begins shaking, so much so that I actually feel a little sick.
"This spell is gonna be a doozy!" I say to no one in particular.
"Wicked...Wickeder...Wickeder!" Wicked yells. We turn our heads to look behind us and cry out in alarm as we see another lava wave approaching us.
"I had a feeling that was gonna happen!" I exclaim before Nick and I run to join the Earth Gormiti up on a rock.
"Goodbye, Rock Nation!" Wicked yells as lava surrounds us, trapping us and rising higher every second. We can't get across, not without getting burnt to death.
"We need boulders!" Nick shouts before transforming his hand into a giant, circular hammer. "Stone Hammer!" He then slams into the rock wall nearby and a couple of medium-sized boulders fall into the lava. "Follow me!" he commands before leaping onto the first boulder and then the next until he's safely on the other side, the Earth Gormiti and I following closely behind.
"No!" Wicked yells, clearly thinking he'd had us trapped for good.
"This time we're gonna finish you off, Wicked!" I tell him angrily.
His response is a dismissive, "Your boasts mean nothing!" Uh, yeah, and you haven't been bragging at all!
The Earth Gormiti lets out an angry growl, charging forward as a Lava soldier jumps down from the cliff, landing in front of him. One blow is all it takes to send the Lava Gormiti flying. "Sleep well!" he says mockingly.
Another Lava soldier jumps down and lands in front of Nick and I. "Let me guess - you're gonna shoot fire at me?" I ask sarcastically. Before he can react, I shoot a stream of water at him, knocking him back into the massive rock behind him and knocking him out. "So predictable!" I exclaim.
"You've really got to teach these minions some new tricks!" Nick agrees as we run to join the Earth Gormiti who is standing before two Lava soldiers.
"Anything you wanna say to these guys?" I ask him.
"Just this!" the Earth Gormiti responds, raising his fist and punching them both.
"They won't be getting up from that!" I say to Nick before we carry on running.
"I can always get new minions," Wicked speaks up, "but you will never get another city!" The lava wave suddenly begins to approach the fortress at a more rapid speed than before. Within moments, it has completely surrounded the base and continues to rise as we run up as close as we can get to Wicked.
"Time to join your brothers!" Wicked says, holding up the relic which glows as he begins to chant. Before he can finish, however, Nick shoots a couple of small, sharp rocks out of his hand and Wicked lets out an angry cry as the relic is knocked from his grip.
The Earth Gormiti leaps onto Wicked before he can recover the relic. "Get the relic!" I tell Nick, realizing that the Earth Gormiti was buying us some time. Nick runs forward and picks it up.
"We need to touch it to food!" he exclaims.
"There's nothing around here," I point out. Wait a moment... "except..."
"...the storehouse!" Nick finishes. We look at the entrance which is barely visible above the rising lava. "This has to work!" he says. I watch Nick balance the relic on his hand before shooting it on some small rocks into the storehouse.
A few moments later, there's a massive yellow glow that lasts for about ten seconds before fading. I put my hand on Nick's shoulder. "Nice shot!" I praise him.
We watch as the lava begins receding as quickly as it came, leaving behind several large cracks in the ground. "No! It can't be!" Wicked complains. "What will Magmion say?"
"He'll say that you failed!" Nick tells him.
"This is not the end!" Wicked argues stubbornly.
"Actually this is the end..." I point out, "...of you!"
With that, Wicked jumps down from the cliff and begins to make his escape but he isn't getting away so easily. The Earth Gormiti punches the cliff and the ground shakes. "I will have my revenge or my name isn't Wi-" Wicked never gets the chance to finish as the ledge he's standing on crumbles and he falls the rest of the way down. That's gonna hurt.
"Well, he won't be bugging anyone for a while!" Nick says, putting into words what I was just thinking.
We return back to the fortress and see a crowd of Earth Gormiti gathered outside. Work has already begun to repair the damage Wicked has done to the ground. The three of us walk down, smiling and waving at the cheering Gormiti. It sure does feel nice to be appreciated!
"We have enough food to last us until we can clear our fields and plant more crops!" the Earth Gormiti says happily, speaking to Nick. "You have proven to be a true Lord of the Earth. Come, let us celebrate!"
As we stop walking, Jessica projects her image near us. "Great job, guys!" she congratulates us. "But you'll have to skip the party! We've got to help Lucas! See if they've got any apples!"
Yeah, somehow I don't think a tribe of Earth Gormiti would grow apples! In fact, they might not even know what apples are!
"We have to leave," Nick tells the Earth Gormiti, "but we will return if you ever need us!"
A few moments later, a portal forms above our heads and we rise up into it, coming out into the Primal Pad once more.
"Come on!" Jessica says, leaping out of the chair almost immediately. "We need to get some apples pronto!"
We head up to the kitchen and I grab the empty basket from the table. When I notice the others giving me questioning looks, I say, "What? Do you wanna try carrying a bunch of apples in your hands without dropping them and leaving them all bruised? Besides didn't he say he wanted a basketful - as in put the apples in a basket?"
They shrug and we make our way to the front door. Just as we leave the house, Jessica exclaims suddenly, "Wait! I've forgotten something!" before hurrying back inside. Moments later, she returns, holding...an umbrella?
I look up at the sky. Aside from a couple of small, white clouds here and there, it's completely clear - nothing to suggest that we're due any bad weather. "Uh, Jess, no offense or anything but why do you have an umbrella?" I ask before glancing at Nick, hoping that he might know why but even he looks a little perplexed.
"You know why!" she responds, which just confuses me even more. If I knew why she was carrying an umbrella, I wouldn't have asked in the first place! Suddenly it hits me.
"Ohhh..." Nick and I say in dawning comprehension just as we arrive at the local grocery. The owner greets us all cheerily, happy that he's back in business once again.
It doesn't take us too long to find some apples and, luckily for us, the stems have already been removed. We pay for them and place them carefully into the basket before hurrying back to school.
As we walk back into the dressing room, we notice that Aaron is just about ready to leave. "How do you like these apples?" I say, messing up his catchphrase slightly as I toss one to him.
"And no stem!" he exclaims, his face lighting up immediately as he looks at the apple in his hand. "Oh, thank you! Thank you! Now I can go on stage!"
"We...also brought you an umbrella!" Jessica tells him.
"An umbrella?" Aaron says, confused, after taking a bite out of the apple. "Aaron Apple doesn't need an umbrella!"
After he walks out of the room, Jessica says to Lucas incredulously, "You didn't explain the opening ceremony always starts with a prank?"
"He was too busy yelling at me to listen," Lucas defends himself before grinning widely. "Besides...he doesn't like apple sauce!"
We leave the classroom/dressing room and head to the gym where the stage and equipment is set up. Standing in the doorway, we watch the students sitting on the steps, cheering as Aaron waves to them.
"Thank you! Thank you!" he says. "My name is Aaron Apple!" He strums his guitar randomly as he continues, "And I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make this charity fundraiser a success! And I mean anyth-"
He is cut off by apple sauce pouring onto his head while the students laugh and cheer. We exchange glances as Aaron stands, completely covered in apple sauce, looking shocked.
When school ends, we return back home and start watching the Aaron Apple special again (once more, Lucas' idea).
"Well, folks, how do you like these apples?" he asks, holding his trademark apple up.
Jessica giggles slightly. "Sauced!" she responds to his rhetorical question and the four of us start laughing, remembering the prank from earlier on.
All I can think is, he'll need a good shower to get all of that apple sauce out of his awesome hair!
AN: And we're done with another chapter! That took a lot less time than I expected. I think I like my current schedule. Sure, I'll have to catch up on sleep as I work on the oneshots but at least you guys will be getting something to read out of it. Rest assured that if it gets too much for me to keep up, though, I will find an alternate solution! Hope you enjoyed reading!