The Flame of the Crimson Rose

With a burst of light the King threw Caleb forward, whilst simultaneously beating back Addi's robot. Agonizing pain shot up her arm, centering from her hand. It felt as if an iron sledgehammer had hit the robot's hand and smashed it. The pain was so intense that she was ripped into the real world. The robot, no longer under her control continued falling, landing on top of Sarah. However, Addi was only vaguley aware of that as her hand was still in agony. She barely noticed Caleb running away downstairs.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she gritted her teeth and tried to block out the pain. Addi was sure that the damage to the robot had been so severe that it had translated to all of the bones in her hand being broken at the least, but probably shattered. Firghting against the pain she tried to regain her subconcious, but it was too great. Reaching down with her good hand she touched the picture in her pocket and imagined everyone she loved. For Gage, this is for Gage. With a massive effort she managed to block out the world and regain control of the robot.

As it's eyes opened she saw the floor beneath the King crack and break, as a Sarah made of concrete and iron pulled him through the hole. Directing the robot forward she peered down into the hole to see what had happened. Below she saw Caleb and an unfamilar woman facing the King. She was talking to him, spitting harsh word's at the King who's emotions were written across his face and his flames.

Meanwhile, Sam drew a rope in the air which he and Elsie were using to pull up Caleb. With panic, Addi realized that Sarah was also still down there, near the King.

"Sam, pull up Sarah." The disjointed voice sounded as the robot reached out a hand to grab the rope.

 

"Cough up, what happened to Chaos, huh?!"

Calebs face darkened, and his heart dropped. He wasn't sure whether it was the shock of Elsie's discovery, or her apparent pleasure at his discomfort, but either way he was suddenly angry. Caleb grabbed Elsie by the arm, tugged her into the stairwell and slammed the door shut behind them. He thrust her violently against the wall and glared at her. His steely eyes bore into hers, he raised his finger, "Something that is my problem, and no one elses. Something that is no one elses business, especially not some psychopathic kid with a thirst for murder and... whatsamacallit, life force."

He loosened his grip on her, "Now your going to go back out there, and I have a feeling your not going to tell anyone this... I don't like doing this, but its necessary. Get going." He let go of her completely and nodded at the door, "If anyone asks, we were trying to flank the King, but" Caleb clicked his fingers, and a jumble of rocks materialised, blocking off the stairwell, "The stairs were unfortunately blocked off, and I was feeling to weak to move them.

He smiled, some of his usual humour returning, "Or we were caught up in the heat of the moment, and decided to have a quick make out back here. Your choice. Off you trot now."

 

Elsie was startled at the reaction she received, staring blankly at Caleb as he slammed her against the wall just inside the stairwell.

"Something that is my problem and no one else. Something that is no one elses business, especially not some psychopathic kid with a burst of murder and... Whatsamacallit, life force."

Elsie's face suddenly turned stony at the last remark. It wasn't like she had chosen this life, like she wanted to be forced to drink up so much energy that it practically controls her and her need for more. But she kept her mouth shut and clenched; it was neither the time nor place to argue about something like that.

"Now your going to go back out there, and I have a feeling your not going to tell anyone this... I don't like doing this but it's necessary. Get going."

He let go of her then, but Elsie didn't move.

He continued, "if anyone asks, we were flanking the King, but," he clicked his fingers and had the stairs mysteriously blocked off by rocks that had been summoned. "the stairs were unfortunately blocked off and I was too weak to move them."

Elsie raised an eyebrow, and still didn't move. Her mood moving from anger to being in deep thought. His last remark ignored, she studied him for a brief second.

"Promise to not fight him on your own, and I'll consider not telling the others...." she said coolly. Elsie then snapped her attention toward the shut door leading out onto the roof and started bouncing on her feet again. "And your better hurry and make your decision, hotshot, or else they'll be starting the main course without us...." she added grimly, but she hadn't had it imply she was excited for the potential destruction that could occur any minute, but rather that she was worried about it happening any minute...

 

"Sam, pull up Sarah."

‘Sweet Addi,’ Sarah thought to herself, ‘always thinking of others’.

But there was no way out for Sarah. Her arms were severely injured, one would likely be broken when she returned to human form. Though she relatively felt little pain as a golem, she weighted several hundred pounds and could not be pulled back through the hole even if she could make full use of her arms.

She brushed her hand toward Sam and Addi, trying to tell them not to mind pulling her up. But she didn’t dare move much for fear of the King.

The dark cavernous eyes of her stony face watched the King silently. She didn’t dare move any more for fear of releasing the spell of rage being woven between the King and the girl who was apparently his beloved Rose.

The flames grew stronger around the King, but somehow Sarah could no longer feel their heat.

‘It must be because I’m no longer organic,’ she thought to herself remembering that strange fire that started all of this so many months ago. ‘I’ll have to remember to tell the others as soon as it’s safe. Till then I’ll try to lay here still and safe.’

 

Sam was about to throw the rope down again when she signaled not to. Sam instantly recognized why: she was far too heavy in that form to lift at all, forget stealthily. He glanced around, looking for resources, looking for options. The top of the building was practically empty, barren of furniture or anything useful. There was only the concrete railings edging the hundred story drop and the metal door, hanging off its hinges from when Addi's robot had burst in. And the snow...

Sam glanced back down the hole. "Sarah, how are you at golemizing liquids?"

 

"And your better hurry and make your decision, hotshot, or else they'll be starting the main course without us...."

"Elsie!" Caleb ran after her and grabbed her arm, "If I have to fight him alone I will, your not going to stop me." He lowered his voice and whispered in her ear, "And if you tell anyone, I won't hurt you, but a certain someone we both know might. I think it's best you keep quiet kiddo, it's my problem its on my head, and I don't want to share that responsibility with anyone else, even a pretty thing like you." He winked, hoping that a mixture of begging, charming and mild threats would keep Elsie quiet, "And one other thing, If you tell people, I think it will destroy Addison as well. She trusts me, likes me. And I her, don't ruin that. Don't turn me into the villain when theres a genocidal maniac down there. Just think about it Elsie, your a sweet girl."

 

Rose.

Standing right there.

Alive.

Rose is dead, Alex.

She's right there.

She is dead. you saw her die.

But she's right there, and she's mad at me. Disappointed.

That's an illusion, a fake.

What if its not? What if this really is wrong?

That's enough. You've been compromised.


The King's body began to glow with angry light. The King once again pulled a steel bar down at the golem, simultaneously, sending a blast of flames at Rose. Rose screamed as she was burnt away and the aether holding her image together scattered.

 

"Sarah, how are you at golemizing liquids?"

Before Sarah could even think of responding the spell was broken and a blinding fury burst forth from the King. Another iron beam tore itself from the ceiling and came hurtling toward Sarah.

There was nothing to do but make a run for it. She narrowly dodged the hunk of metal, and darted toward the only door she could see. The sound of Rose's screams echoed in her ears as the crimson fire engulfed the room.

Sarah burst through the doorway, not bothering to open it first, and found herself in the stair well with Caleb and Elsie looking down at her.

"Quick! He's gone mental, he's just killed Rose!"

 

"I'm pretty sure when Chaos comes back after wherever the hells he's gone right now, it won't just be your responsibility... And I'm not saying you'll become the villain. I'm saying you don't have to always be the one to have the world upon his shoulders." Elsie said with her serious face before she added in a light playful tone with a grin, "you may be special hotshot, but your not that special."

Then, all of a sudden, the door to their now only exist opened with a bang. Elsie turned to find a panic-stricken Sara now with them.

"Quick! He's gone mental, he's just killed Rose!"

Elsie was out of the room in flash, rushing over to the scene. Just like Sara had stated, the King seemed to have killed his beloved, since there seemed to be an absence of her presence.

"I knew it wasn't going to end well..." she muttered to herself. She looked to the others, wandering if any tactics were going through their minds.

 

"You may be special hotshot, but your not that special."

Caleb rounded on her once more, "Fine, its on your shoulders to now. We're not resting after this, you and me are hunting Chaos, end of discussion. And, I AM that special." Caleb then jumped down the hole and faced the flaring King, "And now you've killed your beloved. That was... Unexpected. But I think it proves who the real villain is." Caleb attempted to rip The King apart, but the Kings Aether was too tightly bound. It seemed as if his Crimson Flames were augmenting him. No Matter.

Instead Caleb weakened all the structural beams that kept the building stable, and kept the roof from falling. Thusly the roof fell on the King. Caleb was aware that this sent his friends careening downwards also, so he quickly caused a blip in their existence. A blip that briefly removed them from the world. When they were returned they were safely standing on the huge pile of debris that had buried the King. As the roof had fallen he had also disintergrated any piece of ruble that had fallen near his head. After all this he felt drained, but not as fatigued as he would have felt before he removed Chaos from his being.

Caleb stumbled down the rubble pile. The edges of the floor of this level of the building, was the only space uncovered by shattered concrete. Caleb waved to the group, "I have a feeling he isn't done quite yet!" Although the King had been crushed by a mountain of rubble, he knew the King was more powerful than anything else he had faced, and would not go down that easily. The momentary lapse in the fighting allowed his worries to seep into his thoughts, "How was he and maybe Elsie to hunt Chaos? If they find him would they even be able to beat him? What would Addi think? And how could he explain running away with the attractive Elsie to hunt a villain he chose to set free? That would look a tad suspicious. He could take Addi along too, but he would never expose her to any more danger. He had already done enough. 'Focus on the King first,' Caleb told himself, 'Worry about woman later.'

 

A massive plume of red flame erupted from the hole in the roof forcing Cole to take cover. The King had gone nova, and whoever had been down there with him was certainly dead.

‘Poor Sarah,’ thought Cole, ‘she was a brave one.’

Suddenly, Cole’s world became a black and empty void. For a brief moment he felt nothing but a cold empty expansiveness. As quickly as it disappeared the world returned only now Cole was not behind the refuge of a ventilation vent, but standing atop a massive pile of rubble from the roof of the upper most floor of the building.

All around him his friends and teammates were recovering from similar experiences.

“Was that Bob?” Cole asked before spying Sarah’s gargantuan concrete form amongst the group. “Sarah! You’re OK! How did you not get burned?”

"I have a feeling he isn't done quite yet!" Caleb called out as he descended the pile.

“Caleb’s right guys!” followed Sarah. Turning to Cole she added, “I don’t think he can burn people, or live things, but he-“

Before she could finish her thought the mound exploded with a brilliant white light. The Resistance members were violently thrown against the walls of the top floor.

Cole landed foot first against the far wall and back-flipped to his feet. There in the center of what was once a giant pile of debris stood the King. Though bruised and dirtied he looked little worse for wear. Twisting tongues of crimson fire twirled about him, and bits of debris from the building orbited his body mysteriously. His face was darkened; it no longer looked his own but was possessed by the vengeful hatred of thousands of years of abuse and pillage.

Cole’s mouth gaped, as the maniac scanned the members. Then Cole saw it, a glimpse of stone clutched tightly in the King’s hand. The Stone, the one Bob had entrusted to them, the one he had entrusted to Nathan, the source of all of this death and desolation.

“Addi! Get your robot back online!!! Sarah! Chalybs! You need to cover for us, we’ve got to get the stone away – “

“YOU,” the booming voice interrupted, “So we meet again little Homo sapien. I told you not to contact me again, and now you’ve compromised my hero. There will be no mercy this time!”

The king threw out his hands toward Caleb, a burst of blinding light bursting from one and a crimson fire from the other. Both were directed at the boy with single minded determination and hatred.

 

Addi let go of the robot, letting it slump gently to the ground as she cradled her arm to her chest. Yeah, definately broken... she thought to herself, wincing as another line of pain shot through it. OUt of the blue a giant pillar of the King's crimson flames burst upwards, the heat forcing Addi to fall back. Looking up she saw the roof cracking as large chunks began to fall. She flipped onto her stomach holding her head hoping to god she wouldn't get killed. Then suddenly everything went black and sensless. She was in a void where even her own body didn't seem to actually exist. A second later and she found herself laying atop of a giant pile of debris and rubble.

Carefully she got up and looked around her. Somehow she and the rest of the group had gone from under the falling rubble to above it.

“Was that Bob?” She heard Cole ask the question to no one in particular before he turned to Sarah who has seemed to have somehow survived the King's last massive attack. “Sarah! You’re OK! How did you not get burned?”

"I have a feeling he isn't done quite yet!" Caleb's voice yelled up to them as he climbed off of the pile. Realizing that the King was under there Addi decided she should probably follow suit. After everything she had seen she didn't really expect a little pile of dirt and rocks to stop the King-especially when he was this angry.

“Caleb’s right guys! I don’t think he can burn people, or live things, but he-“

Sarah's words weren't cut off by a violent blast of blinding light. Everyone was thrown against the walls. Addi's head knocked against it hard enough to make little lights pop up infront of her eyes. Shaking he head clear, she got to her feet and surveyed the scene. In the midst of the giant rubble pile stood the King. He looked fantastic for having just been crushed under what was probably a couple tons of rocks. Flames encircled him as some of the debris floated around him, supported by some invisible force. Addi glanced into his face and felt fear rise up inside of her. His face was dark and vengeful. It had been frightning before, but now it was nothing less than terrifying. It was manic and possessed and looked as if it had survived centuries of abuse and was now ready to get payback.

Suddenly Cole's voice rang out, his eyes fixed on something in the King's hand. “Addi! Get your robot back online!!! Sarah! Chalybs! You need to cover for us, we’ve got to get the stone away – “ Then Addi saw it too, clutched in the King's hand was the stone that was the source of all of the destruction they had faced.

“YOU! So we meet again little Homo sapien. I told you not to contact me again, and now you’ve compromised my hero. There will be no mercy this time!”

The stone directed it's voice at Caleb and the King's hands followed, shooting a deadly combination of blinding light and twistin crimson flame straight at Caleb.

"NO!" Faster than she ever had before, Addi reached into her subconcious and grabbed the robot. Without a moment's hesitation it threw itself at Caleb pushing him to the ground and right under the deadly blast of power that surely would have killed him. Jumping back up, Addi did a quick scan of the robot. The arm was crushed and bent. Focusing on the arm it began to rebuild and within seconds was as good as new.

 

The robot leaped up suddenly and threw Caleb out of the way.

'Good job Addi,' Sarah thought to herself. The King was distracted, a perfect time to strike; except for her arms being broken and useless.

"C'MON GUYS! Lets do this!!" Cole's shout came from near Addi's robot. Sarah turned to see him riding on its back using its inorganic body as a shield from the crimson fire.

'That's it!' Sarah quickly stomped over to where Elsie sat.

"Elsie! He wrecked my arms, I need yours! Climb on!!" Sarah knelt and turned her shoulder to the nimble girl. They would all have to work together if they were ever to get the stone away from the King.

"FOOLS!" shouted the evil voice. A blast of brilliant white surged toward Addison's robot hurling it, along with Cole, violently out of the way as another red flame shot out toward Caleb.

 

After prying himself from the metallic robot, Caleb spotted Rocky in the Kings hand. 'Gotcha.'

Cole was shouting orders, Caleb decided to add one of his own, "Destroy the Kings body. I'll deal with Rocky." To give the others a better fighting chance he duplicated six copies of himself, who promptly charged the King. One was burned away in the energy blast that was originally intended for the real Caleb. He reached out with Aether closing his eyes, "Hello again Rocky. If you haven't noticed things have changed now. Little thing called human spirit, I've heard over time it can beat everything. Eugh... I think I'll have to kill you know to abate the corniness off that line..."

Suddenly Caleb was no longer standing in the crumbling Fenian Building but was in fact in a surreal barren realm wracked by lightning and crimson flames. Standing opposite Caleb in the centre off this bland plain was a figure composed off almost blinding light. Somehow Caleb knew it was Rocky.

"HOMO SAPIEN!" Rocky called, "You again! You are truly pathetically stupid, even by ape standards... But I will indulge your desire for conflict since I wish to be rid of you. Lets make this interesting..."

Rocky swept a pulsing arm in a wide arc, and a chess set, with two stools suddenly appeared. "There is no escape, so I'm afraid your doomed. You see, one of the few things which you humans have created which I've liked, is this cunning game called Chess. Do you know of it? I myself have spent years mastering it's every nuance... call it a hobby. Now, I'm going to play a game against you, and every time I take one of your pieces... Well you remember what happened when we first met?"

Caleb shuddered violently, Rocky seemed to laugh.

"Yes, I believe it was quite an unpleasant experience worm..."

"And what happens if I take one of your pieces?"

"In that highly unlikely event... Nothing! I didn't say it was fair Homo Sapien... However if you win... well this chess set is a part of me. A vital part you see. It's my cunning... my intelligence. So who knows? Win and I might be reduced to a gibbering vegetable."

"Reduced?" Caleb joked weakly, taking a seat, trying desperately to remember if rooks could move in an L shape or not.

Rocky seemed to be relishing the game, he was rubbing his hands together gleefully, "Lets begin... You may have the first move..."

Calebs hand hovered over his Queen, "Am I allowed to move this one first?"

"No."

His hand touched the top of the King, "This one?"

"No."

Caleb picked up a pawn, "This one?"

"Yes."

"Groovy! Your going down Rocky!" He moved the piece diagonally.

"Those can only move straight ahead one space. You are allowed two spaces for each of the pawns first move."

"Ah." Caleb moved the pawn forward two spaces.

Rocky responded by moving his first pawn so it was diagonally abreast to Calebs pawn. Caleb moved a different pawn two spaces forward. Rocky took Calebs first pawn.

"Hey! Cheat! You said those can't move diagonally!"

"They can when they are taking another piece fool. Your turn, I will abstain from punishing you quite yet... I believe this will be amusing."

Caleb wiped the sweat from his brow and moved his second pawn forward another space, "King me."

Rocky laughed, "This will be to easy."

Caleb still felt a connection to his friends, and he desperately pleaded for their help, "Hey guys... Don't ask me why, but does anyone know how to play chess?"

 

Sam desperately scribbled in the air, doing his best to maintain a barrier between the King and the groups long-range fighters. It was effective, but only barely so. The ink, being organic, burned readily in the crimson flame, and the barrier was thin besides. Nearly as much fire streamed through the cracks as the barrier blocked. And he was quickly running out of pens.

Well, this is it, he mused. We got this far, despite all our attempts to the contrary, but I really don't see any way we can possibly get out of this.

"Hey guys... Don't ask me why, but does anyone know how to play chess?"

Sam looked over at Caleb. Chess? Caleb was one of the group's strongest fighters. What was he doing playing games at a time like this? Sam would never have guessed Caleb to be the chess-loving type, but still couldn't he see they were in the middle of a battle? Why wasn't he fighting instead of standing there, holding some rock and daydreaming about chess?

Wait a second, is that stone...

Suddenly, Sam understood. That was the Rock. It was the Seventh Seal all over again. The villain, confident in his own victory, challenges the underdog heroes to a simple game in order to make their defeat more amusing. And he had chosen as his opponent Caleb, of all people.

Downing a few pills to ensure his best mental condition, Sam dashed over to Caleb and grabbed his shoulder. "Let me in; if there's anyone here who can give that igneous bastard a run for his money, it's me."

 

Cole clung desperately to the robot as it tumbled through the air until it finally collided with a steel beam and fell to the ground. Cole’s agility and strength had continually increased since their journey began and he found himself quite capable of avoiding injury throughout the flight and rough landing.

"Hey guys... Don't ask me why, but does anyone know how to play chess?"

‘Oh dear goodness, what has he gotten us into now,’ Cole looked across the small battle field and saw Sam run over to join Caleb. He didn’t have much idea what was going on, but whatever they were doing seemed to be distracting the King from his onslaught of attacks.

“Addi, can you hear me?” Cole whispered to the robot, “We’ve got to get that stone away from the King!”

Cole positioned himself once again on the large robot’s back, “Just get me as close as you can to him without getting fried; I’ll take care of the rest!”

 

"Let me in; if there's anyone here who can give that igneous bastard a run for his money, it's me."

Sam''s voice had reverberated around the wasteland as if on a loudspeaker. Caleb winced, Rocky drummed his fingers on the table impatiently.

"I don't suppose you would allow him to play in my place would you?" he asked.

Rocky chuckled, "I knew you couldn't stand against me worm... Alright. As much as it would have amused me to butcher you in this game, I do thirst for a challange. Bring in the new homo sapien..."

I nodded and raised my hand, Sam fizzled into existence next to me, I stood, "Alright Sammo, I probably should have told you this but uh, everytime he takes one of your pieces... You know what happened to me when I first tried to talk to Rocky? How I experienced every pain in existence? Yeah well, thats gunna happen to you-"

"Both of you worms now," Rocky interupted.

"Oh joy... and uh, if one blast of that stuff drove me insane... well, i don't think we'll be coming out of this the same people as before... if at all," I held out my hand for him to shake, "You may not think of yourself as a hero Sammo, but I do. Your a good man, a great man in fact, far better than me, and I'm hella proud to call you a friend," In a lower tone I added, "When he hits you, ill try to divert as much of the pain to me as possible. Now lets kick this guys ass. I'll be the cheer squad."

 

"You may not think of yourself as a hero Sammo, but I do. Your a good man, a great man in fact, far better than me, and I'm hella proud to call you a friend,"

"Thanks, and you too, buddy."

Sam couldn't think of anything else to say, so he seated himself at the chessboard across from the glowing figure. For a long time, neither opponent said anything. Both were far too busy studying the board, studying each other, lost in a world of rooks and pawns. Each move carefully studied, enacted and reenacted dozens of times, dozens of ways in their minds before pieces would leave the board. Minutes bled into hours; whether this was truth, illusion, or the result of Caleb or the Rock's powers Sam didn't know, nor did he waste much energy thinking about. This was, by far, the most difficult game of chess he had ever played, and he knew the stakes were too high for him afford any sort of distraction.

Eventually, the inevitable happened. Sam found himself in a strategic corner. No matter what move he made, it was clear he was about to lose a piece. If he left his knight where it was, Rock's bishop was sure to take it, but if he moved it his own bishop was as good as gone. The question was which one...

Sam winced and moved a rook instead. Rocky grinned. "And now, the fun begins."

As soon as Rocky set down his bishop, Sam felt himself wracked with pain. Immolation. Violation. Eviscration. Knives pierced every inch of his flesh. His limbs were ripped off time and time again at every conceivable location. His bones shattered and knit themselves back together in excruciating and unnatural ways. He was frozen, boiled, skewered, smashed, streched and vivisected. He wanted nothing more than to die, but death would not come.

For a long time after it stopped, Sam just lay there breathing. Saying nothing. Just feeling the pain seep from his body.

Eventually, he got up and seated himself at the chessboard. No words were spoken, the game just continued as normal.

The silence was finally broken by Sam himself. He had just made a capture - a pawn with a knight - and after a short pause began digging around in his pocket. Rocky reached for the board to make a move, but Sam stopped him. "Hold up a second, there's something I want to show you."

Rocky scoffed. "What could you possibly have, Homo Sapien, that could pique my interest?"

Sam pulled his hand out of his pocket, clutching a crumpled sheet of paper. Good, it's here. This may be just an astral projection of my body, but it's a perfect one. Everything I had on me is here. He unfolded the paper - the last one from his sketchbook - and held it up for the Rock to see. "This."

A geyser of blood vomited forth from the page, knocking the glowing figure back at least a dozen feet. Sam stood up and marched over to him.

"And THAT," he yelled, "is MY hell. I may not know strength and I may not know pain, but if there is one thing a life of cowardice and dimentia has taught me, it's horror. Granted, this hell is nothing compared to yours - heck, I'm not even sure you can feel fear - but I'll be damned if I don't do my best to level the playing field. Now, GET UP! We have a game to play!"

He turned to Caleb, "Every time that luminescent son of a bitch loses a piece," Sam pointed to his own forehead, "I want you to find something interesting in here and throw it his way. Emotions attached, if possible. Can you do that?"

 

Caleb kept his end of the bargain, when the pain wracked Sam, Caleb absorbed it as best he could. It was far mor agonising then he could remember. He was reduced to something less than human, his screaming voice inhuman, "KILL ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

His cry was heard in their surreal realm, it was heard in the Fenien building, it reverberated around the entire world, ripping through the fabric of existence. Sufficed to say, it really ****ing hurt.

When it was over, he was a pathetic shuddering mess on the floor. A shell of his former self. Whimpering he struggled to his feet, using the small table as support.

"I want you to find something interesting in here and throw it his way. Emotions attached, if possible. Can you do that?"

He couldn't reply. He collapsed once more and threw up... His head was swimming, floating gently into sweet unconscioussness. No more pain... no more suffering... No... He wasn't about to let Sammo down. He grasped Sam's shirt, and clawed his way into a sagging standing position, using his mind, he talked to Sam.

'Sammo... I... dont think... just let me absorb... the pain... nothing else...'

Out loud, he gave Rocky the finger, "**** you man... **** You!"

 

“Addi, can you hear me? We’ve got to get that stone away from the King! Just get me as close as you can to him without getting fried; I’ll take care of the rest!”

Cole's voice was quiet and full of static but she could hear him. The robot's eyes glanced around the rooftop and locked onto the King. She had a quick internal debate on whether or not to try and sneak over to the King and hopefully get close or to just run at him. Remembering how he had already known where everyone was the last time they had snuck up on him Addi decided to just go with running at him and hoping it would work.

Without checking to see if Cole was securely on the robot's back she had it spring upwards in a flying leap towards the King where it hit the ground running. The King saw it immediately and sent some flames sprialing at the maching, however, expecting something like that Addi had the robot dodge to the side as it kept running, making sure to try and protect it's back as much as possible.

Within a few feet of the King though, the heat began to grow and she could feel as slight burning sensation in her arms as the heat of the flames started to melt the metal arms of her robot. Speaking in the disjointed robot's voice she talked to Cole.

"I can't get any closer, go now!"

 

Everything went so fast; from moving through a black empty void, to watching Caleb seem like his energy and being disappeared to a different dimension - to play a game with a rock. Elsie didn't have much of a clue what that rock could do, but judging by the others reaction, it held immense power...

"Elsie! He wrecked my arms, I need yours! Climb on!!"

Elsie turned to Sara, who then offered her shoulder to her. She blinked once before obeying, and jumping on with a small smirk. That was the idea; work together. They all needed to work together in order to have a fighting chance against this King. Elsie felt sort of glad that Caleb had taken on that rock by himself now... if she was right in thinking that it was extremely powerful, then it was one less power-house they'd have to deal with. But then again... to have that rock within the Kings grasp... yes, they'd need to knock it out of his hands.

Then Sam ran off to answer Caleb's cry, and Addi's Robot plus Cole charged at the King, getting as close as possible. Elsie then decided to try her idea...

"Sara! Let's catch up to them - I'll blanket our being with a shield so we can get close enough to get that stone out of his possession, yeah?" Elsie suggested, leaning forward so that her eyes were glancing into Sara's...

 

Cole:

The heat was unbearable, despite the shielding offered by the robot to which Cole clung. From his position he could see Sarah following after them with footsteps that shook the ground and the nimble Elsie perched on her back.

"I can't get any closer, go now!"

A blast of flame nearly scorched Cole. Fortunately Sarah seemed to be right; the fire did little to the massive inorganic robot.

“Cover me if you can!” Cole called to the girls behind them and whith that he immediately slipped under the robot’s arm and leapt off of its knee.

As he gracefully back flipped over the King, Cole swiped at the stone and simultaneously released a burst of flame of his own at the King. His scythe came up short and Cole could feel the singing heat burning his skin as he landed in the open facing the King.


Sarah:

“COLE!” Cole’s heroics had left him extremely vulnerable. Racing with all of the strength she had, Sarah burst forward, hockey checking the distracted King aside as she passed.

With her better arm she scooped up Cole and flung him in the direction of Addi’s robot. A massive chunk of debris came flying toward them, but was deflected by the energy shield that surrounded the two girls. Elsie was managing to stay on her back quite well, and between the shielding, and Sarah’s invulnerability to the King’s powers they seemed to be unstoppable. But Sarah knew to well to attack such evil head on.

“We need a distraction!” Sarah thought aloud as she paused briefly to see the King returning to his feet. If only someone could get his attention long enough for her to get in and squash that little demon.

“Let’s throw everything we’ve got at him! NOW!!”

 

'Sammo... I... dont think... just let me absorb... the pain... nothing else...'


It didn't matter anyway; the Rock didn't lose a single additional piece. After only a score of turns, he had backed Sam into a corner that Sam knew he could not escape from. A sickening feeling grew in his's stomach as the Rock set down his queen for the final time.

"Checkmate," the glowing figure grinned.

Sam glanced back and forth between the board and his opponent for a moment, then, without warning, slugged Rocky in the face. Scooping the game pieces into his hat and grabbing the game board, he yelled at Caleb, "New plan: run like hell!"

 

“Cover me if you can!”

Cole slipped beneath the robot's arm and sprun himself at the King, leaping over him as he swiped at the rock and shot some flames at him. However his jump landed him directly infront of the king. He was ridiculously vulnerable.

“COLE!”

Sarah saw what Addi had seen. She was already racing towards him, pushing the King aside in the process. Even with both arms ruined she managed to pick Cole up with one of them and throw him towards Addi who caught him as gently as she could in the robot's giant metal arms. Nevertheless Addi was sure it was painful; still better to be in a little pain then burned alive by strange crimson flames. She set Cole down carefully sheilding him with the robot so that Cole was safe from the flames.

“Let’s throw everything we’ve got at him! NOW!!”

The robot's head swiveled around searching for something to throw. A large chunk of concrete caught its eye and she directed the robot's massive hand to pick it up and flig directly at the head of the King.

 

Cole grunted with the landing. As rough as it was he was grateful to be caught by the robotic metal arms that saved him. He paused for just a moment behind the droid, trying to catch his breath and recover from being so close to the searing heat of the King.

“Let’s throw everything we’ve got at him! NOW!!”

Without even turning to look at the flying concrete from Addi's machine the King threw his hand out toward it. With a flash of brilliant white light the concrete chunk stopped in mid-flight and high ominously in the air before reversing direction back towards Addison and Cole.

Cole leaped out of the way and found himself near the entranced Caleb and Sam. They seemed to be engaged in some other form of battle with the King, or the Stone, Cole couldn't be sure which.

"C'mon guys we gotta do something! We're getting wrecked out here!!"

Just then Cole heard a frightful cry from the battle arena. Sarah and Elsie charged King once again, only this time it wasn't just a rough push but a full on tackle that the King received from Sarah's hulking concrete form.

The three of them landed in a cloud of dust. The King could toss Addi's robot about like a rag-doll, but couldn't seem to do anything against Sarah's golem form, at least not directly.