Yeah, this chapter, and the whole story as a matter of fact, is most likely to be shorter than its predecessor. Oh well. I can promise that, in the next chapter, there will be two fighting scenes (although one will be pretty short), and a car chase. After that chapter, I'll try continuing 'More Than Just Playing the Game' to see how that fairs, and then switch back here to this story to finish it. So, with that schedule set, enjoy the next chapter of AotU!
Disclaimer: I do not own TDI or any of its characters, but I do own Slash, John, and every other member of the Underground, and any other minor characters.
"Well, what do you know?" Cody said out loud, breaking the silence. Ezekiel began to walk, stopping to turn around at the others.
"Shall we go in, eh?" he beckoned. Izzy hopped of Owen's back, and the six headed inside the temple. Inside was a pretty small and empty room. But, a distance away stood a statue of a man, who held an ax in hand, holding it toward the sky. The heroes could only assume that the statue would help them find the box. Ezekiel led them over to the statue, and all of them stopped in front of it, waiting for something to happen. The statue's eyes suddenly lit up, and it's arms lowered to the side. Ezekiel walked in front of the statue.
"We're here for the box, eh," he told the statue. The statue turned its head to look at the prairie boy, and suddenly held the ax above its head. Ezekiel jumped back, the metal blade just missing him. The statue returned to holding its arms at its side, and suddenly began to speak.
"You may take the Ancient Box of Power, when you can tell me the name of one of its creators," it challenged. The others exchanged glances. Chris never mentioned a name. But, surprisingly, Ezekiel stepped forward.
"One of the names was Wawanakwa, who later had a camp named after him, eh," he declared. The others watched intently for the statue's reaction.
"That is correct. You may now take the Ancient Box of Power for your own use," it told them, before suddenly disappearing. The heroes looked behind the spot where the statue once stood, and saw the box on top of a pedestal. Ezekiel stepped forward once more, and grabbed the box. They all smiled, feeling hopeful.
Then, they heard thudding footsteps. The six heroes turned around, and saw the source of the noise: The Underground! Five of them were holding weapons, while the sixth guy (Francis) took a fighting stance, unarmed. One of the members (Mark) stepped forward, a sword in hand.
"Give us the box, now," he ordered. Ezekiel looked at the box, and then placed it under the torque on his head. He stared back over at the Underground.
"Come and get it, eh," he challenged. Mark scowled, and then pointed his sword forward.
"CHARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGEEE!!!" he shouted. The twelve fighters rushed at each other, picking someone to fight. Ezekiel took on Mark, while Owen took on Francis. Cody clashed with Jeremy, who had a machine gun. Izzy took on the man with bow and arrows named Carlos, while Duncan fought Craig, who had a baseball bat. That left Phil, with an ax, to fight Bridgette.
Mark easily kept Ezekiel on his toes with his many sword techniques. Soon, he managed to catch the prairie boy off-guard and slashed at his sweatshirt. Ezekiel growled, and spat a fireball in his face in retaliation. It left a small burn along his face, but the two kept fighting. Duncan just barely jumped out of the way as Craig swung the bat around again. As Craig ran at him for another swing, Duncan ran right back at him. At the last second, he dived and slid under Craig's legs. He quickly moved, and lit the wooden bat on fire. Craig noticed, and tossed the bat to the side. He then turned around, and tackled Duncan to the ground. Izzy had dodged quite a few of Carlos's arrows, and used her telekinesis to pick them all up. She fired them back towards the archer, and arrows collided in mid-air. The speed caused a few to disintegrate, and Carlos was running low on arrows. When he shot his last arrow, and tossed his bow to the ground and ran at Izzy. Cody had managed to dismantle Jeremy's machine gun from a distance, and was now trying not to get punched in the face. As for Bridgette, she was just trying to outrun Phil, who was wildly swinging his ax around. Owen was kept on par with Francis, who seemed to have ninja-like skills. After the umpteenth time of being punched in the stomach, Owen groaned, and fell to his knees.
"You asked for it," he managed to speak. Francis raised an eyebrow. Owen turned around and took a deep breath. Then, he let loose a loud, smelly, nasty, stinky, disgusting, repulsive.... err, anyway, he broke enough wind for a hurricane, with the smell to match. All fighting immediately stopped, as each of the twelve fighters collpased from the sheer stink of Owen's gas. As Ezekiel fell over, his torque fell off, and the box fell out. Mark managed to find the willpower to reach over and grab it. He also stood up, holding his breath, and began to make a break for the door out of there.
But, before he could make it, a large obstruction broke through the temple, hit him, and sent him flying across the room. As he hit the wall, Mark dropped the box, and it landed on the ground. The new large hole in the wall allowed Owen's gas to exit their current area, and everyone looked toward the obstruction. It was a car, with a driver and a passenger.
"Slash?!" Craig exclaimed.
"Gwen?!" Bridgette shouted at the same time. The two stepped out of the car, and looked around.
"Guess we're a little late to the party, huh?" Slash asked, bringing out two knives.
"Where's the box?" Gwen asked, scanning the room. The others immediately looked over toward where Mark fell, and saw the box sitting there. They all stood up, and there was a mad dash to get the box. Owen was first to grab it, but then Jeremy stole it from him, but not after Duncan knocked him down and took it. Craig kicked him in the nuts and grabbed the box, but Cody ripped it out of his hands only to have Francis judo-chop him down. Bridgette stretched her arm in and grabbed it, but Carlos snatched it from her clutches. Izzy punched him in the face, and tried to run. But, the entire Underground was rushing at her. Slash ran forward, and took it from Izzy. He skidded to a halt beside the Underground, holding the box. The heroes had managed to move toward the car that Slash and Gwen arrived in.
"Nice going, man," Phil congratulated. The others agreed, and patted his back. Slash looked at the heroes, and threw the box to Gwen. He turned around and slashed Phil's neck. He took a quick glance at the heroes.
"Go! I'll hold them off!" he shouted, whipping out another knife. Ezekiel quickly recovered his torque, and then the seven heroes piled into Slash's car, with Duncan as the driver. He turned the car on, set it in reverse, and slammed on the gas. The car flew backward through the cave, with Duncan keeping a close eye on where he was going. When he reached the small clearing, he turned the wheel, and peeled away from the cave. Using skills and quick reflexes, Duncan managed to swerve through the trees with ease. When the camp came back into sight, Duncan lost his confidence.
"We're on an island! How's he drive onto here?!" he shouted at Gwen. Gwen pressed a button on the dash panel, and there was a sound just below and behind the vehicle. Ezekiel stuck his head out the window to see what it was.
"Hey, it's a raft and motor, like a car motor boat, or something!" he shouted, watching the car slide right into the ocean. At first, they just floated idly near the dock, and then Gwen flipped a switch. The car/ motor boat took off across the ocean, returning to the mainland.
FLORIDA- LAKESIDE HIGH
John walked toward the other prisoners he had chained up, and walked over to a particular one.
"Hello... Trent," he greeted. Trent glared at him. John held up the keys to his shackles.
"You're coming with me," he told him.
"What if i refuse?" Trent rasped, his throat dry from not talking for almost a day. John held up a strange device. He pressed a button on it, and Trent felt a powerful electric current shoot into his body. The pain made him fall unconscious immediately.
"I have my ways," John replied, pocketing the device. The others just watched wearily as john unlocked Trent, and began to drag him away. But, before leaving, John stopped to stare at them.
"Yeah, I'm going to blow this place to smithereens. So... good luck surviving!" he taunted, walking out. The others looked up quickly. They began to try and shake themselves free, to attempt to escape from the bomb.
Outside, John had tied Trent's hands behind his back, and tied his ankles together and tossed him in the back seat of his car. He looked back at Lakeside, and pulled out his device once again. He pressed another button, and an explosion sounded out. The roof blew into the sky, and debris was already falling to the ground. The entire building collapsed onto to the ground, and John merely climbed into his car and left. He began to head northward, toward the particular home of one of the heroes.
A Few Hours Later...
The seven heroes looked in horror of what used to be Lakeside High. Now, the entire building had been destroyed, and littered the ground.
"I can't believe it," Gwen uttered, staring at the mess that used to be her school, and prison. Duncan ran towards the debris.
"Courtney!" he shouted, rummaging through the mess. Bridgette, Gwen, and Ezekiel also began to search for their loved ones, with Cody, Owen, and Izzy searching for any kind of survivor. After a few minutes, Cody piped up.
"Harold!" The others heard, and rushed over to see the time traveler. They pulled Harold into standing, and saw what had happened. His glasses had shattered, and his entire body was either bruised or bloody.
"What happened?" Owen asked. Harold groaned, and lifted his head up to look at Owen.
"John.... he took Trent, and then blew up the school, with us all in it," he explained. The others looked worried, and then stared at Gwen. She looked crestfallen.
"He took Trent?" she asked, tears already forming in her eyes. Harold nodded. She quickly and quietly healed Harold. They all began to search for more survivors, with Gwen coming by to heal everyone. They managed to find Lindsay, but then made a shocking discovery.
"Guys! It's Leshawna! She's...." Bridgette trailed off. The others rushed over, and were met with a terrible sight. Leshawna had been crushed and stabbed when the building fell down, and her bottom half was lodged into part of the roof. Gwen claimed that she could only heal people when they were still alive. So, Bridgette moved the roof part back over Leshawna's body. It wasn't the best grave, but it would have to do. Things only got more depressing when Harold found DJ's body, which had a support beam through it. Harold had to go puke when he found the sickening sight, and managed to inform the others. But, things were a little better when Ezekiel found a special someone.
"Heather!" he shouted, picking her up from the debris. Heather's shackles had ripped the skin off of her wrists and ankles, and her left ankle was swollen pretty badly. Luckily, Gwen's powers got rid of her injuries. The prairie boy and former mean girl shared a quick hug before looking for more survivors. Next, Izzy found another person: Geoff. The party boy had broken his arms, and seemed to have bent his leg at an odd angle, but Gwen fixed it all. But, the next body was sure to create the biggest depression of all.
"Oh no.... Tyler!" Owen shouted. Lindsay ran over faster than anyone, and saw the jock. She gasped, and dropped down near his body. The sharp roof shingles had cut him open all along the front, splattering his front with a massive amount of blood.
"Tyler!!!" Lindsay screeched, before burying her face in tears. Bridgette walked over, and hugged the blonde in comfort. There was only one more prisoner still not found yet. But, that was quickly changed.
"Courtney!" Duncan shouted in joy, picking up his girlfriend. Although in pain, Courtney found the strength to hug her over-joyed boyfriend back. Gwen quickly healed her, and left the two to each other. But, their happiness was short-lived, as Courtney requested to go and comfort Lindsay. Lindsay was surrounded by Bridgette, Gwen, Courtney, and Heather in one big hug, while the guys stood to the side in silence.
Later, at Gwen's House
The twelve heroes were all sitting around in Gwen's living room. Lindsay was sitting alone in a recliner, curled up and sniffling every few seconds. Ezekiel, Duncan, and Geoff were all sitting with their girlfriends, happy to be reunited. Well, Owen was also sitting with Izzy, but they were never separated. Cody and Harold were sitting on a different couch, with Gwen in her own chair, flipping through the channels. The box was sitting alone on the table. They had no idea where John and Trent were, and were at a loss at what to do. Suddenly, Gwen's television turned to static.
"What the?" Gwen began, pressing all the buttons on the remote. Then, a familiar face appeared on screen.
"It's John!" Cody exclaimed. All eyes turned to the screen, which showed John sitting alone in a dark room. But, there was something familiar about it.
"Hello, Gwen," John began. The others listened, waiting for him to continue. John chuckled, and the screen showed Trent tied up on a very familiar couch.
"In case you haven't been able to tell by now, Trent and I are hiding in your infamous shack. Yeah, I know about it. But, onto business. I have something you want, and you have something I want. If you ever want to see Trent alive, bring the box to the shack within one hour." The message ended, and returned to regular television.
The others stared at Gwen. They knew how much Trent meant to her, but was it worth risking the ancient box with untold power inside? Gwen grabbed the box, and walked toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Harold asked. Gwen looked at the nerd.
"I'm going to get my boyfriend back," she answered, walking out the door. The other eleven heroes headed outside after her. Geoff ran to catch up with her, and grabbed Gwen's shoulder. Gwen turned around. The others managed to catch up.
"We're right behind you, but don't forget that I can teleport," Geoff reminded her. Gwen sighed, and the others huddled around Geoff. Then, they disappeared.
CAMP WAWANAKWA
Slash was crawling on his hands on knees. He had managed to kill off nearly every Underground member, except for Craig, who had escaped. Now, he was stranded on Wawanakwa Island, with no means of getting back home. As he was crawling, he heard the sounds of a helicopter. Looking up, he saw a helicopter with 'RCMP' painted on its side. The helicopter landed down, and Slash let out a sigh of relief. But, the exhaustion finally caught up to him, and he collapsed. Just as he was fading out, he heard several people rushing over to get him.
Well, as Toritona guessed, John did indeed have Trent. I've also killed off three more heroes, narrowing it down to twelve freed heroes, Trent, and Slash. Only one more hero will be killed, and it'll be in the next chapter! But, who's the unlucky victim I've chosen? Will Gwen and John follow through with their deal? And what about Slash and Craig; what will happen to them? Stay tuned and find out! R&R!