Rising above the western cliffs outside of the forest, a group of dark mages held out their hands and staffs. They chanted spells that shot out fireballs all along the treeline. Some mages were silent and stoic while others let out howls of laughter. High in the air, other groups of dark mages hung suspended with magic, watching the inferno rage and consume the forest. "There will be no hiding from this. The grand prophecy will come to pass, and I will rule all of Gaia." Spoke Grimshade as he held out a dark black book that seemed to absorb the light around it, casting a dark aura around it. The dark mage then let out a sinister laugh.
~ Ch.6: The Fires of Chaos
As the glow in the night skies brightened, Ethan swiftly ran to the center of the village where a bell stood. It was mostly for decoration so there wasn't anything to hit it with, but hey, you use what you need right? As he ran to it he raised his fist and punched the bell with all his might. A loud ringing sounded through the village waking all who were sleeping. The village residents all left there huts and treehouses. "Ethan! What is the meaning of-" The elder shouted. He cut himself off when he saw the bright glow to the west of the village. "It's an inferno, and it's approaching fast." Ethan said with great worry. The elder nodded before rising his staff to the air. "Defender group, raise the shields!" He spoke, his voice amplified by magic. Dozens of mages scrambled to the edges of the village and began chanting, just as embers of the inferno began to reach the village.
Yoshi and his crew, quickly making their way through the south Barton Fields, darted toward the flaming forest. "Ok, so there's a raging fire. Now what the hell can we do about it?!" Remmy shouted. Yoshi glanced at the small zurg then looked ahead. "Within that forest is where an old friend of mine lives, I wasn't around to help him before and half his village was wiped out, I am not gonna let that happen again." He explained. "So is this a search and rescue then?" Nina asked. Yoshi just glared ahead as they approached the gnome village. "I hope it's just that, but if it's like the last time… be prepared for the worst." The group passed a bunch of gnomes who were tossing dirt at the flaming treeline. Nina could swear she's seen the big muscular one in her world before but shook it off as the group ran into the trees. The heat was intense within the forest. "Remmy, Diesel, zoom ahead and see what you can do. Nina, take Neko with you to the air." Yoshi ordered. Neko dove into Nina's shadow as she brought out her wings and took flight. "Alright then. Diesel, set the scanners for life signatures and let's kick it into high gear!" Remmy ordered as he and Diesel took off. Yoshi was left alone as he ran through the trees. He then closed his eyes and focused before drawing Brim forth and setting his course in a specific direction. "You better not die old man, still gotta repay you for what you've done for me." He said through grit teeth as he navigated through the flaming trees.
In the village, Ethan was worried. The defender group had gotten the shields up but… "This isn't good, we will be exposed!" Ethan said. The elder turned to him. "How so, please explain." Ethan pointed upward toward the flames. "With the whole defender group managing the shield, who is gonna hide the fact this area of the forest isn't burning!" He said. A look of dawning horror grew on the elders face. "This was their plan." Up above the trees, Grimshade noticed something peculiar and smirked. "Found you." He said as he and a few others dived down toward a spot of the forest that seemed to be repelling the fire. Not far away, another airborne being saw the untouched area. "Neko, do you think that's the place?" Nina asked. "Yeah, no doubt about it. Now let's go!" Neko said from within Nina's shadow. The nightfright dove swiftly toward the fire free area. Meanwhile, swiftly moving through the trees, Diesel's scanners picked up something. "Many life signatures detected." The mech informed. "Alright then, what are we waiting for? Let's hurry!" Remmy urged, but Diesel stopped and looked upward picking something else up. "Major power signature detected heading for other life signatures." Diesel informed. Remmy looked at the scans. "Oh, this is not gonna be good. Let's hurry Diesel! Full speed to intercept!" Remmy ordered. Diesel deployed his wings and fired up the rockets before taking off in a flash. Not far behind was Yoshi, slashing through the flaming trees with great speed.
In one of the treehouses, Wendy looked out the window in fear. This couldn't be happening, not again. She saw her uncle Ethan by the elder in the center of the village. He looked scared and worried. Taking a deep breath, Wendy grabbed her staff and left the treehouse, running straight for the center of the village. Upon approach she raised her hand in the air. "Uncle Ethan!" She shouted. Ethan turned with wide eyes. "Wendy, get back in the treehouse, it's getting dangerous out here!" Ethan urged. "But what if someone gets hurt, I could help." Ethan was about to say something but she continued. "Besides, beside you is the safest place I could think of because I know you would protect me." She said with a smile. Ethan tried to think of how to respond to that but a menacing chuckle was heard. Ethan's blood went cold as he slowly turned around. "Well, isn't that just sickenly sweet?" The village went silent as they all took in the sight of 5 dark mages floating above the village center. The one chuckling reached into his cloak and pulled out a pitch black book. "My name is Grimshade, and soon I will be the ruler of all Gaia." He said. The elder flinched back in fear when he saw the book. "Th- that's the book of darkness!" Grimshade smirked. "So you know of this mystic tome. How would you like a demonstration of its power?" Grimshade said as he pointed his palm at the elder, a dark aura flowing to it from the book while he chanted. Ethan's ears perked up as various crashes and cracks were heard, but the dark mage leader was too busy chanting to notice it, until… "Hit the brakes hit the brakes hit the brakes!" Through the trees a black blur blasted through, straight toward Grimshade. The dark mage leader had no time to react and was hit by the speeding metal blur. He was launched to the other end of the village while the metal being rolled along the ground to a stop. "Impact damage minimal, armor holding at 95%." The mech said as he got to his metal feet. Meanwhile the zurg pilot had swirly eyes from the rolling. "Good for you Diesel, good for you."
The surprise appearance of the mech had stunned the 4 other dark mages for a second. As soon as they shook it off they moved in to attack the intruder, but a blast from the air took one down getting their attention. They panicked at the sight of a nightfright above them. "Nice shot Nina." Neko said. "Thanks, but there's still more down there and it seems more are on the way." Nina said as she noticed more of the dark mages coming from the west. "Think you can handle them on your own?" The shadow feline asked. "Of course, just leave the newcomers to me while you get any that may get by." Nina said. Neko jumped out of Nina's shadow and flipped through the air landing on a treetop in the village. He then half turned and looked up at Nina, giving a thumbs up. "Good luck!" He said and Nina nodded before flying off. Meanwhile on the other end of the village, Grimshade emerged from a bush he crashed into and he did not look happy.
"Who are you, strange being?" The elder asked as Remmy shook off his dizziness. "The name's Remmy, and this here is my best bud Diesel." Remmy said as he pat the window of the cockpit. Diesel bowed causing Remmy to hit his head on said window. "My scans picked up the flames heat and our captain said a friend of his was in the area so we came to help however we can." The mech informed as he straightened up. Remmy rubbed his head unamused. "Oh? And what perhaps would your captain's name be?" The elder asked. "Oh, his name is Yoshi." Remmy said. The elder's eyes widened in recognition of the name. "I see, so he seeks to repay my assistance to him from the past? I have told him there was no need." Stated the elder. Wendy was listening to the two talk, curious of the newcomer and Ethan watched the sky as Nina fought off several dark mages. Remmy was about to say something but a blast of magic screeched by, striking Diesel in the back and sending him crashing several feet away through a nearby buildings wall. "Mr Remmy!" Wendy ran over to the fallen mech as Ethan and the elder looked to a seething mad Grimshade. "Nobody gets away with cheapshoting me." The dark mage leader said through grit teeth. Ethan reached for his moonstone amulet and prepared to fight.
Wendy had reached the facedown mech and saw the cockpit window smashed. A little ways away a groan was heard and she went and found the small zurg. He looked badly hurt so she lifted her staff and chanted a healing spell. After the quick heal spell, Remmy opened his eyes and slowly got up. "Ugh, Diesel, is he ok?" Remmy asked still in a bit of pain. The two made their way over to the still mech and with some effort got him flipped over. The damage didn't look good. There was a hole straight through Diesel's chestplate. "Damnit! … The blast went right through his power core. Without it, there's nothing I could do." Remmy said, voice cracking as he hung his head. Wendy was saddened hearing that and sniffled a bit. Something out the corner of her eye caught her attention. It was a red jewel of sorts. It was the jewel she saw glowing on the mech's chestplate. Wendy rubbed her nose and pointed at the red jewel. "Is that the power thing?" Remmy looked at where she was pointing and quickly went to pick up the object. He frowned a bit at the state of it. "Yes but… it's heavily damaged, near unusable." He sulked. He grit his teeth and shook his head. "No, I am not losing Diesel like this." The little zurg went back over to his mech and opened a compartment on the side that held tools, parts and schematics. Remmy grabbed a schematic and various parts including the strange purple gems he got from his contact earlier. "Is there anything I can help with?" Wendy asked. The zurg opened the schematic, quickly reading and looking through it. "For the best chance of this to work, I'll need you to use the strongest healing spell you got and focus it on the new power core." He said before getting to work, setting the schematic on the ground. "Alright then…" Remmy started as he set the purple gems and the power core with various other parts on another schematic with a runic circle. "Diesel old buddy…" The small zurg held his hands to the pile of parts and the circle started to glow. "Prepare to be animated."