The Desert is Cold in the Dark [Dark Data]

[Dr. McNinja]

"Uh, not three," Ogong said, "It looks more like... five."

Jim finished reloading his rifle and pointed it at the dust cloud. "Getting similar readings over here. Get ready for a ride."

Ogong's ears perked. "Oh! You got someone coming to help out?"

The other two Primes looked at him exasperatedly. The monkey's shoulders sagged.

"Just... you know. It's hot."

Ogong peered at the cloud, gripping his staff tighter. The marauders were almost upon them. Feeling magical power seep into his arms and shoulders, he pictured the brushstrokes of a word.

"I got this," the monkey muttered. He then bellowed, "Bungae neryuhra! CHUN!"

Ogong thrust a fist forward, a ring of arcane energy projecting over his knuckles. Awesome power filled the air, channeling sparks and static energy through its molecules.

Then the circle fizzled away.

"What the hell?" Ogong exclaimed, glaring at the staff.

"Uh... that wasn't me," Yeo-Ee-Pil noted.

The monkey glanced upwards, just in time for a club to graze his shoulder. Nevertheless the impact flung him backwards. Sun landed painfully on his back, and the sand gave way beneath him. He struggled back up. Jim was firing, perhaps landing some shots on the mauraders, and Somerled managed to narrowly avoid the explosive blast aimed for his face.

Jim ran after him. "Sun! You alright, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the monkey growled, "Alright, Yeo-Ee-Pil, what spells can we cast?"

"Uh... I don't know. Try Hwa."

The monkey shoved the soldier aside, once more ready to fight. The marauders turned their vehicles, preparing to charge again. The horseman were now almost upon them on the other side. Jim aimed his rifle. Somerled glanced around helplessly. Sun Ogong rolled his eyes at the gray man and prepared another spell. He felt it flow from the hand holding the staff through his shoulders and into his left hand, like an electric current. He opened his left hand, and his fingertips became anchors for the energy to latch onto. He felt magic pool inside his palm, then once more pictured the brushstrokes in his mind. The same brushstrokes appeared behind his head, and another arcane circle appeared where the magic had gathered.

"Taewuhra! HWA!!"

The arcane circle suddenly ignited, as gasoline does from a lit match. The circle then seemed to burn away, leaving Ogong with a burning hand. Jim glanced at the monkey nervously, but Ogong seemed pretty okay with his left hand being on fire.

Moving quickly, Ogong threw his left hand forward, the momentum carrying the flames on his hand into the air. The resulting fireball soared through the air, pointed directly at a horseman.

To the trio's shock, the horseman leapt off the horse into the air, somersaulting in the air as the fireball passed under him. He landed once more on the horse and continued to ride. The fireball instead extinguished after a few more moments.

Ogong, in his frustration, swung his club at one of the passing horseman. Instead of knocking them down, however, the marauder instead grabbed the staff, yanking the monkey back with him. Yeo-Ee-Pil started whining.

"Oooookay you guys are stretching me out you guys are stretching me-"

Ogong quickly recovered from the surprise and gave the staff a hard pull. The marauder didn't budge, but the monkey flew forward a short distance. He landed on the horse. The marauder, still riding, attempted to swing the staff back at the monkey, perhaps hoping to knock him off. Instead, the staff didn't budge, to the marauder's confusion. Ogong grasped it again and pulled it backwards. The marauder was still holding on to the staff, but not to the horse. He flew off the horse, and Ogong hopped off himself.

The marauder calmly landed on his feet. Ogong sighed.

"I threw you off a horse," the monkey shouted, "You should not have landed so easily."

His opponent chuckled. "Says the boy who jumped off of the horse."

"Yeah, well, I'm a monkey," Ogong said. He started walking forward, trailing the tip of the still-complaining staff in the sand. The marauder followed suit. "We're pretty good at falling."

"Well, then," the marauder growled, almost within reach, "Let me teach you how to stay down."

The marauder slashed with his machete, which Ogong ducked. He jabbed forward with the staff, causing the marauder to crumple in pain. The marauder then did a spin-kick, landing a solid blow to Ogong's face. The monkey, still dazed, swung the staff wildly in hopes of catching his opponent. In a clash of steel, the marauder parried and attempted to shove the blade through Ogong's head. Fortunately, a loud bang pushed the marauder aside. Ogong looked to see where the noise had come from, and saw Jim holding a smoking rifle.

"You're welcome," the gunman said.

Somerled was close behind him. The trio looked to see where the mechanic vehicle was. They were still approaching, perhaps about 10 kilometers away.

"I can't conjure my storms for some reason," Somerled called out, "I can't help you unless we get them on the ground."

"Well, they seem good at dodging my fireballs," Ogong replied.

"Not their rides," Jim replied, "See that shimmer above the engine?"

Ogong looked closely, noticing the air warp especially harshly above the hood of the car.

"Yeah," the monkey replied.

"Overheating," Jim explained, "I'd hate to see what happens with even more heat."

The monkey blinked blankly at the titanic war machine.

"The fireball?"

"OH RIGHT." Ogong once more summoned a fireball and flung it at the buggy.

The resulting explosion forced the trio to cover their eyes. Hope fluttered in Ogong's chest. But from the burnt and smoldering sands slowly rose the three marauders, their burns and cuts slowly healing.

"That hardly seems fair," Ogong muttered.