Robin couldn't believe what she was hearing. The cool wind blew over the beautiful garden Robin and Tore sat in.
Robin had stopped feeding the giant robin and held her mouth. Tore looked away, he was in too much pain. Tore's tears hit the ground slowly.
Tore took a deep breath and turned towards Robin. Robin jumped a little. Tore's eyes were filled with pain.
"I'm-I'm sorry Robin.." Tore said.
"No, don't apologize to me... you're in so much pain..." Robin said, reaching out and setting her hand on Tore's to comfort him, "Let everything out. You need it." Robin said with a serious face.
Tore's eyes widened slightly and then he smiled softly.
"I do... but I need to stay strong... this is only the beginning... it gets so much worse..." Tore struggled to say.
926 YEARS AGO
Burusu stared around the inside of the volcano. Grass filled the entirety of the crater.
Its crater was so steep anyone who fell in would not be able to get back out on their own.
Burusu continued to take in his surroundings. Despite his son being kidnapped and his queen being killed in less than an hour it was a beautiful night.
The moon shone high and bright. The air was cool and gently brushed against the grass in the volcano.
"What kind of structure is this anyway? Some sort of base of operations?" Burusu asked out loud, "Ms. Maragai said this was a "volcano." Living in the sky I don't know much about ground structures."
Burusu locked in on the ruins at the far end of the field, thought of Cyclone and became enraged.
"Who is that man... and what does he want with my son? Why does it feel like... he knows him!?" Burusu said as he heard someone yell.
"Ughhhh! Sir! Can you help me sir!" The man yelled.
Burusu stopped and observed the six armed creature emerge from the shadows, limping."
"Identify yourself creature!" Burusu yelled.
The creature put its four arms up.
"I do not have a name! I am a Collector, my people find treasures! I was kidnapped by this bastard clan, they tortured me and took everything I had!" Collector limped to Burusu's grasp.
Collector slowly reached an arm into a bag he held onto his back with his two smaller arms.
"I will help you, creature! And then I will deal with this evil clan of trouble maker-"
"RAHHHHH!" Collector attempted to stab Burusu with a dagger. The dagger had a golden handle with holy engravings. The blade was long, silver, and sharp. Burusu and Collector struggled.
"I should have known!" Burusu yelled.
"But you didn't! Lord Cyclone could never be killed by the likes of you!" Collector screeched as the blade glowed a bright blue.
"What!?" Burusu yelled.
"The Unholy Shiv! When magic energy is channeled through the handle it can be shot out through the blade!" Collector laughed.
Burusu bit his lower lip.
PEW! PWING!
"WHAT!" Collector yelled as the energy bounced off Burusu's armor and into his body!
"GACK!" Collector coughed up blood as Burusu raised the Collector's arm and slammed a heavy punch into his stomach, causing him to cough up more blood!
The Collector was sent flying into the air but to Burusu's surprise, the Collector's body poofed into a cloud of smoke, and down fell a shadowy figure, dead.
Burusu stared at the man with shock.
"What in the devil!?" Burusu looked up and behind him to see the real Collector aiming a "jack in the box" type item right at him!
Collector winded the jack in the box.
"Thank you for your sacrifice, footman, you took on my identity and bought me enough time to charge my attack! You will die here alien, you should have never chased his excellency!" Collector yelled.
Burusu got ready to charge at Collector but couldn't move. Burusu looked down to see he was trapped by his shadow again.
"Damn it!" Burusu looked for the source of the casters but they weren't all together this time. Many members had him trapped from several different positions at every angle.
"I can't take them out all at once this time! I'll have to take this attack head on!" Burusu yelled, crossing his arms.
"Prepare to die, sir! UNHOLY BOX!" Collector yelled.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A gargantuan blue beam of energy blasted towards Burusu!
"It's huge!" Burusu yelled, but he didn't yield. Burusu crossed his arms.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Burusu blocked the beam with his sheilds and held on with everything he had in him.
Burusu thought of his child and his queen and his eyes shone white.
"RRRRRAAHHHHHHH!" Burusu spread his arms, scattering the energy all over the field.
The Nara clan members had to release their shadow spell to dodge the beams of energy crashing all over the field.
BOOOM! BOOOOOM! BOOOM!
"WHAT THE HELL IS HE!?" Collector yelled.
SNATCH!
"GUAGG!" Collector croaked as Burusu grabbed his neck, his eyes hidden by shadow. Collector was raised in the air and thrown through the ground like a missile!
"GUAAAAAAGGGG!" Collector screamed as he zipped through the ground and came out at the end. Collector's eyes widened to see volcanic activity.
"Oh no! This bastards power woke the volcano!" I've got to relay this to his excellency!" Collector said as he struggled to back out of the long pit.
Burusu stared into the hole and then back up at the ruins.
Burusu heard something above him and looked up to see a Goldenflag flying towards him.
"Oh, a Goldenflag!" Burusu said happily, until he saw the damage.
The Goldenflag bled heavily under his helmet and he was missing an arm. The Goldenflag started to fall of the horse so Burusu ran over and caught him.
"What happened to you!?" Burusu said.
The Goldenflag turned his head towards Burusu and grabbed his arms. The Goldenflag wanted to speak but choked on blood.
"B-B-Baby...T-T-Tore..." The Goldenflag stuttered.
"Save your energy! I know Tore is in those ruins, he has to be!" Burusu said.
The Goldenflag was able to lock in for only a moment. With big eyes that only spoke of fear, he said his last words.
"GO GET THE ROYAL ARMY YOUR HIGHNESS! DON'T GO IN THE RUINS! THERE'S-THERE'S A DEMON IN THERE!" The Goldenflag yelled.
SPLATTTT!
Blood splattered on Burusu's face as a kunai with a string shot into the Goldenflag's neck from behind.
"GUAGGG!" The Goldenflag yelled as he was snatched across the field and towards the ruins.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The Goldenflag screamed leaving a long bloody trail as he was pulled into the ruins.
Burusu stared. For the first time in his life, he felt fear.
"What in the world..." Burusu said softly.
A now cold, chilling wind blew eerily as Burusu looked towards the ruins. It felt like the ruins were calling to him. The wind picked up suddenly.
Burusu looked up to see two heavily damaged Goldenflags flying towards him.
"Goldenflags! What happened to you?! Reatreat immediately! It's too dangerous!" Burusu yelled.
"We're not leaving you your highness! We fou-"
SPLAT!
Burusu and another Goldenflag looked over to see a Nara had used a shadow spike attack to impale the Goldenflag from behind. The Goldenflag coughed up blood and fell from the sky.
"NO!" Burusu yelled, punching the air towards the Nara clan member, sending a shockwave towards him and blasting him away.
Burusu sucked his teeth and became angry.
"Get out of here! Bring the Royal Army!" Burusu commanded.
The Goldenflag had already dashed to save his partner and caught him on his pegasus. The Goldenflag turned to face Burusu.
"Your highness! Come with us! We found Tore! He's confirmed to be in the ruins!" The Goldenflag said.
Burusu's eyes lit up and he became determined, looking back towards the ruins.
"Tore...!" Burusu said out loud.
"Your majesty! We will return immediately upon retrieving the Royal Army! Tore will be safe until we get back! We can't leave you here, it is way too dangerous!" The Goldenflag yelled.
Burusu kept staring at the ruins and then back up at the Goldenflag. Burusu knew what would happen if he left now.
"If I leave.. I'll never see my son again! I must stay! Get out of here!" Burusu ordered.
"But your maj-" The Goldenflag was interrupted.
"GET OUT OF HERE NOW SHŌ! THAT IS A DIRECT ORDER! ENOCH NEEDS YOUR HELP!" Burusu yelled, his eyes glowing with an intense brightness.
The Goldenflag was taken back. Burusu never used their real names unless it was a dire emergency.
Burusu thought back to watching another one of his Goldenflag's be stabbed through the neck and dragged into the ruins.
" I just watched my queen and one of my Royal Guards die.. I will NOT LET ANYONE ELSE CLOSE TO ME DIE TODAY! GET OUT OF HERE!" Burusu yelled.
The Goldenflag grit his teeth and began to fly away.
"We will be back your majesty! Stay alive until we get back! We will get Tore home safely! DO NOT go into the ruins until we get back!" Shō said.
Burusu stared up with concern and slight fear.
"What in the world... is going on in those ruins?" Burusu choked.
When Burusu looked back in front of him Collector and the entire Nara clan stared him down.
"Let's just stop this fighting. The Royal Army is on the way." Burusu said.
Collector licked his lips.
"The only thing they'll find here is your corpse, King." Collector hissed, drawing two cleavers with his upper hands and passing them to his lower hands, Collector then used his upper hands to grab two more swords.
"Sheesh, how deep does that satchel go!" Burusu wondered out loud.
"You will see for yourself once your severed head goes inside!" Collector yelled, licking his lips again, "Do you really expect to survive? Do you know who Lord Cyclone is?!"
While Collector praised Cyclone, Nara members began forming hand signs. Burusu noticed.
"Those hand signs again..! Is that how they access their abilities?" Burusu asked himself.
"1,000 years into the future, Lord Cyclone would come to command The Great and Terrible Army! We ruled the world! Until some snot nosed punk and his friends tried to kill his highness! Your boy was that punk!" Collector monologued.
Burusu's eyes widened.
"Tore?...!" Burusu exclaimed.
"We've come back to this time to use that boy's power for our own! You cannot be allowed to leave this volcano alive!" Collector spit.
Burusu was shocked to hear this information.
"A conqueror from 1,000 years into the future?" Burusu asked.
"Precisely! After your head is cut off I will hand it over to Lord Cyclone himself personally! Unless... you give up RIGHT NOW and we pretend this never happened. You're dead long before any of this matters anyway! Think about what this world did to you, your queen! You'll really throw your life away to attempt to save it?!" Collector yelled, the Nara's finished their hand signs and giant shadow tentacles sprouted from the ground.
Burusu looked over his opposition. Collector licked his lips, his two cleavers and swords ready.
The Nara members still shadowed out in the night. The cool air still blew sinisterly over the battlefield.
"So, your boss... is planning to rule the world?" Burusu asked, thinking about what he has been through since coming to the ground world.
"That is what I said." Collector hissed.
Burusu looked at his hands.
"So, it's up to me then..?" Burusu mumbled.
Collector put a hand to his ear.
"I'm sorry what was that? Have you admitted defeat?" Collector asked.
Burusu closed his hands into fists and looked up towards his enemies.
"It isn't just my son I'm fighting for anymore." Burusu said, beginning to change.
Collector and the Nara's eyes widened.
A golden halo formed behind Burusu's head, golden energy ran down his left arm until it shaped itself into a sword with a blue flame as its blade, the arm shield on his right arm grew larger until it was a massive round shield.
Burusu's eyes began to glow a light blue, his golden armor shining bright.
"What in the hell?! Nobody told me he could transform!" Collector yelled.
"There's so much I don't know about how things are run down here, but... the ground people don't understand those who live in the sky either! I didn't think I would have to resort to this power... but the people of the future... and my son... depend on my victory here tonight!" Burusu yelled, sending a massive burst of energy across the field knocking down Collector and a few Nara.
Collector stared on with fear as Burusu slowly walked towards him and the Nara.
Collector looked up at the intimidated Nara members.
"What the hell are you doing you fools?! Kill him!" Collector yelled as the Nara sent the shadow tentacles straight for Burusu.
Burusu kept his stride as he slipped two tentacles while only moving his head, his eyes locked on his targets.
Another tentacle shot straight for Burusu's chest but was disintegrated by the light!
"NO!" Collector yelled, getting up and running towards the Nara, "LORD CYCLONE PLEASE HELP ME!"
Collector ran past the Nara, grabbing two of their faces and pushing them out of his way as he kept running.
"You're not getting away!" Burusu yelled with a mighty voice, pointing his flame sword at Collector.
VROOOOOOOOOOSHHHHHH!
Burusu shot the flame from his sword like Collector had done earlier with the unholy shiv, striking multiple Nara members and those who weren't hit directly were burned severely by the heat of the flaming sword.
Collector turned back.
SPLAT! SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
Collector's insides were burned from the hot blue flame!
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH" Collector yelled as he crashed into the ground, grabbing his wound with two hands and frantically searching for heals with his other two.
Burusu dashed past the remaining Nara's intending to finish off Collector once and for all.
"NOT SO FAST!" Burusu yelled as he dashed towards Collector.
Collector panicked.
"NO NO NO! IM SORRY!" Collector yelled as he balled up.
Burusu, rage in his glowing eyes, raised his flaming sword.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Collector yelled in fear so much blood shot out of his throat.
"All that talk only moments ago and now you scream for mercy! You will have none!" Burusu raised his sword to bring down onto Collector.
"GLEAM OF GLORY" Burusu yelled, his voice echoing through the skies.
Pop!
VROOOOOOOOSH! BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!
A giant, long streak of blue flames blasted across the volcano, destroying the ground beneath it and creating a massive fissure!
The flames traveled all the way to the ruins where they created a pillar of blue fire.
At this time, islanders from all over, whom had been awoken by the vibrations caused by the fighting earlier, gathered at the foot of the volcano.
"What on earth is going on? What are the Nara up to now?" A man asked.
"I told you those Nara were an untrustworthy bunch!" Another man said.
One woman, in particular, also made her way to the base of the volcano.
Maragi walked through the crowd and looked up towards the summit of the volcano, then clasped her hands in prayer.
"Please Mr. King... save your son and get out of here!" Maragi cried.
The giant blue pillar subsided and Burusu huffed and puffed. The fissure that had been created by the slash spewed and spit up lava.
The once dormant volcano was now active again. Burusu squinted and became frustrated to see there was no sign of the Collector.
"Tsk! Where did he go so quickly?!" Burusu said, walking towards the ruins.
Burusu stared angrily at the ruins. Tore was in there, The Collector had to be in there, and the man known as "Cyclone" had been hiding out in there for a while now.
"How could a man like you, afraid to face his adversary, ever become a conqueror of a world?" Burusu asked rhetorically as he ran for the ruins. Burusu looked back to check on the Nara's. Gone.
"They disappeared too! But they are not even close to standing a chance against me with this power, I can't keep focusing on the small fry!" Burusu said to himself, finally getting close to the ruins.
Burusu stopped outside the ruins and looked them over one last time. Burusu put his head down.
"DO NOT GO IN THE RUINS!"
"THERE-THERE IS A DEMON IN THERE! AHHHHHHHHH!"
Burusu clenched his fists and grit his teeth.
"There's a demon in those ruins? So what?!" Burusu yelled, "CYCLONE! GET OUT HERE NOW!"
Quiet.
Burusu looked around. The only thing that could he heard were grumbles from the volcano and lava occasionally spitting up from the cracks in the ground.
Burusu continued to look over the ruins until he saw something in the dark. A pair of eyes. One lavender and one golden, just staring at him. The eyes slowly closed and retreated into the ruins.
VROOOOSH! BOOOOOOM!
Burusu sent a flame attack in the direction of the eyes.
"Tsk!" Burusu sounded.
"Wahhhhhh! Wahhhhhhh!" A baby cried.
Burusu became concerned but mildly excited.
"Tore!" Burusu yelled.
Burusu looked over the ruins one more time, then back into the sky.
"I-I can't wait any longer!" Burusu said, "I will survive, I promise!"
Burusu ran into the ruins after speaking these words.
Burusu ran through the ruins looking for Tore, he was getting closer and closer to the crying.
It was dark, and extremely cold in these ruins despite they were still outside. The energy of this place was completely uninviting.
The crying stopped. Burusu stood in the middle of the ruins wondering where to go next.
"Come on Tore, don't let your dad down now!" Burusu said.
As Burusu said this, a baby began crying again and Burusu dashed to its location.
The sound of the crying was coming from an tall old mausoleum.
"What is this? Some sort of tomb?" Burusu asked out loud, "It doesn't matter, I need to save my son!"
Burusu ran into the mausoleum to see it went underground. Burusu stopped for a moment.
"How will the Royal Army know this is where I am when they get here? I know!" Burusu said, going outside. Burusu raised his sword and slammed it into the ground, handle first, and sent a giant blue beam into the sky.
"Look! Another beacon! Who is up there?!" A man asked.
Maragi continued to cry and pray.
"That should do it..." Burusu said, turning around.
Without any warning, Cyclone emerged from the mausoleum with wide eyes and a big wide grin, red gas escaping his mouth as Cyclone walked sinisterly towards Burusu.
Burusu inhaled an extreme quantity of the gas and couldn't stop coughing!
"HACK HACK HACK!" Burusu's throat burned and he fell to his knees.
Burusu could only take an extremely small dose of air before he had to breathe back out again, his chest burned and his eyes watered.
Suddenly, Burusu could hear what sounded like feint sirens, the same sirens that went off at Floratheo Isle when the announcement Tore had been kidnapped.
"Uhhh huh? what? who?" Burusu was completely discombobulated. Burusu couldn't tell what was real and what was fake.
Burusu could hear Minaki screaming to find their son.
"I-I'll find him my queen! I-I-I'll!" Burusu continued to cough and even coughed up blood. When Burusu looked to the side he couldn't believe his eyes.
Out of the red smoke walked a giant, demented form of Cyclone. Cyclone walked on all fours, one of his eyes was missing and the other was bright yellow. Half of Cyclone's body was normal, the other half, was red, hard skin, like you'd find on a dragon.
Two horns had sprouted from Cyclone's head, the "M" on his head shone purple. One half of Cyclone's face was forced in a "smiling" position, revealing demonic teeth next to Cyclone's regular teeth. Cyclone loomed over the King.
Burusu, with a hand out in front of him as if he was trying to block an attack, was filled with true fear.