Dynamis closed his eyes against the bright light as Natsumi threw open the curtains. He covered himself with the covers, unwilling to get up. It was say three in the real world, and his life now was beyond weird.

"Get off your butt, we have work to do!" Natsumi yelled.

"To be precise, I'm on my back." He rubbed his face and sat up, feeling the heat of the sun that barge through his window like an unwanted visitor.

"I don't care. We have a problem." Natsumi answered. She was obviously in a bad mood.

"You mean a bigger one than you?" Dynamis countered, still not wanting to get up.

"Much bigger and much less pretty." Natsumi answered. He got out of bed, muttering to himself, and made his way to the kitchen. Tithi was still asleep on a foldout couch, so he tiptoed around the kid and over to the freezer. He grabbed a cold pizza and threw it closed, then eyed the microwave suspiciously.

"Don't worry, stargazer, that one doesn't bite either." Natsumi grinned, grabbing the pizza from his hand and opening the microwave, throwing the pizza inside and hurling the door closed.
"See? All you have to do is press this button-" there was a series of mini explosions and then the whole microwave set ablaze.

Dynamis and Natsumi backed up in shock. Thinking quickly, Dynamis grabbed the water jug and dumped it on the flaming microwave, putting the flames out momentarily, but then they came back. The flames started to spread, and he glanced about frantically, looking for something else.

"Out of the way." Natsumi shoved past him, holding a huge red cylinder. She pressed a silver knob and foam came out, covering the microwave in bubbles. A frightened Tithi, now awake, called from the back of the room. "Oooh! Pretty"

When the fire was completely out, Dynamis gave Natsumi a lopsided grin, amused. "It doesn't bite, but it does burn."

"Shut up." She groaned, but Dynamis could see she was also smiling, if out of relief.

"It looks nice, the charred microwave. Beautiful décor." He added sarcastically, just to bug her.

"Yeah. It'll give the cleaning crew a nice surprise." She started to laugh, a giggle than spread into a full outburst of laughter. Dynamis glanced at her sideways then couldn't help laughing too, at the absurdity of the situation. The smoking remains of the microwave still warm; they made their way to the TV, both of them still chuckling maniacally.

Suddenly, Natsumi's smile faded slightly. "Let's get back to business, okay? The attack on your temple is on TV." She clicked some buttons that only made Dynamis' head spin and a news report came on. The reporter was saying something quickly, and smoking images appeared behind him.

"The attack came four days ago, on an ancient temple in south America. The owner, as well as all the people living inside are nowhere to be found, and hopefully escaped to safety. The cause of the attack is still unknown. Who would want to destroy these ancient relics? Keep watching!"

Natsumi turned the TV off. "We're on TV. That's terrible."

"Why?"

"Because-" her eyes suddenly widened. "No. Oh beyspirit, not now!" She was looking out the window at three forms making their way into the hotel.
Three thickset men, each one dressed in a black shirt and camouflage pants, knives strapped to their belts and guns on their shoulders. Dynamis felt a pang of fear. They were not normal looking. And obviously set on a goal. And as soon as one looked up and caught his terrified look, he knew what their goal was.
Natsumi and him.

"Who are they?!" He yelled, looking at Natsumi, who was shivering.

"No, no, no! Why now?! It must have been the microwave, yeah, that was it. Why did I have to touch that thing?" She began running around. She grabbed her backpack and shoved stuff inside, so fast Dynamis could barely follow what; a flashlight, canned food, a knife, a blanket.

"What are you doing?!" She roared at Dynamis. "Take this and start packing!" She threw a backpack a t Dynamis, but he just stared at it.

"Natsumi, calm down! What happened?"

"They know were here! They want me! They want this!" Here she took out the necklace with the stone she'd showed him before. "They want the Twisted Meteor, and I can't stop them!"

"Why? What!?"

"Shut up and back! Tithi, help Dynamis!" Tithi glanced at them both, a terrified look in his eyes.

"What's happening?"

"The men are coming for Natsumi, Tithi. Get all your important stuff together."

Time seemed to slow down. Dynamis shoved all his important belongings into the backpack, slung it over his back, and grabbed Jade Jupiter off the nightstand. As soon as he did, the door blew open, and the three men ran at them, shooting. Natsumi grabbed him and Tithi, and ran out onto the hotel room balcony. Gunshots sounded out behind them.

"Dynamis, grab Tithi. You're going to have to jump. It's only one story. If you can land on that blue box, you should make it. Now go!" She shoved them both frantically.

He spun around to face her. "I'm not going without you."

"It's me they're after, stargazer! Just go!"

Dynamis knew he couldn't leave her there. Not her. He grabbed Natsumi by the waist, grabbed a frightened Tithi with his other hand, and launched them down and off the balcony. They flew what seemed like forever, the world in slow motion.
Dynamis angled them towards the giant blue bin, and they hit it violently, bullets narrowly missing them. They rolled down and off the bin, and onto the ground. Dynamis' leg twisted under him, but the pain didn't register. The only thing that mattered was getting them to safety. He leaned on Natsumi, and they ran, kept on running, until they were as far away from the hotel as they could possibly make it. After what seemed like days, they made it the furthest passible. Finding an out-of –the-way old shed, they ran into it, and Natsumi locked the door and barricaded it. Then Dynamis, screaming in pain, collapsed in an abandoned shed behind some old hotel.

&*&*&*&**N**&*&*&*&

Natsumi could feel adrenaline rushing through her. Her heart pounded, her breath came in gasps. They were safe. The little boy, Tithi, was crying against a wall of the old, rotten shed. She threw the backpack off her shoulder and leaned over Dynamis, who was lying against a wall, barely breathing. His ankle was obviously sprained, and he was covered in scratches, just like her. A bullet had grazed his arm. She didn't know much on first aid, but she knew that she had to keep his ankle still and contain the fast, she tied his leg between two pieces of wood using rope, making a makeshift splint, then ripped her jacket apart and bandaged his arm.

"Dynamis, Dynamis, come on." She shook him a lightly as possible, when she didn't get a response from him, panic set in, replacing her earlier adrenaline. "Come on, stargazer."

"Is he okay, Natsumi?" Tithi asked, leaning on her shoulder.

"I don't know." Tears began to sting her eyes. He wasn't reacting…..but he wasn't that badly injured. He'd maneuvered them both when they were falling in a way that both she and Tithi landed on top of him, saving their lives but injuring him. But he wasn't that badly hurt, right?

"Can you help him?" Tithi whined, anxious. Natsumi admired the little boy's bravery.

"I don't need help." Dynamis gasped. Relief flooded Natsumi and she couldn't contain the tears any more.

"I'm so sorry, this is all my fault!" She sobbed, sitting beside him. She leaned her head on his chest, and he raised a shaking arm and put it around her.

"You never asked for any of this. We'll make it out." He whispered.

"I don't know what to do!" She cried even louder.

"You know what you need?" He asked, opening one eye and smiling.

"What?" She asked.

"Sleep. Go to sleep. I'll wake you if something happens."

Wearily, Natsumi nodded, too tired to argue. "Just don't break any microwaves."

He laughed weakly. "That's your job."