Next chapter:full of humor and made solely of randomness. I don't know why, but I really wanted this idea to be in the story. Those who want a good laugh, read it!
Matthew walked to the Kolima Junction, the area where there were to possible ways to go. Either left, which would lead to Belinsk, or right which should bring them to Talon Peak. He was about to take the one on the left, when he saw Amiti standing on the path, barring his way. He was glaring at the earth Adept.
"Amiti? What are you doing here?"
"What's this nonsense?"
"What nonsense?"
"Don't lie to me!"
Matthew looked at the young king, not bothering to hide his confusion.
Amiti began to drag him towards Talon Peak. "We'll fight up there."
Matthew, finding nothing better to do, decided to follow him.
At last they reached the top of the mountain. The Mountain Roc which used to sleep here had disappeared. It must've decided to sleep somewhere else. Or maybe it simply flew away to catch its lunch. Matthew looked around.
"Why have you brought me here?"
Amiti glared at him. "I know you used Sveta to make Karis fall in love with you, and I want you to break up with her."
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't lie! Tyrell told me!"
"Tyrell's the last person in who you should believe in." Matthew said
"Look if you won't do it, then I'll beat you up!" the water Adept cried. He charged at Matthew. His first punch was to knock his enemy off his feet by hitting the right shoulder, but Matthew dodged it. Amiti threw another punch at his face, but Matthew lowered himself, and Amiti only hit air.
"Stop dodging!"
Matthew raised his head as hard as he could, and hit Amiti in the chest. Amiti staggered backwards, but quickly regained posture. He charged at Matthew again.
"My voice gives me super strength!" he announced. He tripped. "Oh no I tripped!"
His tripping caused him to overbalance, and hit Matthew with his head in the stomach. The two teens both fell backwards, and fall off the edge of the cliff, and begin to fall into the empty.
Well that was about to happen, but Amiti caught hold of the edge with one hand, and caught Matthew's hand with the other, causing them to dangle dangerously over the ground that was barely visible due to the height.
"OH MY GOODNESS I'M ABOUT TO DIE! I'M GOING TO DIE WITH THE PERSON I HATE THE MOST!" Matthew yelled.
"Stop shouting Matthew!"
"I'M GOING TO DIE IN A STORY WHICH HAS NO SIGNIFICANCE AT ALL!"
"Matthew stop yelling. There's no point in this. No can hear you in outer space!"
"AND I'M GOING TO DIE WITH A COMPLETE MORON!"
Back in Belinsk, Tyrell was walking in circles. "What are they doing? Matthew said he'd be back for lunch, and Amiti left to pick him up. What can be taking them so long?" Sveta asked herself aloud.
"I don't know" Tyrell said. "But I'm sure they'll be here in a minute. Give them some time…"
"I have a bad feeling." Rief said. "But I agree with Tyrell, let's wait a little longer."
At Talon Peak, Amiti and Matthew were still dangling in the emptiness. Amiti was holding Matthew with one hand, and the edge of the cliff with the other. Suddenly, his arm shivered.
"Oh no! I'm losing my grip!" Amiti warned
"No please! Hold on!" Matthew pleaded
They began to talk so quickly that it seemed that they were talking at the same time
"I can't feel my fingers anymore! They're slipping off!"
"No please! Don't let go! I'll do anything!"
"I can't hold on any longer!"
"NOOOO! I'll make you the leader if you want, but don't let go!" Matthew cried.
"Hey Matthew!"
"What?"
"Just kidding."
Matthew wore a stupid expression on his face. He always wanted to beat the heck out of Amiti, but it somehow seemed that the wanting to do so just grew in the last few seconds.
It was the middle of the afternoon on Belinsk. Worried, the group separated themselves to search for their missing friends. Karis and Rief took on area which was still under the control of the Turaparang. Sveta and Tyrell checked Port Rago. Kraden hurried to Kolima Forest.
Rief and Karis ran back to the capital.
"They aren't captured by these monsters." Rief panted.
"That's one area cancelled out." Karis said. "Let's put our hopes on the others."
In Port Rago, the sun beat down on the two Adepts who searched the allied town. Some Warriors of Vale were there, helping the soldiers in the city keep order and train. Sveta and Tyrell hurried through the town. But their friends were no where in sight.
"They aren't here!" Sveta said. She quickly turned into a beast, and she hurried out of the town.
"Wait for me!" Tyrell wheezed. He'll never get used to the speed of those people.
Sveta slowed down her pace, but continued running, allowing Tyrell to catch up. They hurried back to Belinsk, hoping that their friends had found the two missing teens.
Kraden entered the Kolima Junction. Matthew had left Laurel hours ago. If he wasn't in neither Kolima or Saha town, where was he? And where was Amiti?
Kraden took a deep breath.
"Calm down." he thought. "Think. They aren't in Belinsk, and they aren't in the forest. This can only mean that they're…" Kraden spun around with amazing agility for his age. He called out for Pewter. After telling what to do, he hurried to the Talon Peak, trusting that his thoughts were right.
The sun was setting, and Amiti was still holding on to Matthew and to the edge. The bright light had chased the clouds underneath them. Instead of seeing a white, fluffy and relatively close to their feet, clouds, they saw the hard, marble, distant clutches of death. The ground was about five miles underneath their feet.
Matthew was looking completely depressed. Indeed, he had a good reason. Amiti had started singing.
"Fifteen (he had started at a hundred) bottles of Vials on the wall, fifteen bottles of Vials! Take one down, pass it around, fourteen bottles of Vials on the wall! Fourteen bottles of Vials on the wall, fourteen bottles of Vials! Take one down, pass it around, thirteen bottles of Vials on the wall!" Amiti sang. He suddenly stopped.
"Matthew! You're not singing!"
"Why me?" Matthew thought. "I think we have more important problems!"
Some strange flying monsters began to fly around them. Matthew reached for his sword, but remembered that he had left it in Belinsk. There was only one thing left he could do: pray that Amiti wouldn't let go, and that the monsters weren't hungry.
"Matthew! Sing with me!"
Karis, Rief, Tyrell and Sveta were standing, panting in Belinsk.
"They weren't with the Turaparang." Rief said
"They weren't in Port Rago." Tyrell said
"And we didn't run into them when coming back here. " Sveta finished.
"Let's hope that Kraden has found them in Kolima Forest." Karis said
Just at that second, a Venus Djinn appeared before them, startling them all. They immediately recognized Pewter. The obnoxious djinn was deadly worried.
"What's wrong Pewter?" Karis asked.
Pewter looked worried. "You have to reach Talon Peak. Kraden believes that Matthew and fish-brain (this is how Pewter calls Amiti) are there."
Not waiting for anymore instructions, Pewter led the group the fastest way to Kolima Junction.
The sun had already set, and the moon had taken the sun's place. Matthew could barely see Amiti due to the darkness. It was new moon, so he had difficulty seeing. He heard the monsters flap their wings, and fly around them, making screeching sounds, trying to encourage them to let go.
Amiti had grown silent. Matthew hoped that he hadn't fallen asleep.
"Matthew?"
"What?" Matthew asked, sort of worried. Was Amiti about to do something inappropriate or simply plain stupid, like letting go?
"There is one thing I must tell you."
"What?"
"I want you to believe me this one time, probably the last time for your entire life."
"What?"
"No matter what happens to us…" he hesitated.
"Say it already!"
"In another few hours, the sun will rise."
Matthew never swore in public, but this time, he couldn't help himself.
"WHAT THE F—DOES THAT MEAN?" he cried at the top of his voice.
"I DON'T KNOW BUT IT'S TRUE!" Amiti cried back.
Kraden heard the two shouts, which confirmed what his thoughts were right. Matthew and Amiti were somewhere around here. Kraden climbed some blocks that created a ladder, allowing him to climb up the mountain. When he reached the top, all he saw was darkness. He heard a screech, but the darkness of the night kept him from seeing anything. He took out a holy parchment, and threw it towards the closest screeching sound. The pure spirit hit the monster, disintegrating it in a flash of light. It lit the area for a few seconds, before consuming itself entirely.
Kraden looked confused. The peak was empty. No one was there.
Unless…
The flash of light lit the area, and Matthew had to cover his eyes with his arm in order to see what had caused. It last a few seconds, and then it disappeared. Did lightning strike it? Well whatever it was, it had scared the other monsters away. Matthew grabbed Amiti's arm with his two hands. He, then, tied to reach out for the wall for the umpteenth time, but it was too far away.
Suddenly, he felt Amiti drop a few inches.
"NO! Amiti! Don't let go!"
"Actually, we're being saved by an old man who seems somewhat familiar." Amiti corrected
Kraden was looking down at Amiti's hand. He had lit another parchment, but this one was supposed to last for a few minutes.
"Kraden!" Matthew cried in disbelief. "Are you crazy? You're too old! You'll never manage to pull the both of us to safety, and even if you could, we would drag you down with our weight."
"Matthew, could you grab my leg?" Amiti asked
"Sure." Matthew replied after a moment. He released the water Adept's hand, and began to fall. As flash as lightning, he caught hold onto Amiti's boot.
Without a moment's hesitation, Amiti reached out with one hand Kraden's arm, and with one hand, the edge of the cliff.
Very slowly, inch by inch, they were pulled back to safety, but Karden was old, and his hand was weak. Amiti could feel his hand slowly sliding free from his grasp. If ever that happened…
For Matthew, the situation was no better. Still holding on tightly to Amiti's boot, he felt the boot slowly slip free from the foot. He looked down, gulped at the thought of the fall, and tried to grab Amiti's knee, but his arm was too short. He couldn't reach it. He didn't dare pulling himself up in case if the boot fell free.
"Guys hurry! I'm losing grip!" Matthew cried
Kraden, despite his age, was pulling with all his might. "I can't pull any harder…" he said between his teeth. Suddenly, four more arms appeared, and grabbed Amiti's arm. Tyrell and Rief were pulling with all their strength, slowly pulled the water Adept to safety.
Amiti gave a push on the edge, allowing him to climb over the edge, but just at that second, his boot fell free.
Matthew fell in the emptiness.
Matthew fell through the air, seeing the edge of Talon Peak shrink per second.
He looked down at the closing ground, though he couldn't see it because of the darkness, he saw the distant lights of Belinsk, Saha town and Kolima village, giving him an idea of the distance he had left before he hit the ground, and became a useless piece of dead meat.
Fighting to stay calm, he tried to soften the ground, hoping it would act as a trampoline, but he wasn't touching the ground. His earth powers were useless. He closed his eyes, waiting to feel the final feeling he was about to feel; the ground hitting his body.
However, he slowly had the feeling that his fall was slowing down. The air was blowing more and more gently.
Nah, this was just an impression. He wasn't a wind Adept, he couldn't make the air thicker to slow him down. And Karis was unable to slow him down fast enough before he hit the ground, he'd still die.
"Matthew…" said a voice in his head
"Sveta? How did you-?"
"Listen, just try and stay calm, we're trying to slow your fall. Could you roll so you could be facing the ground? That would help us a little."
Matthew obeyed without a moment's hesitation. He rolled onto his stomach.
"Looks like it's up to the both of you." Matthew said aloud. Sveta had said, 'we'. That meant that Karis was up there too. The two of them might stand a chance.
Matthew put all his hope onto the two girls.
Matthew was very close to the ground. In about three minutes, he'd be dead. He hadn't felt any difference in the fact that he was slowing down. Maybe all this was just a dream. He thought. To wake up, look at your worst fear in the dream, and gasp.
Matthew looked at the ground that was invisible due to the darkness of the night.
"Gasp!"
He repeated the action eight times.
"Nice knowing you people." Matthew said. He shut his eyes.
He hit the ground. Well if this was death, it wasn't too bad. He barely felt the hard earth rip through him. In fact, the speed had suddenly cut, and he was floating in the air, about a meter from the ground. Something flashed in his face. Shielding himself from the glare with his arm, he looked at the person.
Tyrell had lit a fireball, lighting the area. "You did it! He's alive!"
The others gathered around him. Matthew sighed in relief. "Just in time too. I owe you."
Karis and Sveta, still concentrating on keeping the air thick, approached.
"What the heck were you doing up there with Amiti anyway?" Rief asked.
"We were fighting." Amiti replied, not sounding very proud. "I tripped and sent the both of us hanging in the air."
"Well that was smart." Rief said his voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"Why did you two fight in the first place?" Tyrell asked
Matthew pointed at his friend. "You made a big joke that he took very seriously."
"What? The one in which you locked Rief in the library?"
"No, the other one. The one where I used Sveta to date Karis."
"WHAT!" The two girls cried.
Matthew hit the ground head first. He got up, rubbing the back of his head. "Great idea, we both nearly died."
The two wind Adepts didn't seem to notice they had just dropped Matthew. Sveta walked briskly towards the fire Adept. She swung her arm and slapped him. Except that Tyrell dodged it, and it hit Matthew instead. Sveta didn't see that, because she had turned in an entire circle, and she walked away, not knowing that she just hit the innocent person.
The same thing happened, but with Karis. If you call the slap Sveta gave, hard, then Karis's was able to knock some off his feet. Matthew fell over, and hit the ground. The two teens stomped away, unaware that they had just missed their target.
Tyrell gave his hand to Matthew to help him up. Matthew didn't take it. He was looking straight up, his arms folded.
"I'm not getting up. The ground is the safest place."
Amiti, not paying attention, tripped over him.