At least it wasn't snowing, but it was still very cold.
Robert moved slowly through the dense forest. The ground was covered with some snow and a gnawing breeze blew through the air.
It didn't help that his clothes were a mess, and he ached a bit now that the adrenaline rush had died down.
Robert's mind constantly wandered. It's how he kept himself moving. He didn't want to focus too much on the bitter cold. He concentrated instead on the place he just escaped from. That thing that called itself "Supreme Starman".
He also thought of Shendi, the deadly person he fought back in Berk who came close to killing him. He thought of Sarah, and ached to know what became of her. He thought of Michael, and tried not to think of the torture that he undoubtedly was enduring right now.
Robert knew he needed to help these people. He knew he had to stand up to Supreme Starman and Shendi and whoever else was out there willing to get in his way, but he lacked any idea as to how.
Shendi was merely toying with him the whole time. Robert knew that physically, he probably could take Shendi down, but Shendi posessed mental powers to give him the upper hand.
PSI... or whatever it was that Shendi called it. It didn't matter to Robert. It was a cheap way to win. They were having a fair fight and only because Shendi was outmatched did he resort to his tricks. Robert didn't respect this at all. It was a cowardly move.
All these PSI users. They all think they can just solve their problems by conjuring up fire or ice. Putting things to sleep or getting into other people's minds. Robert didn't understand it. Things should be settled the way he has learned. There is no honor in PSI. It's just an escape from reality.
Robert looked up and realized the forest was clearing a bit, and up ahead he could see a building.
What is a building doing way out here? he wondered.
Robert walked closer to it and could see it was made out of metal and was shaped sort of like an octagon. It was a strange looking building, but Robert saw it only as a place that could be shelter.
He staggered up to the door using all the strength he had left and managed to knock on it.
The door opened and a portly man wearing a lot of red appeared in the doorway.
"Oh!" he gasped in surprise.
"...help..." Robert managed to say, and he collapsed onto the threshold.
He ran out of the town limits and past the rocks he used to hide behind at a time that seemed so long ago now. He didn't notice the eyes of a young Heath watching in dissapointment. It didn't matter to him. Home. That's all that mattered right now. Not this battle. Not this war. This was all wrong. What was right was to be comfortable underneath the familiar sheets of his own bed. That's all Brian wanted right now.
He reached the edge of the forest and ran into it. Suddenly, a long arm flew out and knocked him back out of the forest.
Brian scrambled back to his feet and looked ahead. Senior Mook came out of the forest, glaring at him.
"What a complete coward you really are," Senior Mook marveled, "When you showed up, I thought you were one of them. These chosen ones that the master spoke of. Clearly I was wrong. Clearly you are nothing more than a stupid, scared little boy."
Brian began to shiver with terror and despair. He lowered his head and tried to fight back the tears.
"Oh, are you going to cry now?" Senior Mook mocked, "Are you going to cry for mommy?"
Brian clenched his fists, and as soon as he did, he felt Senior Mook's arms seize him and drag him close to his mouth.
"As much as you would want it, I can't let you go," Senior Mook said, "You've seen our operation. I can't allow you to share this information with anyone."
"I won't..." Brian stammered, "I'll... I'll just go and..."
"No," Senior Mook repeated, "No, you won't."
He tossed Brian to the ground. Somewhere in his mind, Brian knew he had to get up, but he just didn't want to. He didn't care.
Senior Mook's eyes glowed yellow and he fired beams. The ground underneath Brian exploded, hurtling him through the air. He grunted as he landed on the ground and rolled over. He looked up and felt his head snap back as Senior Mook's arm struck him in his chin. He fell onto his back.
"Help me..." Brian muttered to no one.
Other Mooks gathered around, making a strange clicking sound that sounded like they were cheering.
Senior Mook picked Brian up by his legs.
"I want to go home..." Brian mumbled.
"Oh, I'll send you home all right," Senior Mook promised.
Senior Mook took his arm and slapped Brian back and forth across the face until his cheeks were beet red.
"I can't do this..." Brian whispered.
Senior Mook grinned and then slammed Brian to the ground. Brian felt his nose break, but he couldn't even cry out in pain. He didn't fight back his tears anymore either. It was all pointless.
"He weeps!" Senior Mook announced, "He is defeated!"
The Mooks cheered even louder. Heath watched from the forest in horror. This couldn't be happening.
"Please help..." Brian sobbed, "I don't wanna die..."
"I'm so sorry," Senior Mook mused, "But you chose this. You chose to come here and to find me. Accept your fate!"
Fate...
"Accept what has been given to you," Senior Mook continued, "Accept the inevitable."
This is your destiny... You have been chosen...
"You chose to come here," Senior Mook said, "You chose to die."
Chose... Chosen... You are chosen... You are the light...
"Now it is time for you to say good bye," Senior Mook said. This time his eyes began to glow blood red.
For from out of the renewed darkness, a new light will emerge, taking shape as the six who mean to do harm only to evil and bring good will to all other things
"I can't..." Brian choked, "I... can't..."
You must! Seek it from within! Bring it out! The light! THE LIGHT!
Two death beams formed in Senior Mook's eyes. They began to fire.
THE LIGHT!
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Brian screamed.
All around him, it suddenly came. Light irradiated from his spot. Senior Mook stopped his attack. His eyes grew wide, and then wider. Absolute terror filled his being. The surrounding cheers turned to agonizing cries. The light filled the air. It swept through the grass, and then as it had appeared, so to had it vanished, leaving behind the open field, the dense forest, and the stupid, scared little boy passed out. Face in the dirt.
Porkle approached the border of Threed when he finally sensed it. Something moving swiftly not far behind him. At first he wondered how something could be following him without being detected, but as his brain scanned the information, he realized how it was able to do that.
Porkle came to a stop and held his hand out.
"Do you know what I like most about Mooks?" he asked aloud.
He then spun around and threw the almost invisible energy ball at blinding speed.
It exploded about twenty yards away and Elder Mook stumbled and fell over.
"All those legs make you such a clumsy species," Porkle finished.
Elder Mook quickly stood back up and threw his cloak off.
"Very good," he complimented, "I wouldn't have expected you to have realized I was here."
Porkle's eye suddenly picked up new data and he glanced beyond Elder Mook where Angela and Kayla moved slowly behind some trees.
"So everyone is here then," Porkle said, "I guess we will have to deal with all this now instead of later."
Porkle's troops quickly got into formation and prepared themselves for battle.
"What is it you want with us, Mook?" Porkle asked, "And more to the point, how is it that you are even on this planet?"
"I have been sent to give you a firm message," Elder Mook replied, "My master does not appreciate your existence. You pose a certain threat to his plans. A threat I cannot allow to go on anymore."
"Your master?" Porkle asked, "Another being like Giygas has arrived then? And what makes you think that matters to anyone?"
"Do not mock my master," Elder Mook warned, "You cannot begin to comprehend what he is capable of."
"I comprehend a lot more than you obviously realize," Porkle said, "And as much as my... existence bothers you and your master, I just can't seem to care that much."
"You will soon enough," Elder Mook said and with that, he charged towards the cyborgs.
"Quiet," Kayla hissed.
She and Angela peeked out from behind a tree and watched in amazement as Elder Mook charged towards the cyborgs. The cyborgs reared back and then charged towards him.
Slowly, a purple glow surrounded Elder Mook. Some cyborgs hit it and were thrown backwards while others were seized by Elder Mook's lightning fast arms and slammed together, crumbling their cybernetic parts.
Porkle watched in surprise.
"You're better than most Mooks," Porkle commented.
Elder Mook came to a stop and spun around to face the remaining cyborgs. They aimed their hands at Elder Mook and prepared to fire.
Suddenly, Elder Mook's arms stretched out and smacked the cyborgs away. He then wrapped an arm around a cyborg and pulled himself over to it. As he came near, a red beam fired out of his eye, exploding the cyborg on contact.
"He's good," Angela commented.
"I've seen him before," Kayla said, "When this all started. He was there when Michael was kidnapped, which means he would know where Michael is."
Angela looked at Kayla's determined face.
"Whatever happens," Kayla said, "We have to get Elder Mook to talk."
Porkle's teeth were gritted and his fists were clenched. Only three cyborgs remained from his army of twenty. It was time to step in.
He ran towards Elder Mook. Elder Mook saw Porkle and stretched one of his arms out to strike, but Porkle suddenly was gone.
"What's this?" Elder Mook gasped.
Suddenly, a foot struck the back of Elder Mook's head and he flew forward, crashing into a cyborg. In frustration, Elder Mook took his arms and ripped the cyborg apart.
Elder Mook felt a sudden heat behind him and pulled himself forward, narrowly missing the scorching beam that then burned a hole into the ground.
Porkle moved to strike again, and Elder Mook quickly snatched another cyborg and threw it at Porkle.
Porkle had no choice but to fire at the cyborg and destroy it.
Elder Mook again swiped with his arm. Porkle dodged out of the way but wound up jumping into the path of Elder Mook's other arm, which knocked him down.
Elder Mook moved in to fire, but was struck down by the last cyborg.
Elder Mook quickly spun around, and as his arm swung out, it became electrified and electrucuted the cyborg. It fell to the ground lifeless.
"That takes care of your little army," Elder Mook said, "Time to end this."
He could smell the aroma of their hair, blowing in the breeeze.
Shendi smiled in the shadows behind Angela and Kayla. Everything was as he envisioned it. He looked down at the ground and saw a branch. He opened his hand up, ready to grip the girl's throat.
He raised his foot and began to lower it towards the branch.
Porkle leapt at Elder Mook and Elder Mook responded by grabbing Porkle in mid air and heaving him over his head and into the trees.
"Watch out!" Angela gasped.
She and Kayla ducked as Porkle crashed through a tree. They heard a surprised grunt and two voices yelling as Porkle crashed to the ground.
Kayla looked and saw Porkle on the ground laying on top of someone else.
Angela looked and her eyes locked with his. She suddenly had a terrifying feeling.
"We have to go now!" she shouted.
Kayla grabbed Angela and began to run.
"Argh!" Shendi roared. He threw Porkle off of him and leapt to his feet, but the crack told him that it was too late. They had teleported away.
Shendi turned to destroy the cyborg that landed on him, but it was gone. He looked up and saw that it was soaring away too fast for him to catch up to it.
Shendi spat on the ground and then punched a nearby tree, putting a clean hole in it. He felt frustrated and unsatisfied.
He spotted a squirrel nearby and decided that would have to do for now as he gripped the squirrel's tiny throat.
The screams of agony were music to Supreme Starman's ears.
"How much longer shall we torture the subject?" a Wild n' Wooly Shambler asked.
"He attempted to escape," Supreme Starman said simply, "He must learn the price. Besides, we don't have to concern ourselves with any harm we may do to him. The amount of damage to his body won't affect the process any."
The Wild n' Wooly Shambler nodded in agreement as its two rubbery arms swiveled back and forth.
"Soon, he and the others will be completely ours," Supreme Starman said, "And with them, we will stand an even greater chance, and even if they do not tip the scales in our favor, I have a feeling that this new trinket of mine will definitely help."
Supreme Starman laughed as he held the Sword of Kings high above his head.
The sands on the beach were blown upward as Mako appeared in Summers. He looked around quickly, surveying the area. It appeared safe for now. Now he had to figure out how to find Brian.
He walked up onto the main road from the beach and noticed a sailor walking past, talking to this woman.
"Yea, I swear it's the truth," the sailor said, "Big, huge dragon thing! Kraken was his name. Nasty fellow, he was."
"You there!" Mako called.
The sailor stopped and looked at Mako.
"What is it?" he asked.
"You saw Kraken?" Mako asked.
"Aye," the sailor replied, "Surely did. Had a run in with him when I took these two boys here from Raptorland."
"From Raptorland?" Mako asked, "Was one named Brian?"
"Surely was," the sailor said, "You know him?"
"Sort of," Mako said, "And what about the other?"
"Trevor's his name," the sailor said, "Friend of mine. He got hurt pretty badly during the battle."
"Where is he now?" Mako asked.
"Hospital," the sailor said, "He didn't look too good, may I say."
Mako looked around and saw the hospital nearby.
"Thanks," Mako called and ran off to the hospital.
He went in and walked over to the nurse's desk.
"I'm looking for someone named Trevor," Mako said.
"Are you family?" the nurse asked.
"Not really," Mako admitted, "but I'm a friend. I know how he wound up here. I wanted to help somehow."
"Well, I'm not sure if I can let you in," the nurse said, "Doctor's orders."
"Is there anyway I can see him?" Mako asked.
"I'm sorry," the nurse said and walked away.
Mako looked around and noticed a doctor walking nearby. He had a folder opened. Mako noticed the name Trevor on the cover of the folder.
He quickly followed after the doctor. He was reading the contents of the folder and shaking his head. He then stopped by a door and placed the folder in a file holder outside the door. The doctor then moved on.
Mako snuck to the door and quickly went inside the room.
He saw a boy not much older than him lying still in the bed. He was asleep.
Mako walked over to him and looked at his face.
"You're mind..." Mako said, "You're in a coma, but there's something else. I've never sensed something like this. There's PSI there, but it's... incomplete."
Mako looked at the monitors by Trevor's bed and tried to make sense of them.
"His brain is very weak," he noticed, "But it's all jumbled around."
Mako looked back at Trevor and stared at him hard.
"What... are you?" he asked.
Suddenly, Mako was overcome with a nauseous feeling. His head began to swim. He tried to grab hold of something, but nothing was there. He staggered a bit and then passed out on the floor next to Trevor's bed.