Day 2 Morning

[Proto Man]

They walked in a loose formation. At their center, Mickey held the shield tight against his chest and kept his eyes on the sloping terrain spread out in front of them. Although still dealing with the symptoms of her head injury, Belle could move of her own accord. The fact that she stopped every couple of minutes to remind Mickey that she could take care of herself was another indicator that she wasn’t going to suffer any long-term damage. Proto Man couldn’t recall what a ‘concussion’ was, but he knew it had something to do with head trauma.

For his part, the preteen machine trailed behind the mouse and the redhead. With Belle concussed and trying to play down her limp, it had become the android’s unspoken role to ensure nothing tried to barrel down on their rears. Since their departure from Weiss and Ruby, their trek had been somewhat uneventful. Proto Man enjoyed the lack of excitement, especially since their realization that the earrings had been altered by the environment.

And the Warlock…

Whatever he was, the warlock held some sort of grip on the island. He’d managed to inflict wounds upon all of them, but worse than that—his sudden appearance, rain of agony, and departure further solidified the notion that they weren’t safe. Even with the newfound shield, they were vulnerable, and in a moment’s instance, their situation could be changed profoundly.

From the mountains, they had passed through gradually shrinking foothills, and as the first strands of sunlight started to break up the night sky, they saw that the landscape opened up for miles before them. All they needed to do was finish their trek down the sloping terrain.

“Any idea where we’re heading?” Proto Man whispered.

Up ahead, Mickey shrugged his shoulders and glanced up at the night sky. After a pregnant pause, he gazed ahead before finally craning his neck to look back at his friend. “I think we’re going down.” He replied without a clear indication of sarcasm.

The preteen machine fell silent as his ears picked up the sound of rustling rocks behind him. With Mickey and Belle continuing ahead as if they heard nothing, Proto Man paused and turned in the direction of the faint noise. For a few moments, he stared blankly back at the slopes behind them, and just before he gave up, he saw something in the distance that made him feel just a little smaller.

As he watched, a chunk of mountain a few hours behind them was unshackled from the forces of gravity. The solid mass tore away from the rest of the peak and started to tumble up into the sky. While the sight of the one jagged rock drifting up into oblivion was fascinating, it didn’t last for very long. Within a few moments, the sky was full of stone shards and pieces of the landscape being uprooted and pulled into whatever nothingness lurked above the island.

“Guys!” Proto Man shouted, unable to pull his eyes away from the strange spectacle that was the mountain range tearing itself apart. “Look at this!”

A beat later, the machine heard the scuffle of oversized boots on the ground as Mickey joined him in gawking at the disintegrating landscape. After a few plodding steps, Belle joined the two small primes and watched in silence as the place where they’d been just hours earlier was devoured by the heavens.

“Want to bet that we caused that?” Belle whispered, glancing down at her two associates. Neither of them responded vocally, but the pair both nodded their heads as they continued to watch the strange spectacle. “We should probably keep a move on… there’s not telling what that’s going to flush out of those hills.”

“Good point,” Proto Man whispered before the trio turned and continued their exodus from the crumbling mountain range.