08-09-2017, 06:44 PM
“You've gotta be kiddin’ me...” The first words in the new verse were from Jim as the soldier muttered a rather harsh sentence under his breath, barely audible over the country music blasting over the radio. Had Sonny been susceptible to heat, he might’ve been inclined to agree. The scorching dunes they’d been in had done a number on both Sun and Jim, and the fiery greeting the Steppes had just given them put that to shame. And between the two, the Nexus had been as barren and neutral as ever, providing a nice, uneventful respite between the two hells.
“Stop, please.” The trio had scarcely travelled more than a few meters into the verse, when Sun’s voice rose up from the back. “I’m sorry guys, I really am. I thought I’d be able to continue, but it’s even worse here.”
“That’s your prerogative,” Sonny said levelly, leaning into his seatbelt as the humvee ground to a halt. The monkey boy pushed his door open as soon as they were stationary. A hot, furnace-like gust of wind burst through the open door. “Good luck on your adventures,” the sun spirit gave a quick farewell, shooting his ally a friendly smile.
“See you guys!” the magician responded.
“Yeah, see ya.” A final farewell from the soldier, and Sun was off, disappearing behind the vehicle and on his way to do who knows what. Without another word, Jim stepped on the gas, pushing them forward, further into the rocky hellscape.
The humvee bounced and shuddered as it travelled, pushing relentlessly over the rough terrain. Sonny and Jim were both thrown against their seatbelts with every dip and divot. Doing his best to ignore the rough ride, the sun spirit stared out the passenger side window, keeping an eye out for any ambushes or the like. Plumes of ash and smoke rose up from mounds far in the distance, blotting out the sky for miles. Despite the constant cover of soot blocking the sun, the verse was not cooling off. It felt more like the environment of Venus than Earth.
A frown crossed the the spirit of clear sky’s face. He vaguely wished he’d taken his other half’s place in the Dunes, and instead let him deal with this place. Having no sunlight shining down on him was just disappointing, and while he could technically disperse all this ash, it wasn’t in his nature to do so. Storms he could kill without a wasted breath, but ash plumes weren’t weather. He’d need to adjust the spell to work on other things, and that always took more energy than it was worth.
Volcanic lightning flashed ominously in an endless electrical show, providing the sunless illumination they needed to traverse this treacherous terrain. Vague, twisted forms scrabbled across the rock faces, keeping an eye on the humvee, but none daring to approach it just yet.
THUNK
A loud bang, accompanied by the truck lurching, shook Sonny from his watchful trance. He whipped forward, casting a quick glance out the windshield, before turning to face Jim.
“Whoops,” the soldier said casually, keeping his eyes glued on the path ahead. Something must not have gotten out of their way fast enough.
“There sure are a lot of them,” Sonny said, turning back to look out the window.
“Sure are,” Jim responded. “Can’tcha wipe them out with a storm or somethin? Like what you did back at the pyramid?”
“They’re too disorganized,” Summer borrowed their shared voice for a moment, not giving the sun spirit a chance to answer for him. “With how far apart they’re spread, I’d need to summon up a hurricane or something. That’d take at least a few weeks, and a body of water that I don’t have access to here.”
“I see,” Jim muttered. “Looks like we’re doin this the hard way then. Take the fight straight to the boss and hope we don’t get jumped in the meantime.”
“Looks like it.” Sonny said, glancing down at his Liberator Aide. Little red dots absolutely covered the screen, the prime indicator of the sheer amount of numbers they’d likely have to face. Many of the dots seemed to move with purpose, all heading in the same direction, converging on some point far beyond the horizon. “Where do you think they’re headed to?”
“Beats me. Wherever it is, it’s probably the place we need to be.”
“This is gonna be fun,” the split spirit muttered. Sure, if they were all grouping up in one area, that would make it easier to be swarmed. It would also make it much easier to blow them all away all at once. Whether he liked it or not, there was a storm brewing.
“Stop, please.” The trio had scarcely travelled more than a few meters into the verse, when Sun’s voice rose up from the back. “I’m sorry guys, I really am. I thought I’d be able to continue, but it’s even worse here.”
“That’s your prerogative,” Sonny said levelly, leaning into his seatbelt as the humvee ground to a halt. The monkey boy pushed his door open as soon as they were stationary. A hot, furnace-like gust of wind burst through the open door. “Good luck on your adventures,” the sun spirit gave a quick farewell, shooting his ally a friendly smile.
“See you guys!” the magician responded.
“Yeah, see ya.” A final farewell from the soldier, and Sun was off, disappearing behind the vehicle and on his way to do who knows what. Without another word, Jim stepped on the gas, pushing them forward, further into the rocky hellscape.
The humvee bounced and shuddered as it travelled, pushing relentlessly over the rough terrain. Sonny and Jim were both thrown against their seatbelts with every dip and divot. Doing his best to ignore the rough ride, the sun spirit stared out the passenger side window, keeping an eye out for any ambushes or the like. Plumes of ash and smoke rose up from mounds far in the distance, blotting out the sky for miles. Despite the constant cover of soot blocking the sun, the verse was not cooling off. It felt more like the environment of Venus than Earth.
A frown crossed the the spirit of clear sky’s face. He vaguely wished he’d taken his other half’s place in the Dunes, and instead let him deal with this place. Having no sunlight shining down on him was just disappointing, and while he could technically disperse all this ash, it wasn’t in his nature to do so. Storms he could kill without a wasted breath, but ash plumes weren’t weather. He’d need to adjust the spell to work on other things, and that always took more energy than it was worth.
Volcanic lightning flashed ominously in an endless electrical show, providing the sunless illumination they needed to traverse this treacherous terrain. Vague, twisted forms scrabbled across the rock faces, keeping an eye on the humvee, but none daring to approach it just yet.
THUNK
A loud bang, accompanied by the truck lurching, shook Sonny from his watchful trance. He whipped forward, casting a quick glance out the windshield, before turning to face Jim.
“Whoops,” the soldier said casually, keeping his eyes glued on the path ahead. Something must not have gotten out of their way fast enough.
“There sure are a lot of them,” Sonny said, turning back to look out the window.
“Sure are,” Jim responded. “Can’tcha wipe them out with a storm or somethin? Like what you did back at the pyramid?”
“They’re too disorganized,” Summer borrowed their shared voice for a moment, not giving the sun spirit a chance to answer for him. “With how far apart they’re spread, I’d need to summon up a hurricane or something. That’d take at least a few weeks, and a body of water that I don’t have access to here.”
“I see,” Jim muttered. “Looks like we’re doin this the hard way then. Take the fight straight to the boss and hope we don’t get jumped in the meantime.”
“Looks like it.” Sonny said, glancing down at his Liberator Aide. Little red dots absolutely covered the screen, the prime indicator of the sheer amount of numbers they’d likely have to face. Many of the dots seemed to move with purpose, all heading in the same direction, converging on some point far beyond the horizon. “Where do you think they’re headed to?”
“Beats me. Wherever it is, it’s probably the place we need to be.”
“This is gonna be fun,” the split spirit muttered. Sure, if they were all grouping up in one area, that would make it easier to be swarmed. It would also make it much easier to blow them all away all at once. Whether he liked it or not, there was a storm brewing.
![[Image: ZpWQiiu.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/ZpWQiiu.gif)