New World

[Rizzo]

Rizzo let out a terrified squeak and backtracked through the vents; as luck would have it, he found one leading to the outside. He leapt out of the vent into yet another alley; the third time he'd found himself in one so far today. Whatever the case, he'd rather he were there than back in that building, so he thought of keeping a low profile for the timebeing.

What about those other two guys? Leaning against a dumpster casually he mused to himself aloud: "Pfff. They'll be fine!"

He resolved to check out the area once he thought that the coast was definitely clear.

 

[Wocky]

The mirror creature rushed out the door after its targets, flinching with a low growl as three cracks appeared in its glass from the bullets. It had been slowed down, but it wasn't quite dead yet. Recovering from the shock, the thing went after them again...the evil red glow intensified with rage, as it dashed for them again, raising its clawed hands to strike at the ferret.

But as it turned out...this thing was the least of their concerns.

Rizzo's ears would ring, as an earth-shattering roar echoed through the sky, followed quickly by the loud, unmistakable crash of exploding rubble, wood and shrapnel flying overhead like the debris from a powerful bomb.

Both Rizzo, the ferret and the other weasel would be greeted by the sounds of screaming and yelling as the streets fell into panic, masses of bystanders running all over the place. "Monsters! Monsters everywhere!" yelled one particularly comical civilian. A few "I'm too young and pretty to die!"'s were heard from the ladyfolk too.

Why was the city in a panic? ...Well, while the weasel and the ferret were fighting off a monstrous mirror...the city was being overrun by other small beasts as well! Killer rabbits, evil-looking trees that walked on two legs, ill-tempered mutated sea bass that looked horribly out of place...you name it.

One hapless civilian went flying over Rizzo's dumpster with a loud wilhelm scream, having been launched by the powerful branches of a living tree...which then turned to scowl at the tiny weasel, before running at him with its handy roots bared like daggers.

But there was something else...that ungodly roar heard moments ago, was far too loud to be made by any of these things.

 

[Rex]

The browned furred ferret fired the remaining four shots in his revolver at the mirror, before trying to dodge its claws. He was partially successful, dodging one hand entirely. The second got him, cutting through his coat and shirt to score three vertical cuts on his chest and stomach.

"Dammit!" The ferret cursed.

The crimson weasel, in the meantime, had maneuvered behind the mirror while it was focused on his comrade. He fired two shots at its back, before ducking in cover as shrapnel flew overhead. He scrambled back to his feet, looking out at the approaching horde.

"Riley, I think it's time to go!" the weasel called.

"You think!?" the ferret, Riley, replied.

Not looking to see if the mirror was still after him, and definitely not taking a moment to pocket his now empty revolver, the ferret was already rushing down the street, in the direction of the horde. The weasel hurried after him. Their destination was clear. Between them and the monsters was a wagon train.

What was left of one anyway. Most of the oxen had scattered in the chaos, those that were left were dead or dying. However, it wasn't escape these two were heading to the wagon for.

"Riley, Ryder!" a voice from a nearby alleyway called, "down here!"

The two turned, and rushed towards the voice. In the alleyway, they met the last two members of their wagon train. The one that had called them was a black footed ferret humanoid, black legs from the knees down, black arms from the elbow down, a black mask around his eyes, black ears, a black tail tip, and otherwise white fur. He was Ryder's height, but very scrawny. The pair of pants and belt he wore looked fairly similar to the crimson weasel's, and were very baggy.

The other was a river otter humanoid. All around gray fur, wearing blue pants, with a pair of tan goggles with gray lens around his neck. He wore bandages on his forearms, and had bandages wrapped around his stomach. Unlike his comrade, he had a weapon, a rifle.

"Christ, Riley, you're a mess," the otter said.

"No time for witty remarks," the ferret called, still running.

Glancing out at the horde of monsters and chaos in the streets, the black footed ferret and otter agreed. They quickly hurried after their comrades, the group disappearing into the alleys.

 

[Rizzo]

Rizzo, as per his custom, let out another terrified squeak. His voice was feeling a little hoarse from all the squeaking he was doing today. As the dagger-handed beast charged at him, he hid in the only place he could, with a feeling of great de ja vu.. The dumpster.

That smell was back. It really wasn't pleasant. He heard a pounding on the metal of the dumpster, but luckily couldn't penetrate into the interior.. He was safe... He listened to the sounds of the chaos outside with growing fear...

He resolved to stay here for the timebeing, regardless of the vile stench that was filling his nostrils. He considered peaking out from time to time, and noticed the creature still shuffling around in the alley; he'd keep his surveillance up until the threat was gone, then he'd check out the surrounding area, or what might be left of the surrounding area anyway...

 

[Wocky]

"Are you kidding?!" yelled the incredulous voice, that of a female human knight. "What's the Ice King doing in Éiawind?!"

"There's no time for solving riddles, Sergeant!" returned the deep, growling voice of her superior. "Take your squad and assist the castle guard, we'll buy you all the time we can!"

Standing in the main market square, the woman saluted. "Yes, Commander, consider it done." and with that, the armoured knight drew her broadsword and made haste towards the Northern sector.

The Knight Commander, a rather gruff-looking Polar bear with a height to match, narrowed his eyes at the sky, at the scene of destruction as, with another devastating crash, one more building fell victim to the fists of the giant behemoth. "The size of that beast is unreal...Where in Odin's name is the Captain...?"

---

With those final few bullets to its back, the mirror creature squealed in a devilish tone of anger and agony, before exploding in a thousand pieces of glass, each and every glimmering in the sunlight like glitter.

Glitter which gradually vanished to the floor as the group made their escape.

---

Back in the winding alleys of South Éiawind, Rizzo would hear the surprised screech of the small tree creature, along with the fluttering of dozens of tiny wings and chittering squeaks. A short skirmish took place right outside the weasel's dumpster, sharpened wooden claws scraping against steel, before finally, the crunching of pierced wood...and silence.

Presently, a sword returned to its scabbard, and urgent footsteps approached the dumpster. The lid to the dumpster opened wide, letting daylight spill over its wretched contents. And the trash too. "You should be more careful, boy." spoke the familiar, posh and slightly stuck-up voice. "We need you alive today. Are you injured?"

The man could hear four distinct sets of footsteps pounding down the alleys nearby. They sounded like they belonged to people, but he kept an eye out just in case.

 

[Rizzo]

Rizzo had kept himself uncomfortably squeezed into the back of the dumpster until the intense skirmish outside ceased. He wanted it to be over more because he wanted to be out of the stinking pit he was hiding in, rather than out of fear. He'd been in more than enough stinking pits for one day.

As the watery sunlight glinted through again, he was this time greeted by a far more welcome and familiar sight than the strange, unknown world that he'd found crawling out of the first dumpster of the day. Standing before him, he knew, was Zenith Goria. He could tell simply by his incredibly posh accent who he was. Indeed, this was the very same black fox that he had seen earlier in the bar, and his eyes lit up as he found this one shred of familiarity amongst the sea of confusion he'd so far experienced.

"Zenith!" he cried, "Boy, am I glad to see you! I'm ahh.. In a bit of a pickle, but I'm not injured... You don't mind if I sit on your shoulder for the time-being, right? Ok, good." Before the fox could react, Rizzo sprung out of the dumpster, landing deftly on Zenith's shoulder. Now rather near his nose, Zenith would notice that having spent much of the day in trash receptacles, Rizzo's odour was far from pleasant. He'd missed sitting on shoulders, anyhow, so that was a small but comforting consolation.

"So," he said, continuing his torrent of speech before Zenith could have a chance to interrupt, "I'm in a bit of a pickle; I woke up here, I'm small again, I don't know where I am and I've just been attacked by a sentient tree; you know about these kinds of things, right Zenith?! Give me some information here! You must know something, 'cause I saw you in the bar earlier with that bartender and that Flynt asshole and that Alex asshole!" He paused for a moment to catch his breath; "You still don't mind me sitting on your shoulder like this, do you? Ok, goodgood!" he interjected again.

He looked around, noting the splintered corpse of the tree-beast slumped against the dumpster, a stab wound splitting it down its grain. He looked gratefully at Zenith, "Thanks for that, by the way." he said, giving him a brief nod.

Feeling uncomfortable amongst all this carnage, he looked at Zenith, wincing a little: "Can we get out of here? -- You can answer my questions on the way.~"

 

[Wocky]

(Sorry folks, computer troubles)

--

"...Quite." Zenith didn't seem entirely pleased with the idea of the dirty weasel sitting on his shoulder like that. "You have some explaining of your own to do, boy. I don't recall giving my name to you. However..."

The fox was interrupted by another explosion rocking the city, this one big enough to make the ground shake. Zenith closed the dumpster, frowning. He found himself wondering why exactly he came to this...strangely familiar boy's aid. There were many more people that needed help back in the square.

Pushing any doubts to the back of his mind, the fox took off at a light jog out from the alley system, appearing back on the main street. To the south, he could see the city gates, and to the north was the square, beyond that the giant fortified Éiawind Castle loomed ahead. The two could still hear the senseless destruction being caused throughout the city. It sounded so close now, but their view was blocked by the buildings in the eerily empty street.

"We should go South," Zenith said, briskly making his way down the cobblestone road. "The Royal Guard won't want to be burdened by civilians."

----

"I presume everything is progressing smoothly, Lieutenant...?"

Deep within the basement of the northern castle, a sinister discussion was taking place. The room was dark...chiaroscuro dark, I mean. One man snapped a crisp salute. "Yes Captain, no problems thus far. At this rate, the beast should make it to the castle in less than 10 minutes."

"Good...good..." the evil voice replied, his face framed in shadow like any good villain's face should be. A toothy, sinister grin appeared reflected in the dim candlelight of the secure basement shelter. That voice, dripping with a trecherous malice that could make the most devious villains shudder. "It'll make short work of the castle and the guard...and from the ruins, we can take the World Key for ourselves..."

The Lieutenant looked a bit unsure of himself. "But...sir, isn't there the matter of the King's Cannon? Surely the guard will use that before the Ice King can reach us...and not even a monster of his strength would come away from that unscathed!"

"Not to worry..." the shadowy captain replied. "I have taken care of the...sentries that operate the cannon...there will be no final line of defense...it's just a matter of time..."

 

[Rizzo]

Rizzo didn't bother taking heed of Zenith's obvious disapproval of his seating choice, and, both as the ground shook with the explosion and as he headed off south, he just dug his claws further into his shoulder to keep his footing.

Bewildered, Rizzo began the "explaining" that he apparently had to do: "Well, Zenith..." he began. He would occasionally pivot on Zenith's shoulder, jump and fretfully glance around as he heard noises that might spook him, digging his claws further into Zenith's shoulder as if to heighten his sense of security.

"You know me! Rizzo! I mean, I'm ahh.. Normally taller than this, but for some reason I'm not now.. Y'know; I'm the tall guy! ...Usuaally. I'm good at science..Uhh... Well, and you! I know that you're a vampire, and you're married to that other bitchier vampire, Matricia! And she's evil." Rizzo nodded erratically to punctuate each of his points, "So, convinced you know me? 'Cause I could really do with a familiar face to tell me what the Hell is going on! Those guys at the bar couldn't tell me, and they've all..Well..." He shivered as he remembered that monstrous creature that he'd glimpsed through the vents, glad he'd escaped into that alleyway, "Disappeared..."

His dawning realisation of what was going on slowly set in, and set the usually well-oiled cogs of his mind grinding. What were they? In fact, what species (except, for well, "Mirror") were they? Where did they come from, and what would be the best way to get rid of them? All sorts of scientific ideas were arising as to what he should do should he be cornered like that again. At least he had Zenith handy to keep him out of trouble. But he wondered for how long... It was obvious that he was irritated with his presence, and his obliviousness to who he was worried Rizzo all the more; he always remembered Zenith as quite patient. Hopefully that idea would stay true.

 

[Wocky]

Rizzo was talking for such a long time, Zenith sighed and took off at a run towards the southern gate. The fox's poker face wouldn't reveal much, but at the moment he was astounded. Everything this annoying little weasel was gibbering on about was correct. But he was certain he'd never seen him before...only a vague memory, akin to dejavu...as if something from a distant memory was nagging at the back of his mind.

But there was something else on his mind as well. His scout bats had scoped out a gargantuan figure, heading in their direction at a fast pace. He couldn't get a good look at it, as his bats were all crushed in its path in an instant. What was it...?

"Hold on." Zenith warned, tensing up and bursting into a run, polished shoes pounding heavily on the cobblestone as he tore down the street at speed. The gate was just ahead, barely 200 feet away. "When we pass the border, I'll need you to-"

Too late. With an ear-shattering crash, the building they were about to pass shattered in an explosion of debris, rubble and stone flying out and crashing into the street before the two of them. Zenith skidded to a halt, kicking up a few stray stones before coming to a stop. It was here...

The hulking behemoth of epic proportions...its icy blue fist rounded the corner, cracking against the ground with its weight. A fist the size of a bus. A muscular arm made of thick chunks of interconnected ice. Zenith craned his neck to stare up at the gigantic Ice Golem that towered over them, walking on his feet and knuckles, very reminiscent of a gorilla. He'd never seen anything like it. It couldn't have been any smaller than Castle Éiawind itself!

Zenith grit his teeth and flexed his fingers, even as that gnarly, expressionless face looked down at them, its beard of icicles tremoring slightly with the motion. How did he miss that...something that massive must have footsteps as loud as cannonfire, yet he was caught completely off-guard. He considered reaching for his katana, but...something told him that wouldn't work.

The golem took a thundering step forward with its fist.

"...I think our path is blocked, my friend." Zenith said, not taking his eyes off the creature for a second.

 

[Rizzo]

Fleeing; Fleeing was always an option; it had won (probably) very many wars in the long run, live to fight another day and so on and so forth. Rizzo looked down at his feet; the claws were now very firmly dug into Zenith's shoulder, and his legs were shaking. He wondered if he'd even be able to pry his claws out of there to be able to make a run for it...

He had just began to loosen his grip on Zenith's shoulder when another idea popped into his mind; he turned to the fox with a cunning grin on his face: "Our path may be blocked" he said confidently, "But it doesn't mean we won't pass."

Reaching into his pocket; he fished out a black electronic rod of some kind, with only a couple of buttons on it; one was a large red button, which he'd cellotaped a note next to which simply said "DO NOT PRESS in thick, bold felt-tip pen, and a smaller, green button. At the tip of the rod was a green gem; it looked like an emerald, but it wasn't. It was a device that he'd built when he was 16; it was a dimensional teleporter, how he'd escaped his father's lab; it had been rather volatile then, hence why he'd landed in the middle of nowhere when he first used it. It made him wonder if he'd accidentally pressed the red button and wound up in that dumpster.. But that couldn't be right; it wouldn't explain why he'd changed, and he also remembered that that part of its functionality had been shot since the device got waterlogged a couple of years back..

Despite that part of it not functioning, he knew it would work as a simple teleporter too, from point A to point B; it was just a matter of making it past that monstrous creature, which he thought to himself with cocky self-assuredness, wouldn't be too hard. It wasn't going to notice a rat like him.

Rizzo nodded to Zenith, loosening his claws (which will have presumably been to Zenith's relief) as he prepared to make a dash through the creature's legs. "Just..Stay here, and make sure it doesn't squish you! Ok?" he said forcefully.

With that, he detached the green gem from the tip of the device, and darted between the creature's legs; as he suspected, spotting him from all the way up there would be like trying to spot a needle in a haystack from 50 miles away. Looking back every so often as he fretted about Zenith's wellbeing, he hopped up onto a crate sitting in the street beyond the towering behemoth and placed the gem on top of it, racing back to Zenith's and hopping back onto his shoulder. The gem acted as sort of a marker for short-distance teleportation. It wasn't exactly the most practical of designs, but it had its uses from time to time, like right here, for example.

Rizzo dug his claws deeper than ever into Zenith's shoulder and gave him a sympathetic smile: "Sorry about this claw-digging, Zenith, but I have to hold on pretty tight if I want this to work for both of us..."

With that he pressed the smaller green button on the device, and there was an engulfing torrent of bluish-white light that surrounded both of them, followed by a sharp zap!

After a short period of disorientation, as Rizzo turned around, still, thankfully, on Zenith's shoulder, he would find himself staring at the backs of the creature's legs. To his relief, using science had worked after all!

 

[Wocky]

Just before Rizzo had teleported the both of them, Zenith caught sight of something intriguing, sitting atop the golem's head...it looked like a crown, made entirely of ice, that wobbled a bit with the golem's movement. That could only mean one thing...

Appearing at the teleporter destination, the fox stumbled very slightly at the odd feeling, before regaining his footing as he recollected his bearings. There was the golem, its back towering over them as much as ever. The creature had bent over, and its head was searching left and right, wondering where its targets had gone.

And once it realised they had escaped, the monster let out another loud roar, smashing its fists into two buildings on either side of the street, sending shrapnel and brick flying into the air.

"That's quite a trick you have there." a slight grin spread across Zenith's face. "And it appears reinforcements have arrived."

"Never fear!" bellowed a voice from the other side of the golem, along with a chorus of 'hoo-rahs' coming from a crowd of soldiers that had appeared. "The Royal Guard has arrived; allow us to deal with this!"

The creature roared in anger as spears and arrows flew into its head and arms, chipping chunks of ice off the behemoth's body.

"...Fools!" Zenith snapped, not believing his eyes. "Handheld weapons won't work on a beast of this calibur!"

But his warning wasn't heard. Another shrill cry from the ice gorilla, and a giant fist swept through the air, sending a group of unfortunate guards flying, with cries of pain from both themselves and their poor horses. Seeing an opening, the lumbering beast burst into a run, galloping down central Éiawind and heading North towards the castle, the remaining guards giving chase.

 

[Rizzo]

Rizzo stammered at Zenith: "W-Well, what do we do now?! Are we still going South?"

He looked to the fox worriedly, feeling utterly dependent on him. He was glad that he hadn't been on the receiving end of the ice gorilla's fists, but what about those guards? Should they not be helping them out? He guessed that Zenith would know the answer to that better than himself.

 

[Wocky]

Zenith growled a little, watching the soldiers chase after the golem. He glanced at the incapacitated soldiers. A few of them were unmoving, the others were moving about, ruffed up and disoriented, but otherwise were alright, their armour having taken the brunt of the hit. "Damn...I won't ask you to come along." Zenith said, glancing at Rizzo. "But evidently we can't leave the guard alone with this creature, and that device of yours may be useful."

He looked ahead at the scene of destruction that the creature was leaving in its wake. "What we're dealing with is the Ice King. The leader of a tribe of powerful Ice Golems, who make their home in the Frozen Rifts to the far North...how in God's name did it find its way here? ...Needless to say, we need to move. Are you coming?"

 

[Rizzo]

Rizzo nodded at Zenith: "Sure, I'm coming. You don't seem to remember me, for whatever reason, but you're the only person I know, so I'm sticking with you!"

He looked at the device in his hand and agreed with Zenith that it might indeed be very useful: "Alright, Zenith, we need to get those guys to safety, and this device got us to safety.. So.. Why don't you distract uhh.. The Ice King, while I get this device over to them? I'll move the gem further away, and when I get back, we can all teleport out of the way. Sound good?"

He worried about the technicalities of Zenith "distracting" such a massive foe, but it was the only idea that came to his mind at the time.

 

[Rex]

This was not going well. An unexpected attack on the town had left the civilians scattered, and the guard, or what was left of it, wasn't in a much better way. Samuel Cutter was among the unlucky few caught in the fighting. Even worse, he was among the surviving guards facing against the Ice King. He really wasn't prepared for this at all.

The Stoat humanoid was a seaman by trade, and was usually part of the navy. He looked about 19 years old, and was wearing a pair of black pants and a navy duster, both of which were a bit too big for him. Standing further back then the other guards, the Stoat took a shot at the Ice King's head with this rifle. Given the shear size difference between the two of them, the bullet about as likely to do harm to the monster as a feather would to to the Stoat. Still, he fired a second shot, wondering if he could maybe distract the gargantuan creature long enough for the melee carrying survivors to do some sort of damage.

 

[Wocky]

Zenith took off at a run after the Ice King. "Never mind that," he told Rizzo, shaking his head. "I think I have an idea what they're up to. If I recall, reading about the castle...they have a defense system set up. But it needs time..."

He dashed passed the fallen guards, not even stopping to glance their way, heading towards the centre of town. He spied the castle up ahead, and he could hear the distant roars of the giant golem as he smashed through buildings and soldiers alike, tearing for the castle.

---

The Ice King didn't flinch in the slightest, as a tiny piece of ice was chipped off of its face with each rifle shot. His comrades, yelling battle cries swarmed in on the creature's fists and feet, ramming swords and axes, ice flying everywhere. But it was all short-lived, as a quick stamp, and another kick would send each of the hapless soldiers flying. They were going to have to retreat, back to the castle...

---

"Commander, the beast is rapidly approaching the castle. What are your orders?"

The Knight Commander from the earlier post turned to look at the soldier who had approached from behind. He was standing in the outer courtyard with a platoon of men, lined up and ready to hold back the monster for as long as possible. Along with the archers stations on the rooftops, he and his men would be the last line of defense.

"It seems all attempts to stop it have failed..." the polar bear sighed, staring into the distance through a pair of binoculars. The beast was stopping every so often to smash and bash a bit more here and there, before continuing its way towards them. "Send out an order to the troops, pull back and rally by the castle to form a defensive walls."

The guard saluted, and was about to turn to head off, when the Commander grabbed his shoulder firmly. "And ready the King's Cannon...we will ensure this monster doesn't lay a scratch on this castle!"

 

[Rizzo]

A puzzled Rizzo looked at Zenith incredulously: "So we just leave them there? They could've used my teleporter! And anyway, where are we going now? Up to the castle? What d'you mean it needs time? How're you gonna help that?"

To add to his irritating barrage of questions, Zenith's burst of motion prompted Rizzo to dig his claws back into his shoulder, he learned forward and also rested his hands there too, so that he could see dead ahead without being jolted around too much. He found himself worrying about where Zenith might be taking him, and whether or not this was the same Zenith as the one that he had originally known... Whatever the case, he thought, he presumed that Zenith knew what he was doing. At least, he hoped so!

 

[Rex]

"Shit." The Stoat frowned. He was basically the only one left standing against the Ice King. Where was a fire when you needed one, damn it? A fox dashed by him, with another creature holding onto its shoulder. They had the right idea, the Stoat thought. The castle would be able to hold against the monster, surely?

"I'm falling back!" the Stoat called to any guards still alive in the area. With that, he turned tail and ran to, following after the fox as fast as his baggy pants would allow. He kept his rifle in his hands, just in case he got stopped. Hopefully, that wouldn't be a problem.

 

[Wocky]

"Commander!" yelled the Sergeant from earlier, a tall woman in the form of a lynx, who approached the bear promptly, saluting. "Our remaining soldiers are retreating from the threat...and it appears as if there are some civilians still present in the battlefield."

"What?!" the Commander barked, looking through his binoculars once again. He saw a group running towards them, just a little ahead of the Ice King. They were close...a few guards still struggled with the behemoth. But there was also a black fox in civilian clothing, carrying a child on his shoulder. And behind them another guard was giving chase...presumably escorting the civilians to safety.

"Get them in here!" the polar bear snarled, the woman quickly exiting the courtyard and heading out to the street. "Damn it, we need more time...ready, men?! It'll be upon us in less than a minute! It's time to fulfill your oaths!"

---

Zenith glanced back as he spotted a lone guard running after them...and the Ice King as it fended off his other, slower-retreating comarades. He nodded towards the guard, then looked back at the castle. They were nearing the open courtyard, where a platoon of guards stood, weapons at the ready. He squinted...it looked like a trio of them had stepped out into the streets. They were calling, beckoning the group over to the castle.

Perfect...with a big enough group, they should be able to hold back the monster for some time.

Woops! Zenith ducked suddenly as a gnarly wooden branch swiped over the area his head had occupied a second before. He skidded and turned to see another one of those small treants from earlier, screeching at them in a wild lust to kill. Damn it...they couldn't afford to get delayed!

 

[Rizzo]

Most huge castles loom in a foreboding or imposing sort of way, but this one seemed to loom, for Rizzo, as a beacon of hope; his teleporter could only get him so far. He'd had a close-call with that trent-like creature earlier, and the secure bosom of the castle looked incredibly welcoming; in fact, Rizzo found himself rather transfixed by it just as Zenith ducked beneath the branch that hung in their path...

There was a sudden onset of blackness; he hadn't been so quick to avoid it. Rizzo wasn't sure how long he was out for; it wasn't long, maybe just a few seconds or so, and it must've been, since he could still see Zenith's tail in the distance, which certainly wasn't very far, perhaps only a yard or so. He shook his head vigorously to get back to his senses and shake off his grogginess, and made a sprint back to the fox's shoulder.

Zenith was a pretty fast runner, though, and had looked pretty focused on his goal, so Rizzo hoped that he'd notice that he'd been knocked off his shoulder!

 

[Rex]

Shit. The fox he had been following had been attacked by a Treant. Said Treant was now standing between Samuel and the castle. Skidding to a halt, the stoat fired the last three shots in his rifle at the tree monster, before opening it and starting to reload. They didn't have much time here, and he had to work quickly.

 

[Wocky]

Zenith wasn't running at all - he'd in fact skidded to a halt after dodging, and turned to face the treant. He drew his katana, as the guard that was following them unloaded thee rifle rounds at the creature. The wooden bark splintered and cracked with each shot, the creature rearing back in surprise. This gave Zenith the opening he needed to dash forward and deliver a decisive horizontal blow along its centre.

As the fox returned the blade to its scabbard, the treant, with a look of dumbfounded shock on its evil face, slowly came apart into two pieces, which fell to the floor, lifeless. Zenith glanced over at the guard with a slight smile, and nodded in thanks. "Excellent aim - now let us push forward."

Indeed, the Ice King behind them had reared around once more, searching around for more targets. It appeared to be rather stupid...most of them time it didn't think to look down for something to kill. But Zenith wasn't complaining. He looked down at Rizzo. "Let's continue, and keep hold this time."

They were close now. A fast dash would take them about 30 seconds to make it into the courtyard, where the guards were waiting for them.

---

"Sir??" a guard spoke out to the Commander, sounding increasingly nervous with each passing moment. "It's close! Don't you think it's time to light the cannon??"

"Wait for it..." the bear growled, shooting the soldier an impatient glare. "We are the Royal Guards. We guard the people of this city! The second the civilians are here, we open fire - not a moment sooner!"

"...Yes sir..."

 

[Rex]

His rifle reloaded, the Stoat turned and took a pair of shots aimed for the Ice King's face, again hoping to hit the eyes. If he missed, at the very least he would drive it towards them, and the cannon within the castle.

With that done, he turned and started to run towards the castle. As he passed the fox, he called out "We can pat each other on the back later, let's go!" The castle gate was only yards away. They might actually make this!

 

[Rizzo]

Shaking off the dizziness from falling off Zenith's shoulder after he'd skidded to a halt, Rizzo crawled back up to his vantage point (once Zenith had dealt with the treant, which he observed with growing admiration for the guy) and took his advice, clinging on more tightly than before (which, of course, would be even more uncomfortable than usual)

He watched the Marine firing shots at the ice giant with a passing interest, more intent now, perhaps selfishly, on getting himself to safety; he glanced over at Zenith; "I guess you could make a run for it," he quipped, "But maybe we could use the teleporter again?"

Taking the teleporter from its rather insecure place it his pocket, he unclasped the green gem from its tip and stuffed it into Zenith's hand: "If you can make a run for it, I'll cling on as tight as I can, but uhh.. How far do you think you could throw that?" He gestured towards their destination; maybe running would be a better option, but he thought it might be worth a shot, after all, the gem atop the device was made of an extremely tough and durable material; it wasn't going to break just from being thrown.

 

[Wocky]

"An apt suggestion." Zenith said, grasping the gem tightly in one hand. He risked a quick glance over his shoulder, and saw the Ice King, mildly irritated by the shots to its vacant icy eyes, take a massive earthquake-inducing step forward. No good, that thing would catch up in less than 30 seconds.

Sprinting forward until he caught up with the guard that passed him before, the fox wasted no time. Pulling his arm back, he raised the gem into the air, before sending it flying in a mighty hurl, the gem arching into the air, over rooftops and chimneys, spinning with great velocity towards the castle...and through one of the gaps in the gate, landing with a tumble in the grassy courtyard in the middle of the troop of soldiers.

Zenith held his arm out towards the stoat, before shouting to Rizzo. "Now would be the ideal time!"

------

As the gem landed in amongst the soldiers, they stepped back in caution. "What's that?! A grenade?!" came a few mortified yells from the soldiers, as a few made a dive to get distance.

The commander turned around. "What?! ..." he looked down at the jewel, frowning. "Doesn't look like a grenade - those civilians threw it!"

 

[Rizzo]

At Zenith's command, Rizzo hastily slammed his fist into the green button as soon as the soldier had caught onto Zenith's arm; there was a brilliant flash of light, and before they knew it, they'd both be standing, woozily, as tended to be the effect of the teleporter, in the grounds of the castle.

Rizzo breathed a sigh of relief as he knew he was away from danger; he glanced over at the soldier: "The first time is always the worst" he consoled him, "Are you alright?"