All of the characters and the other story elements that are present in this story are entirely mine here, and are used fictitiously, unless otherwise stated. I hope you like this newly-revised third chapter for this story more, and that you find it much easier and more enjoyable to read than it might have been before, of course.
And before any of you actually ask here, nobody who's actually from Jeremy's group will be in this particular story just yet. That is all. Now on with the story!
Chapter Three: Somewhere in the Grecian Sea
The following Tuesday, after school ended, Thomas went straight to the building complex. He used the complex's computers for a while until Tiffany suddenly popped up on one of their screens. She surprised him, of course, when she did that rather suddenly.
"Good to see you again, so to speak, Tiffany. What's on your mind?"
"How are the prototypes coming along, Thomas?"
"Still being prepared for testing, et cetera. Why?"
"Because I just started to get this feeling that another area of Israel is, or soon will be, under attack by the Demons. This area is one we haven't visited together yet. Or at least it's not one that I've been in with the other Warriors, anyway. This area, or sector, if you might call it that, is evidently called 'Greece,' from what I can currently gather, Thomas. It's one of at least ten non-central sectors for Israel that I have at least some basic knowledge of so far in my existence. There could be still others I might also know of elsewhere in Israel. But if so, I somehow can't remember what they're called and what they're like right now, it seems. The other Warriors and I have been to both the Babylon and Egypt sectors together already, but not to this one."
"What are its known characteristics, then, Tiffany?"
"It is a sea-type sector. So we're going to need to have a ship to get around it well. Fortunately, I found one after our most recent battle, as I was exploring in various areas of Israel, for something to do. Out of sheer boredom, perhaps, at the time. Or at least I found parts of it scattered every so often around many areas for Israel. I spent much of yesterday putting all those parts together, after collecting them all somewhere in Israel's Central Sector called Jerusalem, for your information, Thomas. It's now of a roughly moderate size, and it's now moderately capable of battle, to at least some degree, though not to a great degree. But it's still not likely to last forever, if it's eventually attacked fiercely enough and/or often enough, I think. This ship that I speak of is now somewhat strong on offense, but isn't now so strong, in terms of its current defensive capabilities, at least as far as I can tell easily enough now."
"What is it called?"
"It's called 'Truth's Sword,' if what I've learned about it is accurate enough. It has room for up to twenty actual Warriors of whatever kind or kinds, but can be maintained by as few as one Warrior, to at least some degree, if and whenever necessary."
Thomas and Tiffany conversed about many things related to Israel and to each other. As they were doing so, Scarlett eventually came into the Computer Room, having been unconsciously drawn there for some yet-unknown reason. It was almost 5 in the late afternoon of Tuesday, September 11, 2007, when she came there. And she came there alone at that time.
As he was asking Tiffany more about the Greece Sector, Tiffany said, "There are supposedly precious jewels in various places at the bottom of the Grecian Sea that often look like stars or bracelets. And they're also suspected of often having certain attributes that could possibly help those ever holding them quite considerably in Israel. However, they've apparently not been seen for many years, like on the order of centuries or millennia, perhaps. At least from what I've learned to date in my life about that part of Israel, anyway, Thomas."
Scarlett arrived there just as Tiffany began answering Tom's last question here. She heard Tiffany's entire answer, and after Tiffany finished saying it, she asked, "Tiffany, what do these jeweled stars and bracelets apparently look like?"
"Good afternoon to you too, Scarlett. Apparently, from what little I know of them, they look at least a little bit, if not a lot, like the stars and bracelets that you've already used before in Israel. I can't be totally sure about that just yet, though, for we've not all been there together just yet."
"We, meaning you, me, Sylvester, and Gawain?" asked Scarlett, now wearing a maroon blouse and a silver-trimmed maroon knee-length skirt. Hanging from one shoulder, there was a mostly color-matching stylish-looking handbag with a woven leather strap between its ends. On both sides of the handbag, there were three recently-added joined throwing stars arranged on them exactly as the stars on the back of her Salvation Card were arranged on it.
"Yes, for Tom here hasn't yet visited Israel in actual reality, Scarlett. Of course I mean the three of you with me."
"This is a primarily sea-type area of your realm, Tiffany?"
"Yes, it is. Do you have a problem with that, Scarlett?" asked Tiffany, not knowing yet why Scarlett asked that here.
"Well, let's just say that I don't generally like to be on or in the water if I don't really have to in my life, Tiffany. I'd rather keep my feet on dry land whenever possible. I wonder if that was part of the reason why I wasn't able to dive into the river where you were earlier being held against your will."
"Maybe it was. But I just don't know right now, if I ever will, Scarlett. Sylvester was also kept from diving in to get me out of the river, wasn't he?" asked Tiffany, with a rather puzzled look on her virtual face.
"As a matter of fact, yes, he was. Though I don't yet know just why, of course. That is if I ever will, Tiffany," Scarlett said.
"Can you swim, by any chance, Scarlett?" asked Thomas.
"No, I can't. Or at least not very well, anyway, Data-Keeper." Scarlett thought silently for several brief moments, before then continuing to speak here, "Sure, if and whenever it's needed, I can shower or bathe in water at times. But I really don't like being on or in water any more than I absolutely have to be, generally speaking. And I really don't know just why that is, if I ever will."
"You have swum in gym class before, when necessary, right, Scarlett?" asked Thomas.
"Of course I have. I haven't generally liked it when I've had to do it. But I've still done it, Thomas. I mean, I really don't want bad grades in school, if I can possibly avoid it at all. Mother often gets really upset when I don't get the best possible grades in my various school classes that I possibly can. Granted, not all of them are A-type grades. But she still really wants me to do the very best that I possibly can in any and all of my various classes, if and whenever possible, nevertheless. Most of my grades are perhaps in the low B-range or high C-range, if I remember things of that nature well enough, you two."
"Okay, Scarlett. What would you really like to be in your own life, if at all possible, once you get out of school?" asked Tiffany.
"Perhaps a gymnastics coach or a ninja-type person, if I can be. But my mother wants me to be a movie actress in Japan later on. And my father wants me to go into law or into politics either in this country or in Japan. Many, though not all, of my siblings don't really have definite ideas about what I possibly could be later on in my life yet, if they ever will, I believe, Tiffany."
"Just now many siblings do you now have, if I might ask you this here, by any chance at all, Scarlett?" asked Thomas.
"I am the fifteenth child and seventh daughter of my parents. There are five siblings behind me, and three of them are girls, right now. So far, I have ten brothers and nine sisters, all of which are full siblings to me. My parents are both now in their late fifties. And they started their family young, after marrying quite young. My four grandparents arranged for both my parents to be married just as soon as they were each old enough, not long after they were each born into our world. Old enough for my parents happened when they were both roughly fourteen years old, in fact. It wasn't involuntary on either of my parents' parts, either, rather strangely enough. They each had been told when they were still seven years old of the proposed arranged marriage between them both. And both of them eventually decided over roughly the next three to five years, to follow their own parents' plans, at least in that particular part of their lives. Also, they both grew up fairly fast mentally, physically, and socially, at least, if not in any other ways as well. By the time they were each twelve and a half, they were both dating each other, quite exclusively, by their own willing and mature enough choices of that specific nature. By the time they were each thirteen and a half, they were engaged to each other. And around the time or times that they both turned fourteen, they married each other. A year after that, their children started coming to them."
"Are you serious, Scarlett? Are you sure you're not kidding about such things?"
"I sure am, on both counts, Thomas. It has been rather common in my family tree for many of us to have many children in our respective lives. I even have several nieces and nephews that actually are older than at least one of my younger siblings, if not more than one of them. And what's more, my parents are expecting at least a few more children, come April, at the very latest."
"And what do you think of having so many siblings?" asked Tiffany.
"It's often quite hectic, to put it very mildly, when many of us are around each other at the same time. Privacy is something that is very rare in our family, due to the fact that many of our family's members have been rather successful in the production of offspring, in the usual manner, normally, Tiffany."
"And is this one reason you might not really want to fight in Israel so much, Scarlett?"
"Perhaps it is. I'm not really sure about that, however. Nothing against you personally, mind you, Tiffany. But I find myself often hard-pressed to have real privacy in my life, and not having to fight, in a manner of speaking, for everything I might get in it. We aren't exactly poor. But with quite a lot of us often around, you can probably figure out that it might often be rather tough for me to get everything that I might want or need in my life."
"Even with many, if not most, of your siblings already married and out of the house, no doubt, Scarlett?" asked Thomas.
"Even though that is obviously true, for many, if not most, of my siblings, Thomas, it still is that way for me quite often in my life. Just so you both know that well enough here."
Thomas and Tiffany considered this for quite some time, in relative silence, as Scarlett reached into her handbag and took out a sketchbook, drawing pencils, and an eraser. She found a place to sit down near Thomas in the Computer Room, and soon began to sketch him as he periodically typed up things on the computer.
Every so often, he'd look over at her, as she sketched him and other things near him. But most of the time, he kept his eyes on the screen and his computer keyboard. Eventually, Scarlett finished a sketch, and started another one. This next one was of Tiffany, based on what Scarlett had already seen of her during the previous battles alongside her in Israel. And Scarlett gave Tiffany a rather curious look in that sketch.
Eventually, Scarlett asked, "Thomas and Tiffany, how are things hanging, so to speak, in Israel? Have you found any Demons who are most certainly about to cause trouble there yet?"
"Not yet, but there are still signs of some Demon-related activity, Scarlett," said Tiffany, after a few fairly brief moments of her checking her current mound's general area in Israel. Tiffany said, "I'm hoping that they won't force another battle today, But we'll have to see how things go for us all, Scarlett."
"How are you going to access the Greece sector?" asked Thomas.
"I'm going to have to access the nearest mound in this sector to the Jerusalem sector. That mound is the primary gateway to the Jerusalem sector from the Egypt sector. Each non-central sector has one mound that serves as the sector's primary gateway to the Jerusalem sector. Other mounds in each sector can serve as gateways to the Jerusalem sector, as well, if and whenever needed. But traveling through them to the Jerusalem sector is quite often considerably more dangerous. And the chances of sufficiently successful transportation, between the two sectors that might then be in question at such times, are often greatly reduced. This is for various, and for many, reasons that I really would prefer not to mention to you both in full enough detail at this particular time, at least, if ever, that is," said Tiffany.
"I see. Well, when can you go there? And will you need an escort to the mound in question, perhaps, Tiffany?" asked Thomas.
"I can go there now. And the Demons in the Egypt sector seem to be asleep at this time. Or at least not very active, anyway."
"Then please try to get there, and let us know if you need any help at all," said Thomas.
"Of course, Data-Keeper," said Tiffany. She signed off for a while here, and set off for the required gateway mound elsewhere in the Egypt sector. It took her at least a little while to get there well enough. But she eventually did so, while still on foot, by 6:45 in the evening. When she did that well enough, she soon reported, "I'm now accessing the Jerusalem sector. I'll report in when I leave it here. There are a few things that I need to check first, though, in this sector."
Thomas said, as he just remembered something that might be important for him at the present time in his own life, "Understood. We're standing by here, Tiffany."
"Message received. This may take a while here, just for your information, you two," said Tiffany.
"I am heading home briefly. Scarlett will be around, in my absence. I have a few things to take care of there, at least, it seems. I will return here as soon as possible," said Thomas.
"Message received. Must you go, though? Scarlett, do you have to go home as well?" asked Tiffany.
"Yes, I must go, Spirit Girl," said Thomas.
"No, I don't have to go home for the rest of this night here, in fact, Tiffany. My parents are actually expecting me to stay overnight with two of my friends. They aren't expecting me to be at their place until at least 7:30 pm, if not even later than that. So I can still be here for a while, at least," said Scarlett.
"I see. And if you have to leave while Thomas is otherwise occupied, Scarlett?"
"Then I'll call one of the boys. Perhaps Gawain. I'm not sure just yet, though, Tiffany," said Scarlett, with an almost serious look on her face as she did so.
"Very well. Do what you two must, then, and I'll check in with you both later. God willing, of course," said Tiffany, a few seconds later.
"Agreed, Tiffany," said Thomas. "Now if you two ladies will excuse me, I have a few things, at least, at home that I must take care of in very short order."
"Please try to hurry back, Data-Keeper," said Tiffany.
"Will do, Spirit Girl," said Thomas, while rather reluctantly leaving Scarlett sitting all alone in the Computer Room.
Seconds later, Scarlett saw Tiffany's virtual face disappear from the computer's main screen here. After it did so, Scarlett then stood by, and waited for her to come back on it, just as patiently as she could.
As Scarlett waited for Tiffany to return to the screen, she put away her sketchpad, pencils, and eraser here. Then she reached into her handbag and took out a notebook and one of her school books, sitting on the floor somewhere near the main computer, as she still waited for Tiffany here. She worked on her homework for a while as she waited. The school subject she worked on her schoolwork for while she was still waiting was Social Studies 9. Scarlett worked fairly diligently on it until Tiffany finally paged her again. When Tiffany then did so, Scarlett quickly stashed it all away in her handbag before putting herself right back behind the main computer's keyboard and screen.
Tiffany said, "I'm done in the Jerusalem sector for now, it seems, Scarlett. I'm now going to head into the Greece sector."
"Understood. Do you want me to summon the others?" asked Scarlett, not sure if Tiffany would need an escort into the Greece sector of her realm.
"Not yet. If I need you to summon them, then I'll let you know, Scarlett."
"Very well. Standing by, Tiffany."
Tiffany's face disappeared, and Scarlett waited. As she waited again for Tiffany's return, Sylvester and Gawain rather unexpectedly showed up in the Computer Room.
"What are you doing here, you two?" asked Scarlett, in a very surprised manner.
"My parents are home, and conked out in their bed," said Sylvester. "The animals at my family's residence are all taken care of, and I really do not expect them to require further attending until sometime tomorrow afternoon, at the very earliest, Scarlett."
"And what about you, Gawain?" asked Scarlett, after the three of them had made at least a little bit of small talk with each other here. While they had, Scarlett had unintentionally let it slip to both Sylvester and Gawain that she had a rather huge family, in terms of its size, compared to what might be expected of an average family in the United States of America on this particular Earth. Most families in the USA on this Earth had two parents and somewhere between four to six children of whatever ages in them.
"My parents know that I often go walking after school, and that I even walk, at least sometimes, in the evening or night, Scarlett. I'm the only one of their five children still living with them. All four of my siblings are either now in college or they're now married. Except in the case of my oldest sister Johanna, who's now out of college and living alone in Tokyo, Japan, by her own willing choice in her life, that is. Johanna is now a creator of several anime and manga series. She's currently dating a baseball player for one of the teams in Japan's major leagues. I think he now plays for the Chiba Lotte Marines as an infielder."
Scarlett asked, "I see. And just how many sisters do you have overall, then, Gawain?"
"I have three older sisters. Plus one older brother, by logical extension, Scarlett. My nearest sibling is about five years older than me, and she is Tanya. As for Johanna, she is now 23, at least until late July of next year. My brother Eric is a twin, and his twin is Abigail. Eric and Abigail are now both 21, as of this past January, with Abigail being about twenty or so minutes older than Eric."
"So the only one of us who doesn't actually have much of an immediate family, in terms of its size, is Sylvester, Gawain?" asked Scarlett.
"It really appears to be the case right now for us all here. That's at least as far as I can currently tell here, just so you both know that sufficiently well for future reference, perhaps. I've now somehow learned through various sources that Thomas actually has three siblings, one of which is older than he is now. I now have four siblings of my own. Sylvester now has none. And you now have nineteen. At least up to this point in time for your life, anyway, Scarlett. Most of your siblings are older, while others are younger."
"I really don't want any more siblings, if I don't have to have them, Gawain."
"Well, it appears you're still going to have them, whether you like it or not, Scarlett. Maybe these will be your parents' last natural children overall."
"One can only hope. I really don't want to be roped into taking care of them periodically, if I don't have to be. But I might have no choice in the matter, Gawain. I really am hoping that I won't have so many children of my own later on in my life. But with the way that things often are in my life, I might just have a good number of children in it."
"And do you want to have a lot of children, Scarlett?" asked Sylvester.
"Four will perhaps be the tops for me, God willing, boys."
"And if it isn't God's will, Scarlett?" asked Gawain.
"Then so be it. But it seems to me that my family's members often seem to breed like rabbits, so to speak, Gawain. It's quite often like this, I think, in my family tree. Once two unrelated people might happen to marry each other in their respective lives, and are definitely part of my family tree, something normally hidden to that point in time for them all then apparently kicks in, somehow. And they both quite often start producing, very soon afterward, usually-healthy offspring in rather considerable numbers for many years of their lives together. Even into their own sixties and seventies, at least. If not even longer than that, in fact. I really don't know why that might be, of course. But I really wouldn't be surprised if my parents have at least forty natural children together in their lives, if certain things still somehow continue for them as they've actually been for them both in the past."
Thomas suddenly re-entered the Computer Room. And when he did, it was almost 7:30 pm. Scarlett was surprised to see him back so soon, and Thomas said, after she asked him why he was back so soon, "My parents made up some portable enough supper for me earlier, and they actually let me leave home without eating it there, Scarlett. For they'd decided to go somewhere with the rest of the family tonight. They brought me back in this general direction for a while, but not all the way. They did so even as they were carrying my bicycle in the back of our family's van. At least until I asked them to drop me off a little ways from this place, anyway. They don't plan on actually being home tonight again before 11, I believe. So I'll be able to stay here for at least a little while, it seems."
Scarlett said, "If that's so, then I really hope that you don't mind me going to my friends' place for the rest of the night, Thomas."
"No, I don't think I do. But if we need you, for any reason, can we summon you, Scarlett?"
"I suppose so. I hope you won't have to, you know, Thomas."
"As do I. But your assistance might still be needed later, before you retire for the rest of the night, Scarlett," said Thomas.
"I'm aware of that fact. But I still hope that it won't really be necessary for me to leave my friends' place before I go to school tomorrow with them, Thomas," said Scarlett, while also beginning to gather up her various things that still were near her and the rest of her current companions then in the Computer Room.
"Agreed. And, by the way, what do you all think we should call this whole building complex, if we possibly can, kids?" asked Thomas.
"Promised Land Theater, Thomas," said Tiffany, rather suddenly, as she popped back up in a window somewhere on the main computer's main screen. "Evidently, even as I've periodically discovered certain things while in this realm, its creator called the building complex that you're now in by that name."
"I was thinking something along the lines of 'Holy Land Construction' or something similar enough to that, Tiffany," said Thomas.
"The creator of my virtual realm considered that name, but ultimately chose to call it 'Promised Land Theater." So I suggest that we all do the same, if I may, Thomas."
"Very well, Tiffany, since it is your virtual realm, and since you evidently know more about this building complex than we do at present, whether or not you always will, we'll call it by that name," said Thomas, a few brief moments later, after thinking quietly about it for a little while.
"Thank you, Data-Keeper. By the way, I have just entered the Greece sector. I'm going to board the ship, in very short order. I now am going to do some investigation in the sector, and then get back to you all as soon as I can. I'm really hoping that none of you actually will have to come here for a while," said Tiffany, once the Data-Keeper's most recent response had logged sufficiently well into her virtual brain.
"Understood. Take care, and God bless, and all that," said Thomas. The other three kids now with Thomas in the Computer Room each said basically the same things as Thomas had just said to her, not too long afterward. Then Scarlett left all three boys alone in that particular part of the building with each other in very short order, as she left for her friends' place elsewhere in the local area.
Tiffany popped off Thomas's main computer screen again, in order to better focus on checking out the Greece sector of her realm. She then boarded the ship, and began exploring in the Greece sector where the digital wind of some sort might actually take her in it. At least for the most part, if not entirely, anyway. She encountered no opposition of any kind for quite some time. Eventually, she brought the Truth's Sword to a dock quite near a mound on a small island of some sort. She accessed that mound in very short order, even as the 11th became the 12th in the St. Peter local area. When she paged the others not long after that, in order to let them know that was the case, Sylvester finally answered her page, after being woken up by it.
By that time, Thomas and Gawain had both left the entire building complex. But Sylvester had stayed, and had fallen asleep, in the Computer Room on the floor by 11 pm. It took Tiffany about ten minutes or so to finally get Sylvester's attention in it, after she began paging whoever might have then been in it when she'd started to do that. But, eventually, Sylvester was sufficiently conscious again in the Computer Room.
Sylvester asked, "Is that you, Scarlett?"
"No, Sylvester, it is Tiffany. I am now in a mound somewhere in the Greece sector. The Demons are apparently going to attempt an attack sometime right after your next day of school. They didn't attack on September 11, 2007, but they were beginning to mass for this new attack, it seems."
Sylvester rubbed his eyes a few seconds, so as to hopefully get any sand of a sort that might have just started to accumulate out of them at least a little bit, if not entirely. Then he asked, "What time do you expect them to attack, then, Tiffany?"
"No earlier than 3:45 in the afternoon, if even that early, Sylvester."
"I see. Will my presence most likely be required here for the rest of the night, by any chance?"
"I doubt it, Sylvester."
"Then, with your permission, I will return to my family's residence until I have to wake up for school later today, seeing as it is now past local midnight here."
"Granted. Pleasant dreams, and all that, Sylvester. I really hope things work out for you and your parents."
"Understood. By the way, do you sleep?"
"Not necessarily as you do, as far as I currently know in my own existence, Sylvester. But I suppose that I do sleep somehow. I'm not quite sure exactly how that might actually be the case for me, but I still suppose that I do, in any case at all."
"Well, then, if you do actually have that particular capability in your current existence, I really hope that you will have a good sleep period of whatever kind or kinds you might have them as, the next time you have one, Tiffany. And that you will have rather pleasant dreams of a sort, et cetera, the next time you do actually have one of them."
"Thank you, Sylvester. I shall endeavor to do just that, if, whenever, and however, I possibly can in the future, of course."
"Good night. I will return later, God willing, then, Tiffany."
"Agreed, Sylvester," said Tiffany. Sylvester soon vacated the Computer Room and the entire building complex with no unnecessary delay as he was doing just that in his life. Tiffany went to sleep soon afterward as well. It was 12:30 in the morning when both of them fell asleep in whatever states of sleep were then possible for them.
About fifteen hours later, Thomas and three others came to the Theater, for Tiffany had thought that the Demons might attack not too long after that. Of course, the three others with Thomas at that time were Scarlett, Sylvester, and Gawain. They all arrived in the Theater's Computer Room by 3:45, and only briefly conversed with each other and with Tiffany before Scarlett led Sylvester and Gawain to the necessary elevator shaft in the Theater. By 3:50, the three required Warriors were in the Booth Room. Two minutes after that, they were all on their ways to the Greece sector to meet up with Tiffany there.
They all landed mere moments later on the deck of the Truth's Sword, which looked largely like a barque, but not entirely. For it carried 32 guns of at least one sort, if not more than one, and it had only two main masts instead of at least three, as many barques had often been known to have under normal enough situations. They landed near the bow of the ship, and Tiffany soon welcomed them to it, as soon as she realized they were now aboard it.
The ship was roughly eighty feet long, fifteen feet wide, and 110 feet tall from the top of the forward mast to the waterline, with another fifteen feet present below the waterline level. Tiffany said, "I don't have time right now to give you a tour of this ship, everyone. For Demons are about to attack somewhere in this sector, and we need to find them and engage them as soon as we can. Sylvester, man the guns. Gawain, take the wheel. Scarlett, help Sylvester by loading the guns. I'll be trying to locate the Demons, along with Thomas, while you all are doing those things, for your information."
"Aye, Aye, Captain," said all the other Warriors, in due time. At least the ones who were now with Tiffany aboard her ship, anyway.
Eventually, Thomas and Tiffany located the Demons they were looking for in the Grecian Sea, and Tiffany told Gawain where to sail in order to engage them. Sylvester and Scarlett saw that all the guns were loaded as needed prior to the planned engagement. It took them until about 5:30 in the late afternoon to be within the desired ship's firing range of the Demons they were hunting. Those Demons included many Sharks and Octopi, as well as some Vultures. The Truth's Sword held its fire until they were no more than two thousand feet away from their nearest opponents, even while still being attacked by several Octopi at a rather considerable distance from them. When Tiffany gave the word to fire, Sylvester and Scarlett activated an automatic firing and reloading protocol that Tiffany had discovered while she and Thomas were searching for the Demons they'd just located and come under fire from. Many Octopi and Sharks were hit by the defensive fire from the Truth's Sword. The Vultures soon dove on the crew of the Truth's Sword. And the Warriors quickly found themselves fighting on the ship's top deck and in its electronic rigging of some sort.
All the Warriors found themselves battling in various places all over the ship quite soon after actually engaging the Demons' group. Even Tiffany found herself doing just that.
Scarlett was suddenly knocked overboard, and into the virtual water near the ship's port side, by a Shark leaping over the ship's nearest railing. Scarlett soon found herself being chased by several rather good-sized Octopi and Sharks, and was only able to avoid being killed or de-materialized, due to the way the battle was then going for her and the rest of her group, by sheer good fortune, somehow. She soon found herself sinking to the nearest bottom of the Grecian Sea. As she was still sinking, an underwater geyser of some sort hit her on her left side, and knocked her into an underground cavern of some sort. After it did, she soon found herself rather unexpectedly in a moderately large, but not extremely large, air pocket inside that cavern. She soon investigated the inside of that cavern, having little other choice now. For she'd nearly run out of air soon after being knocked quite unceremoniously into the Grecian Sea. She quickly found four tunnels leading away from it, and then chose one at random, not knowing just where it might lead her.
After she chose one of those four tunnels, the air pocket somehow actually moved with her to at least some degree, if not to a great degree. In time, the tunnel she was now in actually led her to another underwater cavern. When she entered it, she soon found a quite large cache of assorted jewels and many other kinds of items, after some lanterns of yet-unknown sorts suddenly flickered right to life in it.
She examined many of those things in that particular cavern for at least a few minutes. But not for more than about five or so minutes, in any case at all. Both hands were especially drawn to certain jewels and certain bracelets in that cache. They were both drawn there without any prior intent of that nature for them from her at all. Next, she found four medium-sized water-proof pouches also hidden within it. She quite quickly began filling the pouches with many items, if she thought they were worth her taking here.
Within ten more minutes, at most, she had all four pouches then filled as best as she could somehow fill them here. She soon secured them to her fighting outfit to the best of her current ability to do just that. And after she did so, she began heading in the direction that she'd come from just a little while before. As she returned to where the geyser was, she stumbled over a double-tank breathing apparatus and a pair of swimming goggles. At least at first, anyway. For she'd not seen them at first as she was heading back to where she'd been sent into the air pocket she was now still in.
Before leaving it, she donned her just-found scuba gear and swimming goggles as needed. Two minutes later, she left that air pocket, and headed for the required geyser.
Moments later, she was hit by the geyser as she walked over where it had shot out from. It hit her on her stomach, as she did so. And when it did, it shot her straight up rather speedily, until she broke the surface with minimal visual disruption of it on her part, and until she'd shot up to an altitude of four hundred or so feet above it, more or less. As she then shot up in the air, courtesy of the geyser, she began bombarding many of the still-present Vultures, Sharks, and Octopi with many throwing stars, knives, and cards, at least, if nothing else as well. Before the geyser finally cut out beneath her here, she then did a rather unexpected gymnastics-like series of maneuvers. She did twenty forward somersaults with eleven twists in a quick manner until she landed quite safely and quite gently on the ship's deck just behind where Tiffany and Sylvester were now fighting back-to-back with each other. The virtual corpses of about six hundred Vultures, Sharks, and Octopi often were still present to at least some degree on or around the ship when Scarlett returned to the deck of the Truth's Sword.
Fifteen minutes later, then, not one single Demon remained sufficiently able to fight against the Warriors in the current battle. Especially after Scarlett produced items from the pouches she'd filled while in the cavern where the cache she'd found was located. She gave Sylvester several arrows for his bow, at least, for example. Also, she gave Gawain a purple and orange trumpet to use in the future, if and whenever possible. And Tiffany got a bazooka-like missile launcher with many holomissiles available for it, as long as it was sufficiently charged with energy at any time its use was desired or required for her.
After Scarlett distributed assorted items to the other Warriors who were then with her, and to herself, as the present situation required her to distribute them here, the four Warriors soon used them to fight back against their many remaining opponents. And the Demons either were taken out of the fight completely or they were forced to run for their lives, so to speak, once the Warriors used those items well enough against them all. At least another two hundred more Demons, but no more than about four hundred or so additional ones, soon were taken out completely by the Warriors, in whatever ways necessary, before the battle finally ended with no remaining doubt about the actual winners of it.
It took the four now-present Warriors until about 7, then, to attend to the many virtual corpses, or various parts of those corpses, as the need actually arose for them all there, after they'd finished having to fight in the battle against many different Demons. But eventually, they were able to do so quite well enough on and/or around the Truth's Sword. Even if they didn't like the idea of having to deal with them at all. Even Scarlett had to help deal with them there. After the last virtual corpse had been attended to as needed there, then, Tiffany quickly turned the Truth's Sword in the now-required main direction that'd bring it quite near the currently activated mound elsewhere in the Greece sector. By 7:30 pm local time, Tiffany brought the Truth's Sword to the nearest dock to that mound, and made absolutely sure that it was moored there quite well enough before she and the other three Warriors with her at that time actually left it as necessary. With that done, she soon led them all to the activated mound then in question. Or at least as close to it as she could lead them all there before she accessed it in the required manner, anyway.
Five or so minutes later, at most, she deactivated it as needed, and the other three Warriors then with her were returned to the real world again. It took them all at least a few more rather quiet minutes to readjust fully back to it, quite naturally enough, having just been fighting there not long before.
Sylvester was actually the first of them to speak as all three of the Warriors who weren't forced to spend all their time in Israel then entered the necessary elevator that'd take them all up to the Computer Room again. He said, "I really thought you were a goner, Scarlett, when that Shark knocked you overboard."
"I very nearly was, Sylvester. If it hadn't been for a great deal of rather good fortune, I might very well have been. But I was, quite fortunately enough, sent into an underwater cavern where there was an air pocket of at least some reasonable size then present. I soon afterward found another cavern with a rather large cache of items after randomly choosing one of four tunnels between it and the cavern I was originally in after being sent there by an underwater geyser."
"And you eventually came up back up to the rest of us on the Truth's Sword with some items for us all, I believe," said Gawain.
"Yes, I most certainly did do just that, Gawain. I even came back aboard the ship with at least some items that I think might really happen to interest Thomas in his own life," answered Scarlett.
"So what did you think of our first experience in the Greece sector for her realm, Scarlett?" asked Sylvester, even as their current elevator opened to show the Computer Room again. Fifteen seconds later, all three of them rejoined Thomas near the main computer's main screen, after they'd left that elevator again here.
"It's not something that I'd rather see us repeat very often, if ever again, Sylvester. I really didn't like getting knocked overboard during the battle that we just fought in Israel."
"So you really don't want to go back there again, if at all possible, Scarlett?" asked Thomas, who'd turned to face his fellow Earthlings here as Scarlett was answering Sylvester's most recent question, a few rather brief and rather silent moments later.
"Let's put it this way, if I may, Thomas. At least for now, if not once and for all, anyway. Of the three sectors in Israel that I've actually visited so far, the Greece sector in it is currently my least-favorite one of the three. I think I like the Egypt sector most of all, at least in terms of those same three sectors in her realm, so far, though," said Scarlett.
"While you four were all otherwise occupied, I began to run at least a few programs here on this main computer. I did that in order to try to gather at least a bit more information about the inhabitants of Israel and about the various sectors in it, just so you all know that well enough here, kids. It seems that Gawain will be the strongest Warrior in the group, at least in terms of the sectors that happen to have more virtual water for them in comparison to all the other other sectors of Israel. Sylvester, you'll likely be the strongest, at least in terms of sectors with an above-average concentration of vegetation, I honestly think. Scarlett, you'll likely be the strongest in sectors that are mainly desert or plains of a sort, at least for now. And I think Tiffany will be strongest in sectors with an above-average concentration of mountains, caverns, or clouds, for instance."
The four teens conversed with each other for a while longer, before parting from each other for the rest of the late evening or early night. They all parted from each other by 8 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2007. Thomas was the last of the four Terrans to leave the Theater, leaving it at about 8:15 pm.
Thomas took all the necessary things with him that he'd brought there earlier, as well as at least a few of the things that Scarlett had rather unexpectedly gathered up in a pouch while she'd actually been in the second underwater cavern earlier. He arrived back at his family's residence with all those things by 8:45 pm. Thomas soon slipped upstairs with all those things, and hid them in various places in his part of the room, before he changed his clothes and went downstairs for a rather late supper of whatever he could then find.
By 9:30, he returned to his and Silas's bedroom again, and studied and did his homework for about the next two hours. He mainly studied and worked on it until about 11:30. He retired to his bed sometime around local midnight. Ten minutes later, he was asleep.
And so he slept quite soundly indeed in his bed. All while not yet knowing what the future would hold for him and anyone else in his life, he still did so now.
The next chapter of this particular story will be up soon enough here, if at all possible. If you have any good enough ideas for possible pairings of the main characters, as long as they are male-female in nature, I'm quite willing to hear them. Until later, then, this is The Universal Storyteller saying, "Over and out!"