10-09-2016, 08:19 PM
Just fifteen minutes later, the wearied group massed in a tight corridor that led into a small antechamber. Beyond that space, the heart of the inactive volcano awaited their visit. If there was any better spot to try and take care of the flan, it would be the tunnel that spilled into the antechamber.
So they played the waiting game. About fifteen yards back into the tunnel, the ceiling had been collapsed by the cyborg, and since he lacked any sort of magic ice powers, he kept himself busy by ensuring no threats came at them from behind. Not even Jed was aware how intelligent the lava creatures could be, so none of them wanted to take any chances. They all knew that this would be their one and only shot to pin down the threat. If they failed here, they’d be forced to try and deal with the flan inside the magma chamber. Given the proximity to the star, none of them wanted to have their backs up against the wall.
“They’re nearby,” one of the koopas whispered. While none of the koopas were practiced magicians, they apparently knew enough to cast basic spells. Apparently, most of the reptile received some degree of magical training, and those that proved to be the most adept went on to become the koopa equivalent of a wizard—a Magikoopa, like Joe Koopa.
Man, if only that fella was here… he’d know how to deal with this situation.
“Yea, I can smell them,” one of the astronomers muttered beneath his breath as he held up his scepter. The gemstone at the top of the bronze weapon glowed a faint shade of blue. With Julius standing tall at the center of the group, the astronomers looked like a formidable wall. The broad shouldered leader used no trinket to amplify his power. Much like the cyborg, he directed his power through his hands, which were enveloped in shimmering cyan light.
“Remember,” Julius spoke as the faint flecks of orange light began to be seen amid the pile of debris down the corridor. “We need to hold off long enough for them all to form. If we play our hand too soon, we might not catch them all in our frigid wrath.”
“Aye!” A few of the astronomers mumbled as he tightened their grip on their scepters. Those who had remained silent bobbed their heads and remained focused on the living lava now starting to sizzle and bubble out from between the rubble. Seventeen saw the Koopas starting to tense up, but they kept their composure as the first two flans started to take shape. The seething mass of living lava bubbled upward until it was nearly the size of a grown man, and then it bulged outward in both directions as fingerless arms formed.
With an unsettling, frog-like croak, a mouth opened up near the top of the flan. Instead of eyes, it merely had two empty recesses above its maw that narrowed as its maw curved into a sinister grin.
Two more of the creatures started to form as the first pair advanced slowly toward the wall of koopas and astronomers. Another croak escaped the lead flan as it lifted a fingerless arm toward the clearly nerved group of spelunkers. A beat later, a stream of lava leapt from the flan and splashed into the ground just a few feet from one of the astronomers, causing him to cry out and stumble backwards.
“Help him!” Julius barked as the third flan formed and started sliding forward. An astronomer dropped down to help his fallen friend. He aided his startled ally up to a vertical position just as another burst of lava crashed into the stunned man’s face and chest. In an instant, the smell of burning flesh overwhelmed the astronomer, who fell away from his screaming friend. Realizing that their unity was crumbling, Julius took the gambit. “Blast them!” He bellowed as he threw his hands forward and released the first shimmering wave of frost and ice.
Although one of the astronomers was lying dead at their feet, the remaining researchers gathered their resolve and threw forth their magic. They were joined a moment later by the members of the koopa troupe. As the sentinel of the group, Seventeen stood silent and watched in a blend of shock and horror as the magical onslaught smashed into the quartet of flans. The first few blasts were shrugged off by the creatures, who continued their slow approach. A stream of lava clipped one of the astronomers, who dropped his scepter and fell backward.
Seventeen stepped forward and caught the man in his arms. With his eyes still glued to the flans, the cyborg tore off the astronomer’s coat and used it to smother the flames that were eating through the smaller man’s right arm. “You’ll be all right,” he whispered as he watched one of the lava creatures recoil sharply as a concentrated burst of blue light crashed against its chest and face. In that instant, the bright shades of orange and red that comprised the flan’s flesh faded just a little.
“It’s working,” the machine-hybrid whispered as the lead flan took three sharp blasts of icy magic and came to an abrupt pause about five yards from the group. It kept trying to move forward, but there was a clear sluggishness to its motion. The bright colors had faded, and after another onslaught of magic, the flan was reduced to a wide-mouthed statue the color of dull stone. A final burst crashed against it, and the lava-born monster broke apart into a pile of rocks as the other three kept trying to advance against the constant barrage.
Streamers of lava lashed out as retaliation. A second astronomer went down with a scream and started to claw at the lava bubbling down into his mouth, nose, and eyeballs. Seventeen knew the man was gone, but when a koopa took a spray of lava to the chest, the cyborg sprung over to help the soldier.
“You’ll be fine, Jiggy,” Seventeen remarked as he grabbed a nearby piece of stone and started to scrap away the lava from the koopa’s chest. Although the red-shelled reptile’s carapace was reinforced, it was already starting to scald from just a little exposure to the flan. The koopa nodded his head but was too busy grinding his teeth to offer any verbal acknowledgment.
“Fall back!” Julius bellowed as the remaining magicians dropped back into the antechamber. The head astronomer glanced down at Seventeen and nodded his head. “Tag.”
Gingerly moving away from the wounded Jiggy, the cyborg smacked his palms together and focused his thoughts. He felt the hum of ki and the tingly warmth between his fingers that heralded the destructive force from within his wiry, cybernetic form. Thrusting his hands forward, he fired a pair of concentrated energy blasts into the ceiling of the antechamber as his allies fled into the magma chamber, dragging the wounded and dead with them. Against the will of the cyborg, the ceiling had nothing to offer, and after the initial impact, the whole thing started to crumble downward.
“Time to go,” Seventeen whispered as he spun and dashed forward the entrance to the magma chamber. With a jumping leap, he managed to crash down into the other room just a few tons of rubble consumed the antechamber.
So they played the waiting game. About fifteen yards back into the tunnel, the ceiling had been collapsed by the cyborg, and since he lacked any sort of magic ice powers, he kept himself busy by ensuring no threats came at them from behind. Not even Jed was aware how intelligent the lava creatures could be, so none of them wanted to take any chances. They all knew that this would be their one and only shot to pin down the threat. If they failed here, they’d be forced to try and deal with the flan inside the magma chamber. Given the proximity to the star, none of them wanted to have their backs up against the wall.
“They’re nearby,” one of the koopas whispered. While none of the koopas were practiced magicians, they apparently knew enough to cast basic spells. Apparently, most of the reptile received some degree of magical training, and those that proved to be the most adept went on to become the koopa equivalent of a wizard—a Magikoopa, like Joe Koopa.
Man, if only that fella was here… he’d know how to deal with this situation.
“Yea, I can smell them,” one of the astronomers muttered beneath his breath as he held up his scepter. The gemstone at the top of the bronze weapon glowed a faint shade of blue. With Julius standing tall at the center of the group, the astronomers looked like a formidable wall. The broad shouldered leader used no trinket to amplify his power. Much like the cyborg, he directed his power through his hands, which were enveloped in shimmering cyan light.
“Remember,” Julius spoke as the faint flecks of orange light began to be seen amid the pile of debris down the corridor. “We need to hold off long enough for them all to form. If we play our hand too soon, we might not catch them all in our frigid wrath.”
“Aye!” A few of the astronomers mumbled as he tightened their grip on their scepters. Those who had remained silent bobbed their heads and remained focused on the living lava now starting to sizzle and bubble out from between the rubble. Seventeen saw the Koopas starting to tense up, but they kept their composure as the first two flans started to take shape. The seething mass of living lava bubbled upward until it was nearly the size of a grown man, and then it bulged outward in both directions as fingerless arms formed.
With an unsettling, frog-like croak, a mouth opened up near the top of the flan. Instead of eyes, it merely had two empty recesses above its maw that narrowed as its maw curved into a sinister grin.
Two more of the creatures started to form as the first pair advanced slowly toward the wall of koopas and astronomers. Another croak escaped the lead flan as it lifted a fingerless arm toward the clearly nerved group of spelunkers. A beat later, a stream of lava leapt from the flan and splashed into the ground just a few feet from one of the astronomers, causing him to cry out and stumble backwards.
“Help him!” Julius barked as the third flan formed and started sliding forward. An astronomer dropped down to help his fallen friend. He aided his startled ally up to a vertical position just as another burst of lava crashed into the stunned man’s face and chest. In an instant, the smell of burning flesh overwhelmed the astronomer, who fell away from his screaming friend. Realizing that their unity was crumbling, Julius took the gambit. “Blast them!” He bellowed as he threw his hands forward and released the first shimmering wave of frost and ice.
Although one of the astronomers was lying dead at their feet, the remaining researchers gathered their resolve and threw forth their magic. They were joined a moment later by the members of the koopa troupe. As the sentinel of the group, Seventeen stood silent and watched in a blend of shock and horror as the magical onslaught smashed into the quartet of flans. The first few blasts were shrugged off by the creatures, who continued their slow approach. A stream of lava clipped one of the astronomers, who dropped his scepter and fell backward.
Seventeen stepped forward and caught the man in his arms. With his eyes still glued to the flans, the cyborg tore off the astronomer’s coat and used it to smother the flames that were eating through the smaller man’s right arm. “You’ll be all right,” he whispered as he watched one of the lava creatures recoil sharply as a concentrated burst of blue light crashed against its chest and face. In that instant, the bright shades of orange and red that comprised the flan’s flesh faded just a little.
“It’s working,” the machine-hybrid whispered as the lead flan took three sharp blasts of icy magic and came to an abrupt pause about five yards from the group. It kept trying to move forward, but there was a clear sluggishness to its motion. The bright colors had faded, and after another onslaught of magic, the flan was reduced to a wide-mouthed statue the color of dull stone. A final burst crashed against it, and the lava-born monster broke apart into a pile of rocks as the other three kept trying to advance against the constant barrage.
Streamers of lava lashed out as retaliation. A second astronomer went down with a scream and started to claw at the lava bubbling down into his mouth, nose, and eyeballs. Seventeen knew the man was gone, but when a koopa took a spray of lava to the chest, the cyborg sprung over to help the soldier.
“You’ll be fine, Jiggy,” Seventeen remarked as he grabbed a nearby piece of stone and started to scrap away the lava from the koopa’s chest. Although the red-shelled reptile’s carapace was reinforced, it was already starting to scald from just a little exposure to the flan. The koopa nodded his head but was too busy grinding his teeth to offer any verbal acknowledgment.
“Fall back!” Julius bellowed as the remaining magicians dropped back into the antechamber. The head astronomer glanced down at Seventeen and nodded his head. “Tag.”
Gingerly moving away from the wounded Jiggy, the cyborg smacked his palms together and focused his thoughts. He felt the hum of ki and the tingly warmth between his fingers that heralded the destructive force from within his wiry, cybernetic form. Thrusting his hands forward, he fired a pair of concentrated energy blasts into the ceiling of the antechamber as his allies fled into the magma chamber, dragging the wounded and dead with them. Against the will of the cyborg, the ceiling had nothing to offer, and after the initial impact, the whole thing started to crumble downward.
“Time to go,” Seventeen whispered as he spun and dashed forward the entrance to the magma chamber. With a jumping leap, he managed to crash down into the other room just a few tons of rubble consumed the antechamber.
![[Image: 17.jpg]](http://omniverse-rpg.com/images/17.jpg)